Trickle Down Your Articles

Never get discouraged by a rejection

Controversy is one of the most powerful weapons in a writer’s arsenal. Your objective is to maximize the energy that is created by controversy while minimizing your chance of getting crushed by harsh criticisms.

This is easier said than done. If you error on the side of controversy, you might wade into some repercussions you never expected. If you go too far the other way, your writing is likely to be totally ignored.

As for me, I always error on the side of controversy, even when that means a good article gets rejected. Sometimes it’s worth rewriting an article to fit the needs of a popular publication. But if you like your article as it is, trickle it down through your publications until it finds a place to live.

Never be afraid to take chances

It’s always a trick to come up with an appropriate topic for a given publication. The writer’s task is to take a popular subject and conceive of something that hasn’t yet been said. It’s just a fact that if you try to put a unique spin on an old theme, sometimes your article is going to overshoot the expectations of the editor.

When you push the envelope, sometimes you push it right off the table.

This isn’t a bad thing, and it’s not going to hurt your reputation if you become known for taking courageous risks. However, it’s not a terrible strategy to follow up a dynamic submission with something you’re more confident will meet the editor’s requirements.

Article placement is the name of the game

For the two and a half decades I’ve worked as a writer, one thing has remained constant. After you produce something, you need to find a market for it. Sometimes it’s easier to do your writing with a specific publication in mind, but if the article gets rejected you’re back to looking for a place to submit. Personally, I prefer to follow inspiration, get the writing done, and worry about publication later.

You can’t sell a story that you didn’t write.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that an editor’s opinion is just one opinion. Oftentimes they don’t take a story not because it isn’t good, but because it doesn’t fit with their publication. Even if a story is rejected, you still own that story. Dust it off and submit it elsewhere.

Find your story’s forever home

I recently placed a story that I’ve been submitting for a couple weeks. The first place I sent it told me they liked it but that the tone was too aggressive for their publication. Their response didn’t surprise as I suspected that might be the case. However, I knew it was a good piece because I’d sent it to a beta reader who is a traditionally published novelist and she had a rave response.

No matter where I looked, I couldn’t quite find a publication that fit. I kept getting nice notes to the effect of, “Man…we really like this but it just doesn’t work here. Best of luck with it.”

Now, of course I had the option of rewriting the article to take the edge off. The thing is, the edge is the part I liked. Also, there’s nothing stopping me from writing an article with a similar theme someday down the road. But for now I wanted the original version out there taking flight.

There are all sorts of publications

I’d gone through my publication list about four times before I finally figured out where the article should go. Some publications publish bland articles, and others are on the lookout for writing with greater aspirations. A few months ago I joined a publication called Make it Personal:

The first story of mine that they published got curated in five categories. I even received a note from the editor that he’d never seen something curated in five categories before. Here it is:

Even with that positive result, they rejected my second submission. The editor wrote and said he liked the piece, but that he’d found car articles don’t perform well on Medium. I don’t begrudge him that decision at all and was happy to submit something else down the road. Here’s the rejected piece which I wrote after having a strange interaction with a tow truck driver:

The wayward article

One of my personal annoyances is elitism in general, but particularly elitism in the literary community. The worst part about it is that members of that community are quick to denounce elitism elsewhere, but reluctant to examine how their own behavior can contribute to a corrupt system.

I wrote my wayward article in a loosely narrative form dealing with a series of experiences I had with an over educated expat. He was a writer with a master’s degree who, although I didn’t know it, was waiting for a prostitute the first time I met him. I think just that little tidbit was enough to scare off most of the publications where I submitted it. You can read the story here and judge it’s quality for yourself:

To date, the article has performed reasonably well, but it hasn’t taken off like some of my other work. Still, I’m glad that it’s out there and I’m happy that Make it Personal took a chance on it.

Keep writing and learning

I’ve had articles that were rejected from publications that were instantly curated when accepted elsewhere. I’ve had articles accepted that I thought missed the mark, and I’ve had articles get rejected that I thought were slam dunks. Writing is an inexact science. All you can do is make a legitimate effort and hope for the best.

These days, I’m no longer inclined to do massive rewrites. Instead of a rewrite, I’ll do a whole new article and try to find a new home for the original. Sometimes the rewrite performs better, and sometimes the original does. All you can do as a writer is put yourself in a position to be successful, but most of the magic is beyond your control.

A farmer waters a seed, but he can’t make it grow. Commit to sound practices and good things will happen.

This one is submitted in a contest, so likes and reads are highly appreciated: