Narrowing my goal down to a few women's and writing magazines has helped me stay on course and keep the 'Overwhelmed' factor down to manageable, but something I read recently made me think twice about just how specific those goals should be.
I've been reading Absolute Write's editor Jenna Glatzer's book "Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer". While the title is reminiscent of a late-night infomercial, the book is most definitely not! There are some GREAT resources and solid advice in there.
In it, Jenna talks about how she set her goals when she first started: "I said I wanted to write for a national women's magazine..I set that goal very purposefully; I didn't just say 'any magazine'. It had to be national, and it had to be a woman's magazine. I knew the type of publication I was targeting, but I was careful not to get too specific, because then it would be too easy to fail."
I think this was my mistake with targeting the CSM and Skirt! so specifically. While they're two publications that would be awesome to get into, they're not the only good ones. Thinking that way almost caused me to submit simultaneously...and possibly turn off the CSM to future submissions. Sure, when (okay, I'll be positive here: if) the CSM monitor turns me down, it'll be too late to submit for next month's Skirt. But there are plenty of other magazines out there. I think this is a great thing to keep in mind when the rejections come in, too.
1 comment:
I keep thinking that once we are writing and publishing regularly, this will all make work itself out.
Perhaps the most important -- and difficult -- goal of all, for beginners and seasoned pros, is to just sit down and write, everyday, without fail.
Anne
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