Pressing the Submit Button…
As seen here, I’ve submitted my Age of Sail Romance, “Love Once Lost,” to Freya’s Bower for their m/m anthology.
I never realized how scary the submit button is for writers, nor how hard it was for me to sell myself or my story to someone. I’ve never been one to put myself out there, and tonight, looking at that button at the bottom of my email, I was filled with the fear of what would happen after I pressed that button.
Would they like it? Would they even read past the first sentence? Did I like it? Did I feel ready? Was the story ready? All these thoughts and questions and fears filled my head, ready to pull me back to my quiet literary corner, where there are no critics and writers are happy all the time. But I couldn’t. If I were to get published it would be now.
I pressed submit.
Now, now that I can no longer take it back, I still feel apprehensive, I still feel the same anxiety about whether someone will like the piece I wrote, but now it’s lighter. I can do nothing about it now, only wait for a dreaded rejection or sweet, sweet acceptance.
And for those who read all of this to the very end, I offer you the short summary I wrote about “Love Once Lost”:
Thomas Atkinson, Captain of the HMS Privet, isn’t looking for love. Love hurts far too much, and in a world where loving a man is punishable by death, the risks of love outweigh the benefits. But what Thomas doesn’t know is that his past isn’t strictly behind him. Past and present blend together in a tale about love, loss, and finding love again in “Love Once Lost”.
HMS dauntless said,
December 9, 2007 at 12:38 am
Oh, I know the scary feeling of the submit button ! Of course, scientific papers are a different kettle of fish, but I believe the anxiety and stress level is very similar.
Crossing fingers for you. Cannot wait for reading your story.
alexbeecroft said,
December 9, 2007 at 4:16 am
Woohoo! Fantastic
I’m really glad you submitted! As you say, even if the worst happens and it’s rejected, you’re still in no worse a position than you were before you tried. And there’s every reason to suppose it might be accepted. I don’t see why not!
I still haven’t read it yet, I’m afraid. I’m going to, but I’m overwhelmed with stuff to do at the moment. But even so I’m sure it will be better than mine. So that’s one piece of competition you don’t have to worry about! I’d better get out of the AoS lark, if you’re arriving in it
Well done! And fingers crossed for us both