I Almost Self-Rejected Myself Out of a Publishing Opportunity

Last month, you may have noticed my blog post – Yes, Writers Need to Hear the Hard Truths. But Warnings Can Go Too Far. – go up on Jane Friedman’s website. I was absolutely thrilled by this. I’m a long-time fan of Jane’s blog and book, The Business of Being a Writer. I also regularly attend her courses at The Business Clinic. But I never in a million years thought my blog posts were good enough to be featured on her website. So much so that I never considered submitting. I didn’t even know it was a possibility. Then, my good friend Jessica Conoley was featured, and I was amazed by her. 

What an accomplishment! What a dream!

She continued to have her blog posts featured on Jane Friedman’s website over a course of weeks. Each one was thoughtful and interesting and so damn inspiring. I realized then that Jessica had inspired me. (And you can read a list of her amazing blogs posts on Jane Friedman’s website by clicking here.) 

After Jessica’s posts went live, I continued writing blog posts for my own website, but I kept thinking about Jane Friedman’s blog. What sort of posts do I have that would be beneficial there? Could I write one? Could I try?

I told myself that when I came up with a worthy idea, I’d put myself out there and submit. Then, BAM. An idea came. 

I wrote it, but I still wasn’t sure. How could I be? I’d never written a blog post to be submitted elsewhere before. Once I decided I wanted to try that, I reached out to Jessica for tips. 

By the time Jessica got back to me (less than a day later), I was already doubting myself. I told her as much, and she pushed me to send it. I clicked SEND a few minutes later. Soon after, I heard back. Jane was interested in featuring my blog post on her website. 

I was amazed. 

If it wasn’t for my friend’s success, encouragement, and tips, I would’ve simply decided I wasn’t worthy of trying. 

It’s scary to put yourself out there, especially when it’s something new, but do it! 

You never know what will happen. 

Who knows? The next time you click SEND, an acceptance letter could be on the way. 

In fact, right after I was accepted to Jane Friedman’s website, I gained the courage to submit my first short story somewhere pretty special. We’ll see how it turns out! Either way, I’m pretty proud that I already clicked SEND again.

~SAT