Persistence

Persistence and writing comes in all forms, and I may be one of the most persistent out there.

My first published article was in a now defunct magazine called Martial Arts Training. I'm estimating here, but it was probably my 50th or so overall query, and my third to that magazine, that finally broke through.

For a while, I "languished" in the world of martial arts publications. I was frequently published in those magazines, but couldn't get out. I sent out query after query to no avail. The odd non-martial arts magazine I wrote for, well, I still wrote on the topic of martial arts for those.

My first non-martial arts writing piece was at another now-defunct magazine, Memphis Agenda. Through a friend of a friend of a friend, I met the editor. We hit it off fairly well and started chatting. I confided the problem I had and he asked if I'd done any profiles. I had -- of martial artists. He asked to see them. A few weeks later, I got my first assignment from him.

Those articles were a cross in styles -- think business writing meets People Magazine. And they gave me a diversity in my clips that had been lacking. Slowly but surely I started writing for more and more publications. Today, I can honestly boast that my byline has appeared at least a couple hundred times, oh I don't know, 60-70 different magazines.

But it was persistence that led to the flood gates opening...

Likewise with my fiction.

I cannot count the number of rejections I've received when it comes to fiction.

My first piece was published in 1990 in a small, Boston literary magazine. Then it was downhill after that...nothing but rejections for 8 or 9 years.

Back in June, I published "Information" in an online publication, Mysterical-e. That story had been rejected by 8 other publications before getting a solid revision from me, then finding its home. Today, I think about my short story, The Last Cowboy. It has been rejected by Futures Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock and Ellery Queen. Right now, it is at Shred of Evidence being considered. If they don't bite, I may do a little revision and then get it back out there.

There is another type of persistence, too, that has served me well over the years.

Example. I've wanted to write a short story -- mystery -- with a judo setting. I've tried many times and it always just kinda petered out. However, I'm proud to say that this weekend the rough draft of "Ippon" finished in a furious writing burst. It is just a rough draft and still needs some work, but after many years and numerous false starts, the story is going t happen.

The same for my book Death of a Bluesman. I've thought the Mississippi Delta with its rich culture and quirky characters was too much fodder to pass up for a book. I've had many false starts on a book there, but now, four years after first getting the idea, I'm 68,000 words in and closing in on the finish line.

Persistence. I knew I had good ideas, but something -- the time, my skill level, motivation, something -- just wasn't right.

Am I a good writer? I don't know. I think I'm a competent writer and I think there are tons of folks who are far better writers than me who are unpublished. And I think the big reason is they don't find success is a lack persistence.

And I've had success simply because I'm too stubborn to say "uncle" very easily.

Rejection is part of the game. And if you want to succeed, you have to recover.

To use a judo analagy, judo's founder, Jigoro Kano once said the key to success in judo is if you get thrown seven times, get up eight.

It is the same with writing. If you get rejected seven times, send the story or query out an eighth time. It works, I know from experience. I have queried Writer's Digest 10 times I can remember. Now, I'm going to get to write an article for them.

It is like that sketch of the sea gull. It is swallowing a frog -- the frog is completely in the gulls mouth except for its arms, which are locked in a death grip around the gulls throat. The wording says it all.

Never give up.