Summer Highs, Writing Lows

June is the month of my rejection. Three rejections to be exact, with several more submissions drifting out in the abyss that is the world of publishing. It's common, since judging someone's writing and deciding if you are willing to take a risk is a pretty subjective experience. Not all of these were a rejection of the book, at least. One was a short story entered into a literary magazine contest, another a submission to a writing conference (no week-long writing escape for me this year!) and one was the first fifty pages of the novel, drenched in my blood-sweat-tears. Icing on the party cake was the shut-down of one of the regular magazines I wrote a column for.

No, this is not a pity party. This is more like a reckoning with my writing life. Am I strong enough to keep putting myself out there? Should I shelve the book and start a new one? Concentrate on magazines or newspapers? Get a (eek!) real job?

Of course this all happens a couple weeks after the boys' preschools have us send in what summer hours they will attend, if any. I kept them in for the same three half days a week, thinking it would be good to keep them in a routine and that I had a right to some sanity and writing time. Now dollar signs are flashing in my head.

It will be interesting to see where I find myself at summer's end...