Be Yourself...

An original digital illustration, Wedgewood Winter Sky, by G. Lynn Brown…©2024

Hey, Everyone! Some may have noticed the absence of stories and poems this week. Of course, tomorrow is part 3 of Mina Beckett's A Winterberry Christmas, but aside from that, this week was left “blank” for a reason. Next week begins all the awesome holiday stories/poems, and the schedule is full for the next several weeks. So I thought I'd use this week for updates, the award nominations I made earlier in the week, and just saying hi! 👋🏼…I wasn't sure what to say the last couple days, though… then today I read an article on another blog about “dream journals” - submitting to them and being accepted in them. Some things were written that made me take pause. Some things that are spoken often in the writing community, especially the more proper, literary edge of it. And that's the idea that in order to be accepted in a journal, we must become the journal. Now, I understand that thinking to a point. For instance, here at Micromance you don't stand much of a chance of being accepted if you submit a sci-fi story without so much as a kiss in it. But aside from sticking to the theme, I will never tell a writer how to write, or that they should emulate some other “successful” author. Everyone has a style - a voice - and that should have no bearing on whether a piece os accepted or not. And no one should criticize another's voice. When a journal or lit mag states they are open to all styles, all themes, all genres, then suggests you read their previous issues to get a feel of …well their feel… to see if your work is a fit, that's a red flag to me. In other words, that publication is telling you that if you don't share their vibe, if you don't match their personality, you don't have a chance. Truth is, they aren't really open to any style, any genre… they're open to what they like, period. Some of these lit mags are “dream journals” - favorites of a writer or journals a writer thinks will “make them” if published in it - and writers will try to write the kind of work in the kind of way that mag prefers. Often, they still receive rejection after rejection. And they may become discouraged, thinking it's them, that they can't be successful because they can't get published in “X Press”… thing is, “X Press” has extremely subjective standards, accepting work on taste not merit…. And the writer is now forcing their work, writing in a voice that's not theirs, trying to please someone else who may not even be certain what they're looking for to begin with. Thing is, these writers are awesome writers in their own right. And editors should all accept pieces based on 2 things - quality of writing and does it fit the theme (if there is a theme - if they say no theme, any subject, then just judge on quality of work). That's how I run Micromance… there have been pieces I've published, especially in poetry, that weren't my thing or I honestly didn't understand. But they were well-written, beautifully done, and meant something to the writer. And it has been some of these pieces that I may not have personally liked that have been extremely well-received by the readers. And there have been pieces I have absolutely loved that I've had to pass on because they don't fit the theme (romance/love stories)…. usually this is because the stories are about heartbreak and too dark, too sad… but that's the criteria I follow. I will never tell a writer to become another writer. And, even if I suggest any edits, I do my best to keep the writer's voice in mind and suggest revisions that fit that voice, that style. The whole point of this newsletter is to tell all the writers out there, you're awesome! And don't ever change to fit in, to be accepted. Just as in life, if someone can't accept you for who you are, they don't deserve you. Yes, rejections will come from dream journals and otherwise, but stay true to yourself and to your writing, just keep submitting and everything will be awesome!!

Think Happy Thoughts,

Gail Lynn, EIC 🥰