Post #3450873

2026-06-28 15:10 UTC

I am going to tell you a story. About 30 years ago, before law school, I was teaching creative writing at the college level and trying hard to get my stuff published. Younguns' probably don't know that in the old days, before the Internet torpedoed traditional publishing, it was difficult to get published. In fact, when I published my first book, a novel for young readers, I had a party, invited everyone, and papered two walls with rejection letters. One friend called it the wailing wall. 2.

Replies (1)

@Teri_Kanefield@mastodon.social 2026-06-28 15:13

Yes, in the old day (prehistoric times, the 1990s) I communicated with editors through the mail. I sent my manuscripts in boxes. Anyway, a friend's husband, noticing how hard I was trying to get published, said, "Isn't the fantasy that you write someone great, leave it an attic, and hope someone finds it one day." At the time I had no words. Did he not understand the need for external validation? I wanted to be a PUBLISHED writer. But his words stuck with me. 3/

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