K. Marvin Bruce

After a story is rejected from a literary magazine—a rather frequent occurrence—I always revise it.  For stories rejected half a dozen or more times—a rather frequent occurrence—the stories can shift substantially.   In a version of the old saw that “this is the axe used by George Washington to chop down the cherry tree; it has had five new handles and three new heads,” I wonder if the story is the same after such revision.  I write in the flush of inspiration.  The story comes to me roughly complete. The literati say “no,” and I assume the fault must be my own.  I knuckle down and start trying to revise to their liking.  The action changes.  The ending changes.  The characters change.  Is it the same story? Is the fault that my addled brain seems to have trouble telling a story someone wants to read?  Is it the curse of an internet that makes writers of anyone with fingers to type?  I started writing fiction four decad...

As a self-taught writer, I frequently second-guess myself.  (Funny phrase, second-guess.)  I don’t know what’s normal, so when I receive a rejection note, I suppose the problem must be with me, not with the place I’m seeking to publish. I have a friend who is an editor.  He tells me that if a work has promise, he’ll advise the author to revise and resubmit.  This shows that there’s something worth pursuing, and it is only if it fails to impress the critics two times around that it is passed altogether. In the fiction publishing world, I’ve received a revise and resubmit suggestion only twice (both from Jersey Devil Press ).  The first time the editor really like what I was doing and worked with me to get it into the form he wanted.  The second time they turned down the revised piece and haven’t published me since. It is my usual practice, after a piece is rejected, to rewrite.  As my writing partner Elizabeth says, in a byte of inter...