Welcome to my brand new newsletter focused on creativity & inspiration!
I’ve been thinking a lot about how to spark and sustain creativity, both in writing and in visual art, and I hope to write on these topics throughout 2025.
This first issue focuses on writing and is a follow-up to a presentation I gave on February 19 at a Boise library, Publishing Your Work: How to Get Started. There we discussed the basics of publishing, and at https://christinogle.com/the-art-of-dread/ you can read more, but here I want to get down some thoughts about a more specific side of the publishing journey: how publishing can affect your creativity, inspiration, focus, and motivation to start and finish projects. I’d also like to link to a few publishing-related resources at the end, and let you know about my own latest publishing news!
Some Potential Positive Factors
I began publishing my work in 2016 after years of vaguely wishing to do more creative work. The publication experience motivated me to write more and finish more of what I started. It also introduced me to scores of new writers and helped me situate my own work within a literary tradition. Maybe it will do the same for you!
Constraints such as Genre, Deadline, and Theme
The blank page can intimidate some writers, as we all know. If you can write anything, where do you begin? How will you keep yourself on track to finish, and how will you ever get the piece before the right audience?
When you are writing with an eye toward publication, it’s different. You’re not writing anything; you’re writing something in particular. If you’ve already written something and are revising it for publication, that also means you have a particular goal in mind, which can help motivate you to complete the work. .
Genre is one constraint. If you’re writing for publication, or revising for publication, you are writing in a certain form and aiming to meet the expectations for a certain genre. Maybe this is a very well-defined genre such as a romance novel or ghost story, or maybe it is more open-ended, such as creative nonfiction or experimental horror, but either way, genre can give a sense of direction and at least rule out some possibilities. Writers differ, but many writers find it easier to begin and finish pieces when they have these kinds of constraints.
Deadlines motivate many writers, myself included. Some publication opportunities are open year-round, but many others give periodical deadlines. If I know I have until December 1 to complete a story for a magazine or miss the chance of submitting until next year, I will be more motivated to complete the story than if it is due any time. Real deadlines work differently than self-imposed deadlines, for me.
Theme, when given, can provide even more guidance, and it is often combined with a firm one-time deadline. For example, a submission call for an anthology about coming-of-age stories set in the Pacific Northwest comes out, with a deadline of December 1, with word-count limits and perhaps genre limits as well. If I want, I have that amount of time and no more. I am competing with other writers who have also had a limited time, rather than writers who might have been been perfecting their stories for years. The one-time deadline, theme, and sense of a leveled playing field often make me even more focused. The pressure to write something different than others might also help with creativity. Several of my favorite stories were written for themed calls. They didn’t always find publication in the anthologies they were written for, but as long as I kept true to my own style and aims in them, I knew I would be able to submit them elsewhere.
An Actual Audience, a Writing Community, and a Long TBR List
When I wrote with no thought of publication, sometimes I thought of “the reader” in an abstract sense: a teacher who would judge whether the piece was acceptable or not, a family member who might be proud to see I’d written something, or a completely faceless and blank “average person” who does not and never did exist.
Changing the conception of “the reader” to “the __ reader” was very helpful to me. The Nightmare Magazine or Strange Horizons reader, or the reader who might pick up an anthology of dark science fiction, or the editors who collect works for these publications—all of these sorts of readers have more particular interests, tastes, and prior reading experiences than a generic reader has, and to me at least, it has been helpful to imagine what they will make of a story. I don’t mean that I am always trying to give them what they are expecting. I might be trying to challenge or surprise them, but in either case, having a sense of who they are helps define the story's relationship to them.
Writing for publication means meeting more of these people, these readers, whether on social media, through email communications, or at writing workshops, readings, book signings, conventions, etc. Mingling with editors and other writers to discuss writing and publication has been one of the most satisfying part of the writing and publication experience, for me.
In speaking with other readers and writers, and in reading any magazines and journals you’re going to submit to, you always find further recommendations for books, stories, articles, etc. Building this list of pieces, or a “TBR” list, has also been a rewarding aspect of writing for publication.
Talking with people who consume and produce work similar to yours, reading work that is similar to yours, and reading a lot of work outside your genre too—these are some of the pleasures of being a writer, and I think these benefits can be amplified when you begin seeking publication. Having a sense of the community, and then participating in that community by helping newer writers, can help keep you motivated to continue the journey.
Validation
It feels wonderful to receive a positive and personalized rejection, full or partial manuscript request, acceptance, contributor copy of a book with a piece of yours in it, good review, stranger’s compliment about your published work, advance copy of your own book, an award nod, a nice blurb from a writer you admire, etc. Brief and difficult to find as they sometimes are, all of these moments of validation help motivate you to keep going and give you a sense of belonging in the community.
Longer-Term Goals
Experience with publishing can give you a clearer sense of what the options are for further writing, or at least it has been that way for me. When I started, I felt very unsure of who I wanted to read my work, what I wanted to write, or whether there was even a place for my voice in the market. Publishing helped me to clarify all of this, which has helped me feel more motivated to continue starting and finishing new works.
Some Potential Negatives
Rejections, bad reviews, acceptances that don’t lead to publication because the market goes out of business, books going out of print, books that do not sell well enough, writers or editors dropping the ball on something important (like a glaring error on page 1 of your story), publishers who give you a book cover you dislike, predatory people reaching out in your DMs, etc.: There are lots of things that can and do go wrong in publishing, and no matter where you are in your journey, you will always find things to be dissatisfied with. If you start out getting rejection after rejection, your first acceptance will feel like a great achievement, but then after you have had many acceptances, there will probably be some other validation just out of reach. This is typical!
It’s also likely that reader reactions to your work could affect your motivation. One negative review tends to outweigh a number of positive ones in the writer’s mind. If a review simply expresses dislike, that is one thing, but reviews will sometimes impugn a writer’s character or assign bad motives to the writer (and upon reflection, you could even find that these criticisms are accurate, which could lead to feelings of shame). Sometimes there are disagreements between writing friends as well, and family members have been known to take issue with writers’ works for various reasons. Becoming involved in publishing means there is some potential for feeling slighted, feeling hurt, or having regret.
There are positives to the negatives, too. A terrible review can attract readers who are curious or who feel like they will disagree with the reviewer, for example. Being called out on an element of a story can lead to shame, but it can also motivate you to do the work to address your biases, gaps in craft, or missing knowledge.
It might be helpful to consider how sensitive you are to rejection and criticism and how available you need to make yourself. Some writers refuse to read any reviews, for example, and there are many ways to approach social media and interactions with readers so as to maximize or minimize your chances of having difficult encounters. Some writers court controversy, as you have probably seen, and others seem quite cloistered.
If you imagine that the negative sides of publishing might be too much for you, then delaying publication for now might be best. You can always participate in the writing community first and then start your publication journey when you feel surer of the landscape and more willing to take the risks!
What to Expect if You Are a Beginner
Lots of rejections, of course! If you are just starting out, keeping your hopes high but your expectations low might assist you in dealing with some of the negatives of publishing. You should also expect to learn a lot quickly (about publishing, literature, the writing process, yourself), especially if you involve yourself with the writing community and do research and reading to support your publication searches. Take notes, and if you can, share what you learn with others.
Some Resources to Explore
Never Say You Can’t Survive: How to Get Through Hard Times by Making up Stories by Charlie Jane Anders https://www.charliejaneanders.com/never-say-you-cant-survive
Submission Grinder https://thegrinder.diabolicalplots.com
Shunn Format https://www.shunn.net/format/story/ (though it’s common now to omit phone & address.)
Manuscript Wish List https://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/
Query Tracker: https://querytracker.net/
Writer Beware: https://writerbeware.blog/
Writing Excuses podcast: https://writingexcuses.com/
Writing the Other: https://writingtheother.com/
Thank you for reading my first newsletter!!
Latest News:
I'll be involved in the Storyfort events and attending Treefort. More info to come, but if you're interested in seeing me, save the date of March 26 at 3:00. https://treefortmusicfest.com/fort/storyfort/
The anthology Mother Knows Best, including my story "New Again," was nominated in the Bram Stoker Awards. Congratulations to editor Lindy Ryan and publisher Black Spot Books! https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mother-knows-best-lindy-ryan/1144223759
