I Have Permission to Write, But Do I Need Permission to Publish?

 

Photo Credit: Markus Winkler via Pexels

So there I was, writing yet another poem to go into the book of memorial poems I have been working on for several months, when a thought struck me: What if the family of the person I was writing about got angry at me for even writing this poem?

 

For context, this book of poems is a collection of verse written in memory of people I have known, as well as people I didn’t know. But saying they were people that I didn’t know doesn’t necessarily mean they were complete strangers. Some of those people I didn’t know who I have written memorial poems about include family and friends I knew on social media, but not in real life. I didn’t exactly know them for years, though there are some I knew for years via the internet.

 

Then there are the people I didn’t know personally, but knew about because of their celebrity – such as Princess Diana, John F. Kennedy, Jr., and Ozzy Osbourne. I wrote poems in memory of them sometime after they passed away.

 

But now I’m wondering: Do I need permission to include these poems in my book? What if the family gets angry at me for writing these poems?

 

I had that thought after writing a memorial poem about a cousin whose life ended this summer, and it bothered me that I might experience negativity from her family when that poem is published in the book. It bothered me so much that I reached out to another cousin and asked her if it would be okay to include this poem about our cousin in this book. I also said, “I don't want it to look like I am trying to be a part of something that I am not a part of and I don't want people to get mad at me for writing something about a person I did not know, even if it is written with loving thoughts and kind words.” My cousin replied that she thinks this late cousin’s sister would appreciate the gesture. Just to be on the safe side, I reached out to this sister to start a conversation about it.

 

With family, it might be easy to resolve that problem, because then I could reach out to them about it. With friends, I have done the same. But with celebrities? I am not so sure.

 

Would I need permission to get the poems I wrote in memory of these celebrities published? Their deaths moved me and I felt compelled to write about them. So I wrote poems in their memory – about the lives they lived and the ways they have touched others. They are all positive poems. I don’t say bad things about them. But now I wonder if even getting these poems published would be a problem.    

 

I suppose that, as in every case when it comes to an author being conflicted about something in a book, it would be better to just leave that decision with the publisher. So, that is what I will do, in this case.

A Tale of Two Types of Feedback

 

Photo Credit: Mikhail Nilov via Pexels

 

Ah, feedback. That Golden Fleece so many writers wish a rejecting editor would give to them, just so they know how to improve their work!

 

I am grateful to the editors who DO take the time to provide feedback when rejecting a piece, because those nuggets of wisdom are what will help me to improve the work for the next editor I submit it to, but not all editors who reject our work will provide that feedback. Alas! But it’s understandable, given that editors receive So Many submissions (I know of one editor who received 700 submissions for an anthology call), and nothing will bring on serious writer’s cramp like ALL of that typing involved in providing feedback to Every Single submission being rejected.

 

But when we do receive feedback from an editor, whether they are rejecting our work or giving us another chance, that is when the writer will sit up and hang on every word they read.

 

Yes, there are many writers out there who are already soliciting feedback – from both alpha and beta readers – but the type of feedback we are most hungry for is the kind we receive from an editor who is in charge of accepting or rejecting our work. THAT is the kind of feedback we want, the kind of feedback we hope for, because if there is something in our work that makes the editor say “not for us,” then we want to know what it is! We want to know what that THING in our work is that has editors rejecting our work, because we want to fix it! If that is the thing keeping our work from getting published, then we want to fix it so that we have a better chance of our work being accepted somewhere else.

 

For the longest time, I had a novel rejected by one publisher and agent after another. I finally tossed the thing to my beta readers and asked them if they could figure out what was wrong with it. My beta readers told me what was wrong with my manuscript – they literally tore into that thing! – and after I revised the manuscript based on their feedback, it was accepted by the next publisher I submitted it to.

 

This has also happened with poems and short stories I have submitted. One story was rejected many times, but after I received feedback on certain things that were wrong with the story, I fixed those problem spots, and it was accepted by the next editor I submitted it to.

 

However, recently, I received two different forms of feedback from editors that really made me do a double take.

 

In one case, the editor rejecting my poetry showed me exactly how to fix those poems so they would meet the standards of what is acceptable in literary journals. Unfortunately, this made me realize that my poetry is not right for that journal, because I don’t write those kinds of poems. My horror poetry is not written in the style of literary horror. So, I thanked the editor and removed this publication from my list of places to submit work to.

 

In another case, an editor providing feedback was not doing so while also rejecting my submission. This editor pointed out some things in my story which were taboo and therefore unacceptable. This editor said, “If you change those things, as well as how they affect the character, I’ll give your story another look.” This particular feedback blew me away, because the editor saw things that I hadn’t. Of course I am grateful to this editor, but I had to wonder if this story was rejected by other places because of that very reason. I never received that kind of feedback from one publication that rejected it; their gripe was mostly about the character arc in the story. But I could see how that taboo subject would have bothered them, as well as other editors who had rejected this story. None of them told me what this editor did. If they had even seen those things, it would have been nice to know about it! But I’m grateful THIS editor told me, and that THIS editor is giving me a second chance.

 

And that’s another thing we writers hope for: A second chance. Or even a third or fourth chance. (I’m looking at you, Carnage House. You’ll be hearing from me again!)

 

In my role as acquisitions editor at Twisted Dreams Press, I do give authors that second chance – as well as others, if needed. I’ll read a manuscript and, if there’s something that I feel could be fixed to improve the story, I will let the author know. For example, with one manuscript, the story had characters dying and the friends of these characters did not react at all. There was no emotion, no tears, nothing. They just continued on their way. After I finished reading the manuscript, I asked the author to revise those areas because, hello, their friend was just murdered, and they’re not going to react at all? With another manuscript, I asked the author to change a nurse’s reaction to a patient’s story of ALL of the horrors she has been through, because the nurse’s reaction was not realistic.

 

So, yes, the feedback we receive from an editor can be amazingly helpful. Our alpha and beta readers may provide helpful feedback on our work, but it’s the feedback from editors that gives our work a better chance of being accepted, because those editors are the people more attuned to what kind of work is right for publication, as well as what aligns with the publication they are in charge of receiving submissions for.

If You Have the Time to Write, Use That Time to Write

 

Photo Credit: Photo by Laker at Pexels

 

Recently, I was sitting on the couch reading on my phone, when I was notified of a new message in Facebook Messenger. Because it was after 1AM, I almost didn’t respond – until I saw the words, “I thought that we were friends.” I frowned. What the heck was going on? So I opened the message and read it, Apparently, one of my friends (now a former friend) had seen a comment I made on Facebook and took it personally. This person thought I was talking about her when I was not. Unfortunately, she ended our friendship over this and as much as her words hurt me and as much as losing this friendship made me sad, I was also reminded of how people often spend their free time scrolling on their phone and allowing what they read to influence them in some way. That is what happened with this person. Instead of asking me who I was talking about, she automatically assumed it was her and went after me. I was talking about someone else and she thought I was lying when I told her this. She was pretty much convinced by the unverified assumption that I was talking about her. People like to believe the lies they tell themselves.

 

This experience also made me think about how I have often done the same thing. I’d get upset over reading comments on social media and allow that to pretty much just ruin my day. Then I’d have to stop to remind myself that I am allowing someone else to have control over how I feel. I’m allowing someone else to just ruin my whole day and make me feel bad. In such situations, I had to realize that I was using up free time I had doing something that was a waste of my time and how I could have been spending that time doing something better. Something more productive, like writing.

 

We all have the same 24 hours in our day, and for most of us, we get to decide how to use that 24 hours. Of course, some of it must be used for sleeping, eating, and managing our health, but on many occasions, we will have free time to do whatever we want to do.

 

So, why not use that time to write?

 

Instead of doomscrolling on our phone.

 

Instead of binging on chips while watching TV.

 

Instead of gossiping about or hating on other people.

 

Use that time to write instead.

 

One common complaint that I see from people who say “I wish I could write” is that they never have the time to write. But they do, they just don’t see it.

 

For these people, time to write means hours of uninterrupted time or being able to comfortably write at the desk. But the real writers who find the time to write, and make the time to write, are the ones who are writing on their lunch break, writing right before they go to bed (or first thing in the morning) or writing while doing other things.

 

The next time you have some free time, use it to write. Even if it is the only time you have to write, it’s still one way for you to get the writing done. So get that writing done the next time you have the time, instead of getting all upset over something you read on Facebook.