I’ve been thinking quite a lot lately about this term: to submit. My oldest association with the word comes from religious contexts: submit to the will of your parents, submit to the Will of God.
I have to say that I was an obedient child – my parents were very orderly people and pretty “strict” – my brothers and I thought. My younger brothers sometimes tried to get away with various kinds of “mischief” – really mild misbehavior – by today’s standards. But, regardless of what I thought of the “rules” (they seemed a “bit much” when compared with the freedom other kids were allowed), I did my best to comply with them.
I also did my best to comply with what I was taught to be God’s Word: Speak the truth. Don’t steal or covet others’ belongings. Show compassion for others, especially those weaker than me…
Nevertheless, I’ve never been at ease with the verb: to submit, nor its noun: submission. I think I’ve always had a strong sense of myself as a person, and an inner compass that seems to be guiding me as I move about in this life. I don’t remember when I became aware of my tendency to question or examine what I am told to believe, to say, or to do. At some point, I settled on following certain rules/certain expectations, but at the same time allowing myself to question whether, in fact, they were good rules for me to follow.
For example, I didn’t like the distinctions between what girls could do and what boys could do. I had three brothers – I often questioned why I shouldn’t/couldn’t do what they could do. A boy once made me a present of some boots – my parents made me give them back – “A young lady doesn’t accept gifts of clothes from boys” – what difference did it make? I still don’t know. I remember, as a teenager, telling my parents that I believed men and women should try living together before they married so they could learn whether they really liked being together all the time. Seemed logical to me. My parents were not happy with the idea.
I have an uneasy relationship with the concept of “submission”. And so, deciding to “submit” my written creations for publication is problematic for me.
Submission is the term used for sending a manuscript to Editors and Publishers to see if they will choose to accept it and help to get it published. Over the past three years, I’ve been submitting some of my manuscripts for publication. It is, for me, a grueling process.
First, there is the fact that each publishing house seems to have its individual requirements for submissions. I do not dare create a packet and think I can send it out to all Editors or Publishers. I tailor each set of Submission documents for the specific recipient. It is time consuming – I’d rather be working on my next writing project.
Then, there is that nervous feeling in my gut that threatens to derail every submission – after I take the time to prepare a manuscript for submission, at the last minute, just before I hit the “Submit” space on the Submissions instruction page, I hesitate. Why? Whoever receives it, may see fit to trash it – just on the basis of the Cover letter or Synopsis – I realize they may not ever read more than a single paragraph of my writing – if that!
Many publishing houses let the hopeful Author know right up front: you will only get a response from us if an editor is interested in the work. They explain that they have so many submissions to review that they cannot take the time to respond to every author that submits. That fact, in itself, is pretty discouraging!
I have received feedback from two publishers – I appreciate them for that!
The publishers to whom I have been submitting my work are mainly Indy Publishers that don’t require me to submit my work first to an Editor. They don’t require that an Editor put a stamp of approval on a manuscript before they will accept a “submission”. I appreciate that as well.
But realistically, I can imagine many of them receive hundreds, thousands – who knows how many gazillion “submissions”. Makes me wonder why I want to “run the gauntlet” to have my writing published. I truly don’t know!
I do know why I write – it has always helped me process my thoughts and actions. Submitting for publication is another matter entirely.
And yet, I have”submitted” enough to find a publisher for LESSONS FROM STARFISH. It will be published in 2022. I have just begun submitting my next manuscript to publishers. Why? I couldn’t say – but if I don’t find a publisher who wants to publish it – I know I will publish it myself.