When it comes to art, showing it off can be scary. The fear of rejection is something that every artist faces throughout their career. This is especially true with writers, who may pour weeks, months, even years of their life into a piece of work. Creative writing professors Dr. Hoffman and Dr. Sommers understand that and are hosting a submission party for all interested.
The goal of the submission party is to give writers at Winthrop a chance to get together with fellow writers and submit their work to literary magazines together. Hoffman and Sommers, who are both published authors and have been in several literary magazines, will be in attendance to help encourage the students in attendance and also answer any questions about the process.
According to Téa Franco, a creative writing department intern and mass communication major, part of the purpose for the entire event is to take “some of the intimidation out of the process. Franco believes lots of students have “wonderful things they have written either in their classes or on their own, but don’t know what the next steps are or, if they do know, are intimidated by them.” She encourages “everyone who has a story they want to share with the world to come. It might seem like a long shot to get your work accepted for publication but myself and several other of my peers have been published with the help and guidance of our professors, as well as by being involved in this community of writers.” Franco believes that this event is not just about the submissions, but also about connecting with other writers and giving students the “drive to get your work submitted with the help of our professors.”
One student who knows how intimidating it can be to submit a piece of work is Joaquin Macias. Macias, an English major, stated that to him, “submitting is a lot like posing nude, because you’ve spent weeks, months, sometimes even years crafting this piece of art and it becomes a part of you, so when you submit, especially the first few times you do, feeling that you’re rending yourself to these strangers can be intimidating. It’s hard enough to just show your art to people sometimes and in the submission process, you’re asking to be judged and often you’ll get rejected. I’ve only been trying to get published for a year now and I’m near 40 rejections to only two acceptances, which is normal even for the best writers because editors aren’t just looking at quality, but at space, theme, cohesion, personal taste, etc. So knowing that when sending off a piece of art, you’re likely going to be told no, it’s hard. It’s hard to be vulnerable to people who don’t care about your feelings, so being in an environment where you’re with a group of people who’re either as inexperienced in this posing for the editors as you or more experienced, then it feels more right. Writing is a solitary activity, so submission is often a solitary activity. Having a community makes it easier.”
The Submission Party will be held in Bancroft 264 on Wednesday, Oct. 2 from 5 p.m.until 6 p.m.
Graphic: Elizabeth Talbert/ The Johnsonian
