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Still thinking about the white man editor in 2016 who told me that my story about two queer brown men who support and love each other in the face of mental health challenges was not breaking enough new ground for his little magazine.
The same editor also, months earlier, wrote this rejection, which should have maybe clued me in to something. LOL. But I was young and FOOLISH.
Anyway, I applied to Iowa with both of these stories and got in, and packed up my gay things and went to find someone who actually appreciated them.
But for a long time I didn't write any stories and didn't believe in myself because I ceded all of my sense of value and self-worth to people who were...not the best readers of my work, and like, you shouldn't do that.
Like yes, sometimes when people can't see the value in what you're doing, it's helpful to rethink your approach.
But sometimes when people can't see the value in what you're doing, it just means that they are not your audience and it is okay to disregard them.
But sometimes when people can't see the value in what you're doing, it just means that they are not your audience and it is okay to disregard them.
I also come back to these two notes when I find myself writing feedback to writers in my capacity as an editor. As a reminder to always center the intentions of the writer and the intentions of the piece over what I want to see it do/become.
Of course, as an editor, I have a clear vision for the piece I'm working on. I wouldn't work on it otherwise. But I hope that my vision for a piece is always subordinate to the intentions and desires of the author and the piece itself.
The most magical moment of editing is when you help an author see inside of the piece in a way that is additive. And productive. The best edits I've received as a writer have always been like that. When it feels like the editor has deeply comprehended the piece.
I do think it's something you learn how to do. I mean, we've all been that jerk at first, blasting apart a story and putting it back together in a "better" way because we think we know better than the author. But hopefully...we age out of it while doing as little harm as possible
Certainly, the first few months of MFA program, I did a lot of maiming that I now regret. I was also...maimed quite a lot, lol.
Honestly, I like editing more than writing. I'd like to be an editor. I think that's probably what I'm good at.
