Tag Archives: Writing

I Got Rejected

And I’m okay with that

I submitted my first piece to a publication on Medium. Here’s what happened.

I’ve only published 41 articles so I wasn’t sure if it was the right time, or if it was good enough. It wasn’t my highest rating article. It was about an experience that has been pivotal in my career in leadership and management. I thought it was worth a read. You can find it here. (Not a promotion of the article, just makes sense to refer to it for context.)

As a friend of mine told me years ago:

If you never go, you’ll never know!

They Looked! 😲

… off it went. Into the ether. I wondered if my baby would be taken good care of and others would goo and gah over it like I hoped they would.

Well … no!

“We took a look and unfortunately it’s not a good fit…”

I submitted the piece last week and then, a couple of days later, the reply popped into my inbox.

It’s not nice being rejected. You put yourself out there, hoping for some recognition. I thought it would be helpful to the right audience. You keep hitting refresh on your email and there is no instant reply.

How dare they! Don’t they know who I am? 😉

I was a bit flat at first. It would have been nice to get something like, “Hey, we liked it. Here are some suggestions. Please resubmit.”

But not to be.

But I am now genuinely happy about it. Not the rejection, per se, but that fact that I submitted something.

I’ve started!

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step” — Lao Tzu

I re-read the piece and I now know the topic, quality and style is not for that publication. Not yet, anyway. That is good to know.

Where to from here …

Firstly, I (you) learn by doing!

Here are five things I’m working on each time I submit a piece, either to a publication, or simply here on Medium.

  1. Feel it — It isn’t pleasant but if I don’t feel something, was it even of value to me?
  2. Get feedback — I engaged a friend who looks at my writing and critiques it. We catch up for coffee tomorrow … 😬
  3. Then, write more — get back on the horse, bike, whatever, go again. Write something.
  4. Submit more — write and submit, taking note of any feedback from others. Most people want us to succeed.
  5. Enjoy the process — follow the three Rs: Research, (w)Rite, Relax — yep, totally made that up!

Thank you for reading! 😊

My purpose in writing on BillJamesWallace.com

  1. Personal Development — writing helps me articulate my own thinking. I find trying to create an “argument” for a perspective on paper, quite revealing and at times challenging and I can be more critical of my own thoughts. I frequently find myself thinking: “Why DO I think this?”
  2. Developing Others — to help people make better choices by helping them think critically and realise their potential. We are often blinded by beliefs and thinking given to us by others.

If this was helpful, or other articles have been, consider dropping a coin (USD1.00) by going here. It all adds up and you are making a worthwhile contribution to my coffee addiction! 😉

Just Use This App!

Time Saving! Game Changing!
closeup photo of blue pen tinted spiral notepad placed beside pen die cast car and coffee cup
Photo by David Bares on Pexels.com

I’ve had this app on my phone forever. It has got progressively better with each iteration so that now, it can pretty much replace my typing.

I’ve never used it in this way before, but it just dawned on me that it was possible and it relieves so much resistance to sitting down and typing!

When the need arises, the tool appears*.

I’ve recently started a YouTube channel and I need to write scripts and ideas for the channel. Not being much of a touch typist, this was a real barrier. So much so, that I am learning to touch type, and will continue to learn, even with this app.

I was going to type this article about a tool that saves you from typing. 🙄

The app is Apple Notes! Its dictation skills have improved out of sight that it can now record me for as long as I am talking, which for me, is a lot!

The Blank Page

When I stare at a blank page, I can get myself to just start typing but it is often a bunch of words that can’t seem to get coherently from my mind to the page. So it starts as a draft and ends as a (very short) draft.

So many drafts! 😞

This then, is the game changer for me. I can see my words on the page, and I can talk for as long as I like. I can go off on tangents as ideas hit me from all sides. I can explore analogies and arguments that I find worth considering. It can all come pouring out and I find I self-edit far less, if at all.

The blank page dilamma becomes a thing of the past.

That doesn’t mean everything I transcribe is worth publishing. But keeping the information and occasionally going back to review my ramblings can trigger an idea worth pursuing.

Happy(ier) Days

As my wife came home last night, I was finishing off some dictation. She asked me, “Who was that?”, thinking I was on a call. I find that as I dictate, I relax and it becomes conversational. I can let the thoughts roam free. Again, little to no self-editing. I capture everything and can then edit from a vast resource later.

The other benefit, especially for me, is that dictating assumes elocution. The text on the page/app clearly shows how well I am pronouncing my words lets me know if my elocution is poor. It helps me think more about the words and how to enunciate them which will help, I hope, in my presentations on YouTube.

Starting from Square Two

This lowers my barrier to entry. It gives me a head start.

Where typing was the barrier as I know I would have to type and correct, type and correct, this makes the process quicker, allowing me to be more creative and expansive in my thoughts.

If typing is your kryptonite and you haven’t tried dictation, I’d seriously consider giving it a go. Apple Notes has come along in leaps and bounds and comes with every iPhone (who knew? 🤷‍♂️). 😂

If you are after something different, there is also Just Press Record. I have this as well but with the new Apple Notes functions, I’m not sure I will use it as much. I’ll have to run a comparison.

What about you?

Do you use Apple Notes or Just Press Record to dictate your articles?

  • What problems does it solve for you?
  • Is there another, better app, I need to know about?

Let me know!

Thank you for reading!

*A poor effort at adapting the better saying:

When the student is ready, the master appears!