In the shower this
morning I was thinking that I should put my list of submissions into some kind
of order, and was wondering whether to sort them by date or alphabetically. Then while I was
rinsing my hair, my mind wandered onto the definition of the word ‘submission’.
As writers we submit
our manuscripts to agents and publishers and competitions, sending out work we
have laboured over, sworn over, sweated blood over, to be judged by strangers. The word 'submission', like so many in the
English language, has more than one meaning, some with unfortunate connotations.
I look it up in the
dictionary: "Submission – the act of referring a document for consideration."
Yes, that’s what we do, I can live with that definition, thank you.
But of course my eye is drawn further down the page; "Submission – the act of being subject to another."
That is quite a different matter and I don't like that meaning at all, but when we get a rejection, that’s how it feels - someone else has the upper hand in our lives - not pleasant at all.
Yes, that’s what we do, I can live with that definition, thank you.
But of course my eye is drawn further down the page; "Submission – the act of being subject to another."
That is quite a different matter and I don't like that meaning at all, but when we get a rejection, that’s how it feels - someone else has the upper hand in our lives - not pleasant at all.
So, rather like probing a sore tooth, I go to the Thesaurus.:"To
submit – to acquiesce, to capitulate, to throw in the sponge, to endure." It gets worse and worse and I am getting more depressed by the minute.
But hang on – this is
better: "To submit – to advance, to assert, to propose." Okay - that's what I did two months ago, and although I am still waiting for an answer (with fading hopes) I shall remain positive. If that agent doesn't want my novel I shall remain assertive and carry on submitting it, advancing it, proposing it - and the next agent will love it - or the next ,,,
