1. Hi Elle! It’s good to have you here. Can you introduce yourself to us a bit?
I'm stuck with a job that is no way related to my college degree. I'm from the Visayas. I've lived here my entire life. I wanted to have a career related to my degree but I have to support my family. So now I'm a corporate slave. I'm a pop culture nerd.
2. So, when did you start writing?I started writing when I was in high school. I only started because I wanted to impress all my classmates. They hated me so I figured I should do something they can't do. Hahahaha. But that didn't mean I was the best writer.
3. Most of us started writing on our own terms: for ourselves, sometimes for friends and loved ones. But some eventually decide to show it to a bigger public i.e. publish it. Do you still remember the first time you submitted a work for publication (either approved or rejected)? What were your motivations?
My first rejection was from my high school publication. I was the only one from our class who was a staff member. So naturally I wanted to show off. I submitted this very-high-school-assignment-reaction-paper kind of writing and it didn't appear on the issue. Now I don't have anything to show off. I'm still glad they included my name as a staff member.
4. Describe to us your feelings the first time your work was rejected.
I was disappointed. Because I was expecting to be published and hoped my classmates will begin to like me.
5. Can you share that instance of rejection when you felt most disappointed and/or you felt that your submission did not deserve it? Further, have you ever felt that your work has been rejected for reasons other than aesthetic merits?
When I was in college, my professors encouraged me to submit to different publications. I thought my writing improved by then. So I did but I'm always getting rejected. I'm getting used to it by now. I might have memorized the lines "We enjoyed your pitch but unfortunately..." Every submission, I had high expectations to be accepted because I carefully tailored my pitch according to what they're looking for. So every time I open those emails, my heart would literally drop. Sometimes I thought of replying them, "Why didn't you like my pitch? Which part didn't you like?" But I didn't, of course. I guess other writers were simply better than me.
6. Now after receiving more than a few rejections, what are the things you realized/learned along the way that you did not used to know before your first rejection?
To be honest, I was kinda down with the entire rejection thing because I'm seeing my peers getting published at international magazines and their portfolio adding up. And here I am always getting rejection letters. Along the way I found out that great writers are rejected too. Before, I thought their success was automatic. But what made them be in the position they're in today was perseverance and diligence in continuing what they wanted to do. And also, being surrounded with the right people, like networking.