Write City published my story today and I’m beyond thrilled because although it took me two tries, it was accepted. This is an excerpt from the first email I received: 

“We appreciate you letting us take a look at this story for possible publication in The Write City Magazine.  Usually we’ve got a straight up YES or a straight-up NO, but in the case of your story, it’s mixed.  We’d be open to seeing a revised version that addresses some of the editors’ concerns as follows: 

1. One editor was not clear about the reference to “moon-shaped face” and would like you to be more specific about the child’s disability
2. Another wanted a few more, deeper descriptions
3. Perhaps the differences between the husbands could either be introduced earlier on, delved into more, or downplayed altogether, because the introduction of the husband’s different reactions felt a bit tacked on to the ending
4. Something about the ending needs changed.  It didn’t hit us with the punch that the rest of the story did.  Perhaps you could develop it a bit more, reach some additional conclusions as to why this encounter was important compared to others the protagonist experienced and why it lingered so vividly. 

Like I said, if you want to consider our feedback, and resubmit, we’d love to take another look…”

I love a challenge so I revised, edited it another five times and showed it to my oldest daughter, Alia, who also stands in as my editor.  This is the first time I will be paid for something I wrote. I am so grateful! If you’d like to read the story, you can find the link under “Publications” in this website. 

There’s an important lesson here. I refuse to give up as I learn to do new things. I imagine it’s like learning how to juggle. Hard!

https://chicagowrites.org/write_city_magazine/766

writercommunity  memoir  disabilities parenting