Rejection and Rejoicing: Letty Butler on Submission Success

Sheffield writer, Letty Butler, has been enjoying enormous success getting her writing out there, so ahead of Summer of Submission, we decided to pick her brain about her process. Hopefully, it will inspire some of you to get submitting this August! In this first blog post, we focus on her short story success; in the next, we’ll find out how she moved into novel writing and found an agent.

First of all, what genres do you write? 

I’m a bit of a dabbler. I’ve just finished my first novel which has now gone out to pitch, but I published a non-fiction book in January. On a day-to-day basis, I write mostly flash fiction and short stories, but I am also a screenwriter. The only genre I don’t write is poetry, because to me, it’s unfathomable wizardry. I like reading it but lack the confidence or know-how to write it. 

You’ve been successful  in winning competitions and publishing your short fiction recently. Aside from being a great writer, what’s the secret of your success?

Well, thank you for the compliment! I think resilience and sheer bloody-mindedness are the main factors, to be honest. Making friends with rejection is crucial (see below!). I also find that having a core team of fellow writers to offer practical/technical feedback, as well as morale-boosting emotional support, is very important.

Do you have a submissions process and tips for submitting? 

At the beginning, I submitted everywhere, but that got a bit expensive and exhausting. And, if I’m honest, demoralising. I now prioritise UK/RoI competitions, because I haven’t had much luck internationally, and overseas competitions are often more expensive to enter anyway. Now, every month, I dedicate a couple of days to researching the publications or competition platforms to see what sort of work they attract. The websites usually have previous winning stories, so I recommend having a read of those. There’s no point in sending work to a sci-fi mag if your genre is historical romance!

As I’m getting a few more accolades under my belt, I’ve stopped entering some of the smaller competitions, because I think it’s good practice to leave space for less experienced writers to cut their competition teeth. 

I do have a submission system of sorts, but I’m afraid it’s not a spreadsheet: it’s a massive colour-coded list. I love the ritual of opening my latest copy of Mslexia Magazine and circling all the forthcoming opportunities, including competitions, publications or residencies. I then transfer them to my massive list and work my way through them whenever I need a break from the creative side of things. It’s useful to remember what you submitted to what/who. If you don’t subscribe to Mslexia, Neon has a great list of comps online, as does Christopher Fielden’s website. 

I also keep copies of everything: writing biogs, CVs, cover letters etc. This is particularly useful for the more demanding applications, such as Arts Council Funding or the Northern Writers Awards. You can recycle/revamp old applications to suit new opportunities, which is a great time-saver. 

Another top-but-obvious tip is to read the guidelines meticulously. All contests and publications have different requirements in terms of formatting, type of acceptable document (PDF, Word, etc), cover letters, payment methods, as well as how to send the material. I don’t want a technical error to be the reason my words don’t end up in print. 

How do you cope with rejection? 

I try to reframe it. Rather than see a rejection as an indictment of my work, I consider all the other factors involved, such as the sheer volume of submissions received. Or perhaps my piece didn’t align fully with the publication/theme/competition; perhaps similar stories had already been selected; perhaps it was just someone else’s turn. When I get a rejection, I like to think that someone else somewhere is over the bloody moon and my rejection means someone else is rejoicing. 

I suspect spending so many years as an actor has helped me develop a thick skin. On average, I get 2-3 rejections a week, so I don’t dwell on them much. It really does get easier the more you experience it. If I’m in a major slump, I’ll do a workshop, masterclass or writing course to reignite the love. And as soon as I get a no, I submit to something else, so there’s always hope.

Do you have some tips for our Summer of Submission?

Be organised. 

Be consistent.

Stay positive.

Get feedback.

Be kind to yourself when a rejection lands.

Find fellow writers; go to regular writing groups.

Try new techniques and prompts; attend classes and workshops.

Keep going, no matter what …

Tune in next time for more insights from Letty!