Submissions, success, synchronicity and why it is probably all fated anyway

Inspired by some of my fellow writers and their submission successes of late, I decided to put some effort into the process - a process with which I don't bother too much - and had to laugh because I got two instant acceptances out of two lit mag submissions.

What made me laugh even more is that two of the three accepted are paintings! Some 20 years writing and some 3 years painting and one lit mag. took two paintings and a short story and the other one painting. Although I did get poetry accepted last year. I love the way life messes with our heads. Writing however remains my first love. And I have a new premise for a novel I started a few months ago.

And perhaps pondering just what success means is important. I decided long ago that people matter and everything else is things and stuff and writing comes under the 'stuff' but if one is going to create - whether meal or painting or poem or prose it is nice to think that someone, somewhere, sometime appreciates it.
 

I also believe age makes a difference. I suspect it might have meant more to me in my thirties although I did not begin writing creatively until I was about 40 and had moved overseas and was not allowed to work. Over the years I have submitted on occasion, but not a lot - living in Africa and India when agents and publishers demanded, as many still do, hard copy which I was simply unable to post most of the time did make it more difficult.
 

And then as time passed I worked through what it all really meant - because I do believe, in the main, success and talent are not synonymous in any field and life is littered with authors and poets who are 'one-book wonders' - even those who win awards - and who end up in the remainders bin in 12 months.
And in truth, few people make any money out of writing and those who do are rarely the most talented - just the most 'in fashion' or the most fortunate. So in pondering what mattered or how much it mattered I came to the conclusion 'not much.'

Having said that, what I love about the world-wide web is that it has made it possible to share one's creative output so easily and I do believe that the raison d'etre for creativity is to share - so, with sites like WOWH and blogs and the like there are far greater opportunities for sharing.

It has also become much easier to submit. No more printing out heaps of pages, packaging it all up and heading to the post office - you open the submit page, download your offerings, click Submit and off it goes.

But I would add, pondering my astrological energies at work in 2012 I did see that this was a year where success after much effort (and no success) was likely. Not that getting a couple of subs means much in the scheme of life but better than the alternative. :) Here's to a productive 2012 for everyone on all counts.