Put Your Fears Aside

Fear of theft.
Many people feel that their stories or story ideas could be stolen. This is unlikely, but you may feel more at ease with a copyright. Technically, protection by copyright starts when you commit your words to paper. You can take a few simple steps to protect yourself further.

To copyright your work, print it out and add the copyright symbol © in the upper right-hand corner of the first page. (If your typewriter or computer does not have a copyright symbol, you may simply draw one. It is equally effective.) A copyright will look like this:

Copyright © 2006 Jennifer Doe
You may, of course, have your work officially registered with the U.S. Copyright Office in Washington, D.C. This can be expensive and time-consuming, and is seldom necessary for an unpublished story.

Fear of harsh criticism.

"Ms. Thayer was great and never made me feel stupid. She gave me encouragement."

--Bill, Toledo, Ohio

At Constructive Critiques, you and your work will be treated with respect and kindness. That doesn't mean you'll be told your work is perfect if it's not. If improvements are needed in your work, Constructive Critiques will show you how to make those improvements. "Criticism" in the negative sense is not part of the Constructive Critiques program.

See a sample critique.

Fear of starting.
Often, the most difficult part of any venture is that first step. In this case, that first step is to offer your story for critique. Perhaps you've shown your work to a family member, but you want the opinion of a professional. Your story is your "child," so to speak, and you may feel you are taking a chance by letting others see that "child." But Constructive Critiques takes a gentle approach, and all "children" will be returned in first-rate condition. Set a specific date to get started, mark it on your calendar, and then do it!
Fear of rejection of your work.
This is a tough one to overcome. As long as we hold our work close to our hearts, it is safe from rejection. Any time we send our work out to an editor or publisher, we risk rejection. Rejections are a fact of life and they hurt--a lot. But one rejection doesn't mean your writing career is over! Pick up the pieces and start again. Every professional writer has gone through that process. And remember, stories are never rejected at Constructive Critiques.
Fear of the unknown.
Sometimes we're not even sure what we're afraid of! This is a control issue. As long as your story sits on your desk, you are in control. If you send it out, that control is gone. An editor might hold your story for six months or more and refuse to communicate with you. You might send your story out and never hear another word. The good news is that these days, simultaneous submissions are common. Send your story to eight or ten or more different editors at the same time. You're bound to get some response sooner or later. But keep in mind, you'll get nothing as long as the story sits on your desk.

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