What I’ve Learned from My Millennial Friends as a Gen-X Writer, or, How to Submit like a Millennial

What I’ve Learned from My Millennial Friends as a Gen-X Writer, or, How to Submit like a Millennial

A few years ago, my friend Kelli wrote a very popular blog post called “Submit Like a Man,” (now archived on Medium,) talking about her experiences with how she observed women submitting as an editor and how she encouraged women to submit more often, more widely, and respond to editors’ encouragement. A great post.

But today I’m going to say – maybe we should learn to “submit like a millennial.”

I was thinking about the many things about the literary culture that are changing because of the younger generation, especially young women, that inspire me. My female millennial writer friends are much more hard-core about submitting their work faster and more often than I do. I never considered myself a slacker in the submissions department, but my younger friends have inspired me to try even harder, try better venues, and simultaneously submit more. They have also taught me how Twitter and Instagram can be positive forces for poetry! (I was dragged into both kicking and screaming. I may still not completely get Instagram, but I’m learning.) Also, they are very social justice focused, and demand to be treated equitably – which we should have been demanding all along, but a lot of women in my generation just assumed, maybe, it would never get better and we couldn’t change it. We were often told “that’s they way things are” and accepted that. The young women I’ve taught, mentored, encountered, and/or befriended do not assume that…They assume they can change the world. And I’m glad about that.

• Get your work out into the world. And sometimes f-ck the rules.
  This was a hard lesson for me, because I’m very much a play-by-the-rules person. But watching my millennial friends talk about how often they submit their work was an eye-opener for me. I had never ever simultaneously submitted (“sim subbed”) to more than two places at a time…since I was twenty. I didn’t sim sub to places that asked me not to. But in the last eighteen months, when I was diagnosed first with terminal cancer and then MS, I realized “If not now, then when?” Some literary magazines ask you not to simultaneously submit, then don’t get back to you for six months. Some lit mags take a year to get back to us with a rejection – and that’s not a rare occurrence. I think I realized my mortality, that I could literally die before my poems got published. And I watched my millennial friends, who posted that they sent their pieces to five places at a time – I couldn’t imagine keeping the Excel spreadsheet for that kind of velocity, but it did help me realize that maybe it was okay to send to more than two places at a time. Also I learned to aim higher – and had the positive experience of poems being taken at great places I had not submitted to too often because…they were too good for me? Sometimes our cages are of our own making. Aim high! Don’t be afraid of success.
  When I posted about the subject on Facebook, Hope Erica said: “Millennials rock. They fear less, and are ruled by their fear less, then I was. Our stretch goals for acceptance are their minimum that they will tolerate.”
  Yes. Our goals are their minimums. Think about that.

• Let social media work for you. And for goodness’ sake, have some fun!
  I’ll admit I was scared of Twitter. How was I going to say anything substantive in 140 characters? But my millennial friends made Twitter seem fun! They posted lines from poems they liked, quipped about their days, posted pics from their creative work, and generally encouraged and posted about other writers they liked. It wasn’t the hate-filled crazy place I was worried about – at least not after I muted a few people and learned what hashtags were. Anyway, younger people just do what they want – social media isn’t work for them, it’s fun – not a chore. We X-ers could learn something about that! Kaveh Akbar is a hit on Twitter, not only because he’s a good writer, but because he’s hilarious and generous in his praise of others.
• It’s allowed to be all about you once in a while. People complain about the “selfie generation,” older generations lob the accusation that millennials can seem a bit narcissistic. But there is a balance – in the way they bring attention to themselves, they also bring attention to others. I literally cringed through writing my upcoming book PR for Poets, because I felt so much shame about trying to help others bring attention to their own poetry books. Ridiculous, you think? But my generation was shamed for behavior that was sometimes just good sense or for feeling like they had the right to be successful, especially if you were a woman.  If you don’t like and promote your work, no one else is going to, right? Promote your work, and remember to promote others as you go. You can post that picture of yourself in the funny hat, but also when your best friend wins a book contest, make some noise. Don’t be ashamed because you are proud of what you’ve achieved. I love seeing my younger friends post about their accomplishments – I’m not mad at them for doing it, I’m happy for them. Chances are, your friends will be happy to see your good news, and if not, um, why are they your friends?
  On Facebook, Sally Rosen Kindred said this: “The millennial feminist poets (male, female, and non-binary) whom I deal with most frequently online have impressed me with their bad-ass dedication to writing and submitting, as well as reading and supporting fellow poets by getting the word out about their work. They’ve also taught me to forgive myself and reward myself when I’m beating myself up about my writing practice, my writing’s quality, and my frustration and fatigue in the face of injustice in this country. They are a fierce and compassionate generation of poets and I am so glad to be alive while they are. “
• Start things. Don’t be afraid. Bring your own literary community. Women are speaking up for themselves. I’ve been around a lot of men who took advantage of women in the literary community. I didn’t make too much noise about the things I experienced in work and school when I was disparaged, condescended to, discriminated against. But young women are making noise now, which has been making women my age say to themselves, “Yeah, and why did we think that was okay again?” It’s not okay to be harassed, belittled, threatened, so why should we pretend it is something we should just “get over?” Millennials repeated message to the gate-keepers who are keeping women and people of color down? Do better. They are demanding it.
  Starting your own thing: Some of the most fun reading series I’ve attended were started by young women who were like, “Can’t we have some fun with this literary event?” (The answer is…yes!) When my friends got tired of not seeing literary magazines or publishers that supported the kind of work they liked, they started them. I am so excited to see younger women starting literary magazines, reading series, groups where they workshop and support each other’s work, helping each other find jobs and places to publish – that is really what will change the world. My younger friends have a more optimistic view of the literary world, and why not? It makes me feel more optimistic too. Why can’t things change for the better? Radical thought.

I’m thankful for all my millennial friends for your inspiration! What about you? Are you a millennial with inspiration advice for us X-ers? Are you an X-er or Boomer who has benefited from befriending younger writers? Please leave your thoughts in the comments!