Be ambitious for the work, not its promotion. Write, read, write, read, write with dedication. Anything you do that way for a decent period is something you’ll get better at. Publication will ensue once you’ve reached your better levels.

-Sydney Lea, “Orb Weaver at My Writing Cabin,” Volume XXX, 2026

Simply write, make sure you feel you are sending your very best, and, most importantly, believe in your work. It is very common for the fate of a single poem to find one editor rejecting it (with criticism) and another editor accepting the same piece (with praise).

–Yvette A. Schnoeker-Shorb, “Impulse Buying the Future,” Volume XXX, 2026

Just do it. I let decades pass without pursuing my writing dreams due to my fear of rejection. I regret those lost years. Rejection stings, but if I can survive it, you can, too.

-Jennifer Randall Hotz, “Silver Street,” Volume XXX, 2026

Don’t place all of your sense of a piece’s worth in the validation or attention it receives. You know what excites you; follow it, and whatever comes cannot be called failure.

-Joshua Zeitler, “Anna No, Anna No,” Volume XXX, 2026