A Writer's Notebook, Day Seven-Hundred-And-Ninety-Eight

 I find it difficult to explain certain aspects of my current predicament, vis a vis publishing.  It is a problem of the conflict between my awareness of my work and the difficulties I am having.  It is reasonable for a person to assume I am making simple mistakes, not following guidelines appropriately, or otherwise assume my work to be weak or have some quality, either present or lacking, that makes sense of this universal rejection.  I would be glad to have a person point out the specific trouble, but those who know my work do not seem to find such flaws.  This makes it rather hard to get real answers, as those I ask are often assuming that it is a lack of experience or other amateurish quality, and that itself often feels rather upsetting, especially considering my experience.  I received my MFA close to fifteen years ago, I believe, and have continued to work on my craft, and I am informed about the industry, and am aware of the proper behavior for a writer.  I tend to read journals before I choose to submit to them.  For a long while, I chose not to send put simultaneous submissions because I wanted the work being sent to be specific for that journal.  So, I am a bit vexed at times when those who mean to help ask the obvious questions, as it can feel patronizing.  The worse part, though, is the frustration that I keep asking for help and all I am offered is what I know already.

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