I submitted one of my most popular Substack posts to an obscure online lit journal and received a “standard form rejection” in less than 24 hours.

This should prove to us that one dope’s person’s knee-jerk opinion of our work should never be the measure of that work’s quality, power, or potential.

Bylines are a nice thing to collect. And they might be impressive to some. But they are no replacement for the joy and reward that comes from engaging with actual readers in a place you’ve carved out for yourself with the tools you already possess.

are published writers.

We make our own credentials. We find our own readers. And we celebrate our freedom to create as many bylines as we want for ourselves.

Here’s one of mine that I’m proud of.

stockfiction.substack.com/p/dragon

Will you share one of yours?