I offer to bust readers’ excuses for not pitching magazines — or, if they’re pitching, for approaching only low/no-pay pubs. If you have an excuse you’d like me to bust, you can send it to lindaformichelli@gmail.com.

Here’s Diane’s excuse: I always feel that I’m not good enough. I don’t have an MFA, I haven’t been writing for 20 years, and I am not a superior writer. I have issues with passive voice and prepositional phrases. I work hard to correct them, but it gives me a feeling of inferiority. Even if I meet a writer who says she is just starting out, it always seems that her writing is impeccable. Therefore, every other writer is better and an editor is going to use my query to windex her computer monitor.

Let me start off by saying that I don’t have an MFA, a degree in journalism, or anything close to that; my MA is in Slavic Linguistics. I know many successful freelancers, and very few of them have specialized degrees.

If you have issues with grammar and style, those are easy enough to correct. The Elements of Style is available for free online. It’s fun to read and will help you learn to write in a simple, effective style that works for most magazines. The good news is that you know where you need work, so you can check out those parts of the book first and pay close attention to those issues in your writing.

If you’re not already, become a voracious reader of everything from trade magazines to literary fiction. You’ll start to recognize what makes good writing, and will absorb the different styles that work for each market.

But most important, learn by doing. Some of my first pitches were embarrassingly bad, but I still sent them and eventually they improved and I started getting regular work. When I first started getting assignments — mostly for trade magazines — I would print out the article and go over the draft with a red pen multiple times. Now, after 13 years, I can write and edit an article on the screen and never have to print it out. You’ll experience the same growth in your abilities and confidence if you just keep pitching and writing.

If you feel you need more help than you can get from a book — or if you write and write but still feel that your writing needs work — you can hire someone to go over your queries and articles before you turn them in. I know a writer who speaks English as a second language, and she uses a freelance editor to polish her work. She’s a wonderful writer, but I’m sure the editor catches small grammatical and stylistic errors and makes her articles shine. Can’t afford a freelance editor? Barter something you do well (web design? coding? administrative tasks?) with a writer or editor whose grammar and style are impeccable.

Don’t compare yourself to other writers. What they do has no effect on your success. The best thing you can do to get over the feeling that other writers are kicking your butt is to write, write, write — and pitch, pitch, pitch. Don’t give yourself a mental rejection slip; send your ideas to editors and let them be the ones to say No — or Yes! [lf]

If you liked that post, you might also like:

• Bust My Excuse: I’m Not Sure How Long a Query Should Be!
• When you can’t get to the newsstand
• Bust My Excuse: I’m Too Old to Get Started!
• Bust My Excuse: I’m Afraid of Doing It Wrong
• Bust My Excuse: I Get Held Up Researching markets