Here’s an idea for a book cover.
Archives for May 2018
Lesson #2 – Writing for publication
2. Writing in school or workshops is nothing like writing for publication.
Workshops exist to affirm writers. The publishing market exists to weed them out.
The creative writing classes and workshops I’ve attended resemble therapy sessions. I know, I’ve been to grad school to learn to be a therapist. Nothing is written that is wrong, and the writing space is a safe place to create. Even critique, which is supposed to be a big part of the writing process, is soft-pedaled. Everyone is encouraged to be part of a big collaborative group that helps everyone along. This is a great way to build confidence and begin the first steps toward writing for publication.
Agents and acquisition editors see far more submissions than they can publish. They don’t have the time or resources to be an accepting safe space. They are polite but firm in their refusal to publish most of what they see. Getting published is not collaborative, it is competitive. You aren’t cooperating with other writers. It’s you or them.
If a creative writing class were like writing for publication, one student would be chosen at random to pick the best piece of writing from the whole class. The student would not have to say why they wanted it, or offer any explanation as to why the other pieces were rejected. The student would also be given fifteen minutes to decide between dozens of pieces. Most likely, the student would either choose someone they already knew, or whichever piece was neatest and had the fewest apparent errors.
That’s the reality. Taking a creative writing class at FLC back in 2008 got me started, and I’m grateful for that. However, I had to move on from that to get where I was going.
Lesson #1 – Persistence pays
1. Persistence pays.
There were 33 publishers and a similar number of agents that either rejected my novel or didn’t respond by the time my book was accepted for publication. If I had let that bother me, I would not have gotten published.
Every publisher and agent has their requirements for submission. These are things like a certain number of words, page length, margins, headers and footers, font, spacing, etc. Every one is different, and if I didn’t get it right, the book would be immediately rejected. I could spend multiple hours on one submission. To spend that much time and then have it be for nothing is something I didn’t dwell on.
What I measured were the number of submissions I got done and their quality. Whether the people on the other end liked what they saw was not up to me. I did a good enough job not to get my submission immediately thrown into the trash. Each submission was a step toward my goal.
Toward the end, I was getting very good at the process of submitting, and my submissions were getting better. I had to stay in the game long enough to improve.
There’s also a degree of luck. Luck is enabled by showing up. If I hadn’t shown up one day and sent the last submission, I’d still be posting rejection letters.
My list of lessons learned
I’m going to be writing up lessons I’ve learned from writing a book and finding a publisher. Here’s a quick overview:
1. Persistence pays
2. Writing in school or workshops is nothing like writing for publication.
3. Most of writing is rewriting
4. Everyone is trying to sell to the same few markets. Try the places that aren’t getting attention. It all goes on Amazon anyway.
5. Publication is still better than self-publication
6. Find a place to write
7. For a solitary activity, writing requires a lot of help
8. Spend the money you need to spend
9. Only take advice from published authors. Authors, not agents, not publishers. Agents and publishers only say what they want, not what OTHER publishers and agents want.
10. Don’t be greedy
11. You aren’t special
12. You are special
13. You need an agent to crack the big time, but there’s a lot to be said for small time.
14. Listen to feedback
15. It’s a job
I’ll add more as time goes on.