Are you a beggar?

In one of her posts (I don't have a link to the specific post. Sorry) Janet Reid said to writers "you are not a beggar at the banquet of publishing".  I mentioned this to The Engineer and said something about writing relationships being a partnership, that it was about trust.  He looked at me queerly and asked if that was what I really believed. 

I'm glad he asked becuase it made me think about it, but, Yes! I do believe writing relationships are a partnership. I want an agent and  publisher who look at me as an equal. It's about trust.  Trust between the reader and writer, the writer and themselves, the writer their agent and publisher.  I am not begging.  I'll keep querying an writing and improving, but I will not beg. This is a business relationship. How can I have the respect of the people I work with if I don't respect myself?

I've never liked the term 'gatekeeper' and I'm not fond of agents who use this term. In fact, I don't query them.  Agents don't offer to represent books they don't think are ready but that's more about business than about keeping someone out of publishing.  Do people look at med school or the MCAT as a gatekeeper?  Maybe. Are they upset about it? No. At least not if they plan on seeing a doctor in the near future.  When seeing a doctor we want someone we can trust with our lives.  It may not be as serious as heart surgery but when we pick up a book don't we want to know it's not going to be a waste of our time and money? Does that make us elitest? Or just practical?

I don't see agents as bouncers at a bar meant to keep out 'undesirables' I see them more as elevator attendants. The people who try to help us get to the right floor, but they can only take us to a floor inside their building.  If we need a floor at a different building then we need a different agent. Or maybe we need a ranch house with no elevator at all.  There are many paths to publishing, and just because one agent isn't right for us doesn't mean that they are throwing us out, it just means we need to try somewhere else, or polish up a little. Not all agents can sell all things. Just like I wouldn't want a podiatrist to do my open heart surgery.


We are not beggars, and agents aren't bouncers.  (In most cases). We just need to find our trusted partner.  I could compare this to dating and finding the 'perfect' spouse but that's a post for another day. Writing is an art, and it's subjective. Because we put our heart into it rejection can hurt. But writing is also a business, and unless we treat it like a business we'll never find the right floor, or the right elevator.

The worth of a goal

Author and teacher extraordinaire, Barbara Rogan has a post here in which she talks about a study recently done on authors.  In her post Barbara says:


My advice to aspiring fiction writers is and has always been that if they can imagine themselves happy doing anything else, they should do it. 


 This statement wormed its way into my subconcious and brought back out a memory. When my brother, who is an anesthesiologist, was starting at a university and considering the long journey of pre-med, med school, residency, school loans, and such, spoke with many doctors. He asked about the process, if they thought it was worth it, how to prepare for it.  He was told by the doctors, if there is anything else you can do and be happy, then do it.  The long arduous trip was only worth it if you were driven to practice medicine. If it was a calling, rather than an occupation.

It surprised me a bit at first to see the same words applied to writing, but then it made perfect sense.  I've often heard that a writer has to write a million words before they are good enough to get published. I guess those million words are our med-school and residency.  No, writing doesn't save people's lives, but it can save people's souls.

Most, if not all, professions have some sort of training or certification that one has to complete before being able to do the job.  All our training is on the job, and because writing is a solitary pursuit it can sometimes take us a long time to really grow. The pathway to publishing is long, and difficult.  One of the hardest things is how subjective it is.  Even if we practice and write our million words, even if we are very, very good, there is no guarantee that we'll find someone who believes in our book the same way we do. 

All in all I agree with the statement, if you are not driven to be a writer, the rejection strewn pathway may not be worth it for you.  I've known others who have given up rather than trying to learn and grow. The reward of being published wasn't worth the work, effort, and rejection received.

But it is for me.

Wait for it

There's no arguing about it, we live in an immediate society.  With texting, cellhones, ebooks, music downloads we can have what we want when we want it.  Which is now.  See, I just downloaded a book while writing that sentence.  No one wants to wait anymore, and I think that impatience is affecting the way we write and read books.

I've been seeing more and more people, whether it's a reader waiting for the next book in a series or a writer wanting to release a book, that would prefer a sub-par now, rahter then to have to wait for it.

I see the pressure this puts on authors.  I've even seen authors that believe if they don't put out two books a year they will never succeed.  Two books a year is crazy!  Very few people (none that I know of but I won't rule it out completely) can write that much that fast and still write really well.  If authors give in to this 'have it now' mentality are we creating a world with lower expectations?  Or is it the readers lower expectations that are pressuring the author to do less than their best. 

It's kind of like McDonald's vs gourmet.  Some people like it fast and cheap, some only want quality.  I guess most of us have times for one and times for another. But what kind of world do we want for our books?  And what kind of books do you want as a reader?

As a reader, I would rather wait and have a better quality book, with a better quality reading experience. When books are rushed they may get to me faster, but they leave me unsatisfied. Maybe it's the dissatisfaction of a lesser quality book that causes us to hunt for the next one, something to satiate the reading need. Maybe if we read books that transcended us, that caused us to think and ponder and feel, books that we couldn't get out of our head when done, we wouldn't feel the need to immediately toss it aside and find the next replacement.  Maybe those better quality books would teach us to wait.

Do you feel the pressure? Do you give into the mistaken apprehension (for it is mistaken) that you have to publish two books a year to be successful?

I'm trying to teach patience to my children, and I can tell you they're sure teaching it to me, but do you think, over all, waiting is a lost art? 

Rewards

The other day The Engineer told me that when I become published he'll take me to Scotland, AND that we would leave the kids with Grandma (surprise mom!).  I can't think of better motivation. 

Is there anything you did or plan to do upon being published?  How will you/did you celebrate?

Editors Opinions.

I just discovered this amazing thing. Editors at Carina press pass along their comments on the slush pile to @angelajames.  Angela posts them anonymously on twitter at #editreport ( I don't tweet so hopefully that makes sense).  She also posts them on a website here. That link will take you to the December report.

This was amazing.  Reading these thoughts was enlightening and terrifying.  I HIGHLY recommend checking it out just to see how editors react.  And yes there are good examples at the end.  I know there are a few things I'll be checking my manuscript for now.

Cover Up

There is a very interesting article here about book covers.  The author, a bookseller, writes about how hard it is to sell a wonderful book if the cover is horrible.  Her solution?  To have publishers work with book sellers to create covers the buyers want to see.  She discusses the trend for covers to be populated by white girls wearing gowns, quite often walking in nature.  There have been a lot of covers like that lately, and honestly I’m a little over them.  I don’t hate them, but I’d love to see something different, something that stood out.  Of course I think most of these covers have been for the YA audience and that age group does tend to be a little trendy.  I guess if they keep selling the publishers will keep using it. 

Despite the fact that we have a time honored saying “don’t judge a book by its cover” we do.  For me the cover is not final reason I will or won’t buy a book, but covers are what catch our eye, or don’t, as we walk down the aisle in the book store.  It definitely plays a big part in marketing. 

Do you have a favorite or least favorite cover?  I tend to like covers with landscapes on them. 

Fool Me Once

In the United states authors have traditionally relied on agents to help them get published.  Though, I know this is changing.  Less and less authors are using agents as epublishing becomes so popular.  I don’t know specifics about how it is done in other countries. I know some countries rely on agents and in others literary agents are almost unheard of. 

Kristin at Pub Rants has a post that links to an article about the sudden upswing in scam agents in India. To quote Kristin   Great. One of the things I'd prefer not to be an American export….    We have a lot of information available to us here about how to avoid scams and bad business practices.  In India there isn’t as much information because this is something new they are dealing with.  If the amount of information is any indication of trouble then we have trouble with a capital T. 

I don’t know why there are so many scams around.  So many phishing emails, letters from royalty in Nigeria, you get the picture. This is something we have dealt with in our adoptions too.  It’s so hard to believe but there are people who will contact adoptive couples pretending to be pregnant, string them along for several months slowly bleeding them of money, then disappear into the night.  (this has not happened to us personally)

I think that scams like this and in the publishing world are worse because they play on people’s dreams and hopes.  I also think that’s why they work.  We’re blinded by our hope and we want it so bad we’re willing to take the risk that it’s a scam.  I don’t know many people who get scammed twice though.  The consequences have a way of waking you up.  I think it’s so sad for people to take advantage of others.  Yet, I think it’s amazing that we live in a world where it’s possible that our dreams will come true, where we have choices and options. 

Just make sure you study your choices before making a decision. 

What's in it for you?

 

I saw this post over at Janet Reid’s blog the other day.  In it she lists ten things we should be doing.  The first one is what captured my attention.  She said we should have a website with contact info, a professional picture if we are published, and a sample of our writing.  All good.  But then she said if you have a blog don’t blog about writing.

I wonder if this is because, like starting a novel with someone waking up, it’s overdone.  Maybe agents are tired of checking blogs to find that as newbies we’re trying to teach ourselves to write by blogging about it.  It reminded me of this post over on Been Writing.  She says this 

Every time I put something totally random and scattered that spewed from my brain onto my computer screen, I get WAY more comments than when I do something that's actually writing related.

Then she said this

it's because we want to know there are people as neurotic as we are. And it's even better when they're worse

We blog because we want to connect to other writers.  Writing is solitary and it’s nice to have people who understand what’s going on.  You know, people who won’t pull out the strait jacket when you say things like “My MC and I were having a conversation and we decided….”  It’s nice to see how others write, and react to writing, and how it connects to their real life.  It’s nice to just see their random thoughts and musings.

 I know blogs are good for networking and I know a lot of people who have found long term crit partners and friends.  I’ve found some friends that have offered to be beta readers.  Which still surprises me.  I love my novel but it’s a little different for others to show so much excitement.  I mean, these are real people.  And they aren’t even related to me! 

So, what do you like to read about on a blog?  I’m very interested since I have one.  Although I’ll warn you up front, my home life is pretty boring.  Some days all I do is prepare food, serve food, and clean up food.  Those are weekdays. 

There’s been a lot lately about the “no response means no” policy that some agents have.  Not having yet queried anyone my opinion is only academic.  But I don’t think it will matter.  Everyone is going to want my fictional novel.  All the agents will be calling within hours of getting my query asking for the full or offering representation from my sample pages. 

This may sound like bragging but I’m just being realistic.  This book will knock their socks off.  Everyone will want one and whichever agent I choose after I get all the offers will make millions.  It won’t even matter that I can’t spell or understand grammar.  And forget about promotions, but my book won’t need anyone to promote it.  People will see it and just know how good it is.  And once they’ve read it they’ll buy another copy and tell all their friends.  So you’ll forgive me if I don’t really care what their “no” policy is because it just won’t apply to me. 

OK, that was fun to write.  Hopefully nobody thought I was serious. In reality I think as long as their policy is clearly spelled out on the website I’ll live with whatever it is.  Personally I like closure.  I’m the kind of person that keeps deluding themselves.  Maybe it got lost in cyberspace.  Maybe the mailman delivered it to the wrong house.  Maybe... maybe…maybe.  I need something definitive with no more maybes.  But if I know that there will not be a response (unless they call to offer representation and who wouldn't really?)  I’ll be able to deal with it.  As long as I know beforehand. 

I found three blogs this week that talked about this subject in general but about author/agent relationships in specific.  One is by an agent and two are by writers.  Go here, here and here to read them.The think I like about them is that they are all down to earth.  And while we may all want to believe that everyone will love our book and no one will be able to say no it's just not going to happen.  Rejection is part of writing.  And really, how many of you who work or have ever worked liked every rule your company had?  No?  I didn't think so.  No matter what industry, no matter where, there are going to be policies you don't like. 

When I find my agent I want a partnership.  I want someone who will give me their best, just as I will give them mine.  So in the long run, their response policy just isn’t going to make or break the deal. 

I'm the kind of person that always finishes a book.  At least I used to be.  As I've gone deeper and deeper into writing and editing, as I see how many books there are and how many I haven't read I, sometimes, put down books if I find they are poorly written, or predictable. 

It used to be a challenge.  If I started it, I HAD to finish.  (The Engineer thinks I'm just a little OCD. I think he's crazy, I mean has he seen our house lately?)  Even now I usually finish because they must have done something right to get published right?  Each read, good or bad is a learning experience.  Even so, some books I just can't get through. 

I recently read a book that I had downloaded onto my kindle as a free promotion.  The second book in the series had just come out and that was one of the ways they were advertising.  The first chapter was horrible. The people were cliched and over the top.  The voice felt off, and it just wasn't interesting.  It felt the same as everything else on the market.  I was so close to putting it down but gave it one more chapter. As I read on the book did improve, and while I still think there was a lot more the author could have done I enjoyed it.

This is one of the reasons I have a hard time putting books down.  What if it gets better, what if the author redeems himself and I don't know it? Sometimes I read a horrible book just hoping that something changes.  But it makes me wonder, there is a lot of emphasis on good beginnings but maybe, just maybe, it's ok to have a mediocre beginning and still get published.  But how many readers do they loose when people put down the book and don't give them a second chance?

Do you finish books or put them down after a chapter, or page, if you don't like them? 

Worth the Wait

I went to a consignment sale this morning.  And part of this afternoon.  It wouldn’t end.  Actually what wouldn’t end was the line.  TWO HOURS in a checkout line.    By the time we could see the whole of the line and knew how long it was we’d already been waiting so long we didn’t want to give up.  We’re stubborn like that.  If we had known the line was that long in the beginning we would have dumped our junk.  There wasn’t anything that was worth it, though there were some fun things my friends and I had picked up.  

Unlike our checkout line publishing is worth the journey.  I can see that it’s a long line to reach the front; Writing, rewriting, editing, beta readers, more editing, querying, waiting, waiting, waiting, and then maybe having to do the whole thing over with another book.   Unlike my time in the seven circles of checkout line (yea, two toddlers and two hours) I knew what I was getting in for.  With the publishing process I’m learning and growing.  Each step can be fun and instructional.  And it’s my choice. 

Extra, Extra

Just some links for you today. 

Rachelle Gardner had a parade of blogs.  She picked a subject, this time it was how to market your book, and had all of her clients blog about it.  There's over 30 links so there is a wide variety of ideas and sugestions.  I'm sure everyone could find something that would  work for them.  Personally I thought it was a great idea.

Also Widdershins had ten commandments for reducing stress. 

Hope you're all having a great week. 

Eeny Meeny Miney Moe,

I’ve just finished Matched by Allyson Condie which is a dystopian novel (they’re popular right now).   The rulers of the society thought their culture was too crowded and they formed a committee to weed it out.  They picked what they thought were the 100 best poems, pictures, etc and everything else was destroyed.  Early in the novel the MC said something to the effect of How can we appreciate anything fully when overwhelmed with too much? 

We live in an age when we have a lot of literature available on the internet, ebooks, traditional and self publishing.  I know there are books out there that I could love, that would touch my soul, but that I will never find because there are so many choices.  But to have someone else limit my choices according to their tastes is not an option.  There’s been a big blow up about the article claiming the YA genre is too dark.  The general outcry has been that people need choices.  Not every person is the same and it is not right for someone else to choose for everyone.

Having your right to choose taken away is a recurring theme in most dystopian novels.  Do you think that is what humans fear most? Besides loss of family and friends that is?  And how do you find what you love in the myriad of choices?