A Lid for Every Pot

I might have mentioned I finally threw away all those old rejections I had filed away when I cleaned my desk. Though cleaning my desk is a form of procrastination, it's something I always do when I finish a project before I move onto the next. But this time I went deep into the stacks and files.

I have some thick and battered manila folders where I'd carefully stored rejections. When I received them my email, I used to run off a copy. I told myself it was a good way to keep track of editor and agent names as well as keep their words of advice and encouragement close. As I tossed them into the trash, some were over five years old, I reread the ones that weren't just form rejection letters. And laughed.

Some editors and agents were kind enough to remark on my work. Let me give an example for the very first romance novel I shopped around, The Greater Good. One editor told me the world building was wonderful and my characters lovable, but my writing needed to be tighter. Another editor told me my writing showed talent and a strong voice, but she found my world building needed work. If I had combined all the praise I'd been given on the book into one letter, it was the perfect novel. If I combined all the criticism, the was nothing right about the manuscript. Fortunately, New Concepts Publishing, thought the book worthwhile taking a chance on.

Reading through the rejections reminded me of a lesson I learned back when I received my first contract. Tell a good story, edit your work to as perfect as you can make it, and you'll find a way to get it published. Yes, my contracts are with small indie presses, but I like them. I love the personal contact. I love the way they teach me more about the industry. Recently, I found another small press who is taking on my newest epic fantasy series. As my grandmother used to say, 'There's a lid for every pot.'

Perhaps the 'lid' for your work is to self-publishing. I'm involved in that also with my first fantasy series that I took back my rights for from a small publisher that wasn't helping my career along. It was the right path for me.

So have you found a 'lid' for your writing? Do you think the state of the industry provides more opportunity to new writers now than in years past? Have you learned anything from your rejections? Ever get conflicting rejections?

Sharing the Hope

I recently cleaned out some emails I've been letting pile up in my inbox. When I first started submitting my writing to agents and editors, I would save all those rejection letters. At that time, nearly all submissions were by snail mail. Each day, mail delivery was a time of dread and anticipation. 

I kept a special folder for book, keeping those letters organized. Eventually my first book was picked up by a small publisher, but I'm still collecting rejections. Only now, since almost all submissions are electronic, my rejections letters are sitting in my inbox.

I haven't decided whether to print copies to put in those fat file folders or not. But either way, I'm not discouraged. Not completely. There are lots of wonderful, indie publishers out there and I'm happy to be an indie author. Every writers collect rejections.

Cate Masters, a successful indie author, and one of the hardest working writers I know, is someone I'd like to mention today. Cate is very prolific and does tons of promotion. She is super supportive of other writers and has even started a blog, TBR, to help writers showcase their work. She really helped me when I decided to reclaim my rights to my fantasy series and published them myself. Please stop over and visit her. She has a new book, Death is a Bitch, will be coming out on August 3rd.

Do you save your rejection notices? Are all your queries electronic now?

Get 'Em Next Time

I never met a writer who had never been rejected unless he or she had never submitted a piece of work.  Submission means the risk of failure and sometimes, perhaps most of the time, and failure happens.  I learned early on in my writing endeavors not everyone believes my prose needs to be enjoyed by the entire world.  Unthinkable but true.

Last night I had the joy of watching my daughter's high school softball game.  It was the first game in their conference playoffs.  My daughter was the designated hitter for this game, batting in the fifth slot.  Her first time up she hit a grounder and one of our base runners interfered with the fielder and made the last out of the inning. The next time she was up she popped out.  Third time up she struck out for only the second time all year.  At the end of regulation, seven innings, the game was tied 2-2. The skies had opened up as they seem to do nearly everyday and it was raining pretty good.  We were the visiting team and batting in the 8th.  Our first two batters got on base with walks and then moved to second and third on a wild pitch.  The other team walked our number four hitter to load the bases and set up the double play bringing my daughter to the plate.

Now to delve into my monthly sports/writing analogy.  My daughter was without a hit, the game was on the line and there was no tomorrow(though there is next year).  The pressure was on. I had seen my daughter's frustration in her previous at bats.  But she stepped into the box and got ready to hit.  She hit a long fly ball, our runner on third tagged up and scored.  We won the game, 3-2.

It's easy to give up after a few failures.  Failure can strip us of our confidence.  But no one bats a thousand.  No one gets a hit every time.  But if we stay in the game and keep trying, there's always the chance we'll get 'em next time.  Work hard, practice and one day the game winner will be ours.  If we keep failing, we need to work on our game, improve our skills and seek some coaching.  Then we step up to the plate and take another swing at it. 

Hopefully you all don't mind sports analogies but at our house, we're either reading or playing sports.  I can't help myself putting them together.

Have you had some winning hits lately to make up for the strike outs?

Professional Writers

New Word: 
Lucubrator- One who writes scholarly material.

Is your writing an enjoyable hobby or is it your profession? I know many people, myself included, work full time jobs to pay the bills but still call ourselves writers. Where is the delineation between professional and recreational writers? I know dozens of people who would love to make their living as a writer, stay home, and leave the old 9-5 job behind forever. Does having that other career, teaching in my case, mean I can’t claim writing as my career?

I think there are a number of things to mark a professional writer and being published doesn’t have to be one of them. A person serious about a writing career will pursue opportunities to improve their craft by attending workshops and conferences. Pennwriters is a group I count on for such opportunities. They will work with critique partners and join communities of writers, seeking out those of like mind.
A professional writer will commit to the time needed to create works, edit them and make contacts with others in their profession. This means more than sitting at the keyboard for a few hours each day. In today’s world a writer must network with readers and fellow authors. Another aspect of this is the willingness to spend time on a piece of work to improve it. How many times will you willingly rewrite and edit a manuscript or story? Is there a limit to the changes you’ll make in your masterpiece?
Does writing one piece a professional make? Will you write that one story and circulate it until kingdom comes or will you continue to create new work, each piece an improvement over earlier works?
Are you committed to a writing career forever or are you giving yourself a certain amount of time to make it and then you’ll give it up if you don’t? I know a teacher who took a leave for one year to write a fantasy novel. He did and he never sold it. He quit trying. I don’t consider him a professional writer. You have to be in for the long haul though there are those who’ve made it big with a first novel.
How many rejections can you rise above? Will you keep going no matter the frustrations and disappointments? Experienced writers will warn you of the rejections to come but even when expecting them they can hit you low. And even once you’ve sold some books or stories, there is no guarantee you’ll sell the next one.
So are you in this business with eternal hope? Are you a professional or a hobbyist? Have you considered quitting? What keeps you going after being rejected?