Reality Check: The Truth About Writing

When I first began writing six years ago, I thought it would be a miracle to finish the novel I was working on at that time. I was surprised to discover that writing the first draft of a book was easier than I thought, for me at least. I had the main idea emblazoned in my mind and could see the events unfold as if I were watching the movie. I was excited. I thought I'd be the next Stephen King! I was naive.

Editing that first book was a lesson in perseverance. I'd never edited anything that big in my life and spent several weeks just trying to determine how to tackle the monumental task. I'd grown lazy. I would look at the stack of printed pages and wonder how I could possibly get through it all. Then I would walk away, turn on the TV, and leave my worries in the room with my manuscript.

I eventually finished editing the book. As of this post, it's still not 100% complete. I gave it to my wife to read and received a lot of constructive criticism. My wife is brutally honest about my writing, but she's also my biggest fan. Despite the flaws in my writing that make me sound mildly retarded, she still loves me and it makes me love her all the more.

Since that first book, I've written three more books--many still waiting for their first editorial pass--and loads of short stories. I always daydreamed of sending out my manuscripts to agents, publishers reading what I'd written, and receiving that elusive book deal that would set me on the path to join the ranks of famously successful authors. I was naive.

I followed blogs of literary agents, editors, publishers, and other established authors in hopes of gleaning all the knowledge about the industry as I could. I read books on the craft of writing and discussed the semantics of writing and grammar with my wife, an English professor. I read voraciously, both in my genre and more broadly. I read the classics that I had neglected to read in high school when I thought I had better things to do than read. I tried to be a sponge, soaking up as much knowledge about reading and writing and publishing as I could manage. After polishing my short stories--often running them though nine or more revision cycles following the input of my beta readers--I sent them off to print magazines who were looking for stories like mine. I was giddy and confident in the submission stage. I received my share of rejection. Too many, in fact. I was naive.

After subscribing to many different magazines and reading what they chose to publish, I began to grow callous and convinced that the editors wouldn't recognize good writing if their lives depended on it. I pushed those toxic thoughts aside still convinced that they were true. I tried to convince myself of the opposite. Writing is very subjective. Some people absolutely love heavy hitters like James Patterson and Stephen King as evidenced by their millions of dollars. I'm convinced either of them could publish their laundry list and it would land them on the best-sellers list. I've read books by famous authors that went counter to many things I'd learned about what not to do in your writing. How could that be? How could their book get published by disregarding some of these most basic rules? I learned that when you've built a loyal following and have a good track record under your belt, editors tend to be more lenient with your work. You have more creative say so. I was naive.

A couple of my stories managed to find homes in a few magazines. I continued to follow what was happening in the publishing industry, feeling that if I didn't hurry and create my masterpiece to get published I was going to miss the boat. A digital revolution was underway. Electronic books came on the scene and there was talk of how it would change the publishing landscape. Agents and Publishers scoffed. Physical books were still the dominant force. eBooks were just a fad. I scoffed right along with the big boys and turned up my nose at self-publishing. Self-publishing at the time was taboo, usually proof that an author had admitted defeat and sought to publish his/her book at a vanity press. I wasn't going to quit. I knew I had talent as a writer. But, still, I was naive.

Since the digital revolution, the publishing industry has changed dramatically. Digital media has taken hold in a big way, major book sellers have gone belly-up in its wake. The stigma of self-publishing has changed. Many talented authors--as well as those who are truly bad--have embraced self-publishing, opting to forego the traditional path, bypass the gatekeepers standing in their way, and reach an audience directly. I've watched this trend take hold and evolve. I've read extensively about self-publishers who have gone on to be successful. Many of them post their sales numbers and preach the gospel of doing it yourself. No longer was self-publishing a taboo thing. Although some still associate it with bad writing, self-publishing, like the publishing industry, has evolved. Now, I'm not as naive as I once was.

I still believe I'm a talented writer. I decided to try my hand at self-publishing. I experimented by taking one of my shorts and published it myself. This way, I thought, I could experience how the process works and determine if it was worth pursuing. If nothing else, I could get my name out there and possibly build a following. My first published work, the short story, Hush, Hush, My Love (available for free on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords) was more successful than I would have imagined. On Smashwords alone, it has been downloaded more than 300 times and received 4-star reviews. It was also reviewed by Red Adept Reviews, garnering three-and-a-half stars.

Following the success of Hush, I decided to release something larger. I put together a collection of short stories that magazines had rejected and sold it as An Adverse Anthology: Strange & Disturbing Short Stories (Amazon, B&N, Smashwords). I've received accolades from many readers I know who have purchased the book. In my ability I am not naive, but I also know that my writing can always improve. Neither am I naive to think I will reach the writing pinnacle to stand with the likes of many of my favorite authors. I've learned much during the last 6 years and I'll continue learning, improving, and hopefully entertaining my readers.

In the beginning, I was intimidated by the task of editing something as large as a novel. Today, that's not daunting at all. Finishing a book--ending up with a polished gem--is just the beginning. There's still marketing to do, formatting, uploading, pricing, etc. I'm currently teaching myself how to edit videos in hopes of creating studio-quality book trailers as promotional tools for my future work. Maybe I'm still naive, but this is reality.

Changes in the publishing landscape and my fear

I've been following blogs and forum posts concerning how eBooks are changing the publishing industry. If you haven't been following this trend and you are a new author, you should probably start reading up on this more.

Recently, I read a topic in author Christopher Moore's forums about eBooks and how this could impact the writer. Now, for those of you who do not know Christopher Moore (shame on you!), he is a successful author of satirical novels and a very cool guy to boot. I highly recommend you read some of his work and possibly visit his website.

I wont go into all of the details of that thread, but instead leave it up to you to read what he was saying in it. However, I will say that I became very concerned with what I read. Now, Moore is a veteran author. Like I said, he is also very successful, and if he is concerned with how the digital world will impact the publishing world, and more specifically, writers, then that worries me.

As an aspiring novelist, it scares me to think that trying to break out in publishing is going to become even harder when the market is inundated with more and more content by people who self-publish. It's already hard enough to get your foot in the door. When more avenues are introduced that allow untalented writers to get their work out there, it will be even harder to find quality material. It means that there will be more garbage to dig through to find that proverbial diamond in the rough.

I think there are pros and cons to this whole situation, however, I think the cons are beginning to outweigh the pros. Some of the pros include: making it easier for new authors to publish and distribute their work; reaching a wider audience; and for authors who are actually good but always faced rejection to finally break out.

Now to address the important cons. While making it easier to publish and distribute content, authors (good and bad) will find the market more competitive to make themselves known among the plethora of material. Marketing a work now is already very competitive. Readers will have to weed out a lot of horrible writing before they find a writer who is actually good. eBooks will more than likely become cheaper as the market is flooded, thus making it nearly impossible for newer authors to make a living by their writing. Not to mention the digital piracy that has harmed the music industry. Just imagine what it will do to the publishing world. In the aforementioned topic, Moore says that he has musician friends that were living on royalties. Now that piracy has changed the music industry, those friends, that thought they were finished touring, now have to go back out and perform to maintain their lifestyles. He goes on to say that while that's fine for musicians, what would authors do in the face of piracy? It's not like an author can pack a stadium to read his work to an audience. Something that makes you think, right?

With all of the ramifications the digital medium is doing to other markets, especially publishing, I think the effects are out of the scope of this blog. I urge you to begin keeping yourself informed of how it will affect the market. If you're like me, you will probably find yourself worried about the future of the printed medium.

How do you separate yourself from the multitude of other writers?

With such fierce competition between the numerous aspiring authors trying to get their books published, every author should do what he/she can to make themselves stand out in a publisher's mind so that they will get the recognition they deserve. Now, I'm not going to say that you should pull silly gimicky tricks to make an editor notice your query letter among the heap they peruse daily. No. I'm talking about using your craft to get the attention of an editor. What I am going to say here is very importnant. These are things I've noticed just from reading what publishers produce and communicating with other writers. Frankly, some of it is appalling.

I like to say that seeking a publisher or literary agent is very similar to competing in American Idol. I say this because if you watch American Idol, there are hundreds of thousands of people who audition for that show. Out of that multitude, some actually have talent. The rest? Well, they're disillusioned individuals that think they have talent. Now, I can't sing. If I tried, people might pay me to stop! But rest assured, you won't see me in line to audition for that show. At least I know I can't sing, so there's no use in me trying. But what about all those idiots that stand in line, waiting to waste the judges' time? How can they not know that they suck? I mean, really! Well, I feel that many aspiring writers today are equivelant to these talentless asshats that tryout for AI and think they have talent. Of course, I believe that editors and agents are too professional to tell a horrible writer that they suck as candidly as Simon Cowell delivers the news point-blank. I think it would be a much different industry if editors/agents were so blunt.

I like to follow literary agents' and publishers' blogs to keep abreast of the industry and changes in it. Also, I try to follow some professional authors' blogs (not only because I enjoy what many of them have to say, but because they can teach me things about the craft of writing and the publishing industry). I even follow some of the unpublished writers. Now, the aspiring writers are the best, in my opinion, because they are like a yard stick by which I can measure myself against the competition. For instance, one writer said they were going to write four different stories for four different submission calls they heard about. Well, that's fine and dandy, but I've read quite a bit of this writer's previous stories and they all stank (again, my opinion--well, and a few of my friends' opinions as well). The writer in question comes across too brash, always trying to whip out a story like a switchblade in a streetfight. When a writer acts that hastily, usually their work suffers because of it. This writer is no exception. All it takes is to read this writer's work to see that spelling and grammatical mistakes go unchecked because the writer is too caught up in the daydream of being in print and hurries toward it without heed. As a writer, your work reveals a lot about you. Writers should not try to publish (or self-publish) a piece of work until it is as error free as possible. Otherwise, you come across sloppy and/or lazy.

I also find it embarrassing to correspond with other writers only to learn that their messages are peppered with misspellings or that the idea the writer tried to convey was jumbled and difficult to follow. As writers, we're supposed to be wordsmiths. Our vocation is using words to paint visual imagery to our readers, to efficiently and elegantly describe or convey something to those reading our prose. When I read an email or message from a fellow writer and I see ungrammatical text and the sender is telling me they write, have written, or better yet, are published, I can't help but roll my eyes and wonder whether they are just lying. I mean, what kind of agent or editor would represent such a sloppy, lazy person? I know you may be reading this and asking yourself where I get off thinking I'm God's gift to the reading world. Well, I don't want to come off sounding so high-handed, but goddamn it, someone needs to bring attention to this situation.

I read the work of a professional author recently (I won't mention any names, but this writer is fairly prolific) and I was amazed that a major publishing house represented this writer. I actually thought that the writer must've finished a first draft and submitted it to their agent/editor. Well, maybe I shouldn't say editor, because if an editor did read any of the manuscript, he/she should've wiped their ass with it because to say they read it and then published it that way, well that agent/editor should be fired! So enough of my ranting. I wanted to talk about ways to set yourself apart from this large crowd of non-writers that are also seeking to publication.

First, I must strongly urge you to pay very close attention to your writing. Walk amongst the trees again! Reread your work once it's finished, seeking out those misspellings and unclear thoughts. Fix them! This is called editing. It exists for a reason. I know it's boring and sometimes very tedious, but without it, you may come across to the reader as a moron or lazy. I usually edit my short stories several times before they ever see the light of day. Another trick is to get a couple of close friends (people that will tell you honestly what they think of your story) to read your work and provide feedback. Also, make sure these people are fairly literate. There's no need asking someone that never reads for their opinion. Try to steer clear of people that will tell you that they love your work because they wouldn't want to hurt your feelings by telling you that they did not like what they read. I believe there are a lot of writers out there with this problem. Actually, I'm quite sure of it! I've seen authors with dreadfully bad stories posted on the internet and the comments have all been sugar-coated bullshit about how well the story was written, etc. Please! This does nothing to help the writer improve and only gives him/her a false sense of pride. Make sure you receive honest, educated feedback. My wife is my first reader (she's an English professor) and I listen to most everything she says about what I should correct. However, sometimes I might disagree with her on more subjective things. In which case, I leave it the way I originally wrote it, but this is quite rare.

Okay, I know I've praddled on quite a bit so I'll offer up one more bit of advice: study the really successful authors in the field. And not just one, but several. Get to know why they are successful. You should be able to glean this from reading their work and watching how they write descriptive scenes, their use of narration and dialog and a whole host of other things. You will learn volumes from their writing if you open up your mind to look for these things. Also, read some truly bad authors to learn what not to do. I think that if you follow this advice: learn your grammar, edit (edit, edit), let others provide unbiased feedback about your writing, and learn from the success or mistakes of other writers; you will single yourself out from the herd of talentless twits trying to take away from you that publishing slot.

One last thing: as a writer, you should always be improving and growing. Never stop doing that!

Releasing your book into the wild: When is the best time to submit your work?

I've encountered this quite a bit lately and even wrestled with the question myself. I recently read on a writer's bulletin board a post that basically asked when one should finish a work and move on to the next WIP (work-in-progress for those that don't already know). A literary agent even addressed this question as well, so I decided to further the topic. As I've said, I wrestled with this conundrum myself, but luckily, I've managed to see past it. While I still haven't actually released my novel into the wild yet, I have gotten the inspiration to get it finished much quicker.

Here's my account: I began writing The Shadow People in 2005, before my horrible divorce. It took me 3 months to write the first draft. I set it aside while my life was turned upside down. I tried editing the hard copy in 2006, but felt it was too monumental of a task along with the ongoing divorce, so I quit after 80 pages. In 2007, after remarrying, I pulled out the manuscript and began thinking of how to edit the monstrous thing. I had a ream of pages before me and the mere sight of it took the wind out of my sails. Finally, I sat down with a legal pad and pen and read the whole thing through, creating an outline of revision notes on the pad. I thought it was horribly written and decided it needed a rewrite. I eventually rewrote it, although I don't remember how long it took to do so, but I think it was relatively quick. I put it aside again, to let it mellow. While it was tucked away, I began other novels, leaving them in various stages to work on other projects that felt more interesting. Finally, I stood back and looked at the mess of WIPs I had accumulated, realizing that if I kept on like this I would always have plenty of unfinished projects out there and nothing to show for it. Meanwhile, I kept reading agent blogs and news of debut authors selling their books to publishers. If I wanted to join these new authors' ranks, then I knew I had to get off my ass and quit procrastinating with my work. Like writing a first draft, I vowed to set some limits to accomplish the goal. I committed to editing a minimum of 10 pages each day. With 380 pages, it would take me just over a month. I made it through and it felt great! Now, I've decided to make one more pass, a 4th revision, but this one will be a lighter version since I've already completed the line-edit. I'll look at pacing, dialog that doesn't progress the story, etc. and clean all this up. When finished, I plan to distribute it to my first readers who've expressed an intrest in reading it to provide me with feedback.

The moral of my experience is this: writers are great at procrastinating! Whether they think of it that way or not, it's true. Maybe it's the trepidation we feel toward rejection. I could've continued telling myself that my work just wasn't good enough with each revision. Reading it over and over, feeling that I can do better than this. Of course, as writers, we should constantly be growing in our craft and this means that we will always look back at our older writing and see where we could improve it or express something better than we did. Even the famous authors have published books they can look back on, thinking, Wow, I could've done better than that! At least they're published! This is what finally lit the fire under my ass. I want to join the ranks of published novelists, so I decided to get the story written to the best of my current ability. If you sit on the manuscript, thinking you can always do it better, then you'll probably find yourself in the same detrimental cycle I was in. Eventually, you have to see if it has wings and can fly from the nest.

Will a lofty advance sink your writing career?

I'm still in the revision process for my novel, The Shadow People, and before I get hard at work editing everyday, I like to read blogs from literary agents, publishers, and other more notable authors to see what's happeing in the writing/publishing world. Basically, I'm looking for knowledge to get me over the hurdle of finding an agent to get my book published. I mean, what writer doesn't daydream about making it big by landing that glorious book deal and large advance so they can tell their boss to kiss off, right? Well, my daydream is becoming more and more tarnished the more I read about the publishing process. First, there are stats that say only so many books submitted are published (can't remember the exact figure, but it's pretty intimidating) and then there's some conflicting information I recently read about advances, which really got me to thinking.

One of the literary agents I follow is Rachelle Gardner. She is an agent with WordServer Literary and she recently posted blogs about advances paid to authors, most importantly, debut authors. I read both of these posts, which can be found here (part 1) and here (the followup). I urge you to read these blogs, they are a little daunting, especially the first one's title. After you read these, there is another blog you simply must read, here by an author saying not to accept any advance a publisher offers you because to do so would undoubtably wreck your writing career before it even gets off the ground.

Now, I'll admit, I read the first two blogs by Rachelle and felt slightly disappointed. I mean, I highly doubt my first book will be something that knocks the socks off literary agents, publishers, or the reading public, but I try to keep telling myself that it might get a warm reception and do fairly well on the bookshelves. What writer tells him or herself otherwise? To do so means that you've already thrown in the towel and declared defeat. What motivation would you have to continue if you thought that way? After I read the third blog, by Joe Quirk, I was dumbfounded. Whose advice or information is right? I mean, I'd listen to Rachelle because she is in the publishing world and I would trust what she has to say. On the other hand, if Joe isn't blowing smoke, then that would logically mean that since Rachelle is working for the publishing world, she would encourage authors to stick with traditional publishing so she could make her cut of the money. Is what Joe says a strategy of the pulishing industry to keep the competition fierce? Do they really share financial information about an author's sales with their competitors? If so, then this is some scary news!

I've got to say that, in his blog, Joe sounds quite bitter toward the large publishing houses. Maybe he got burned early on. Maybe he's like a lot of "writers" out there who think they are stellar literary types who only manage to produce swill when they put pen to paper. Who's to say? I'm simply offering these few links to you so that you can read and compare as I have. I intend to do more research into this to better determine how I might react when I get to this point in my writing career, and I urge you to do the same. It's better to be forewarned when approached with a publisher's offer.