Tag Archives: publication

Reading the tea leaves for 2012

Well, hello there, readers. It’s been a while! Rather than sit here and give excuses, I’ll just apologize briefly for being not the best blogger lately. It happens. I’ve been blogging for a long time, when you look at the big picture, and well, sometimes there just isn’t a whole lot of time for sitting down and pondering the writing craft these days between family and the full time job and other things. But it’s not like nothing is happening. So here’s a bit of what’s been happening about these parts.

First and foremost, I’m currently heading into week 25 of my second pregnancy. And I’ll tell you: being pregnant does a number on your brain. Not only do you lose gray matter (like, your brain loses weight… so trippy) but hormones coursing through your body can change your personality (not to mention that your kid’s–and by extension your mate’s–DNA floats around in you permanently). For me, I’m under a nice, warm blanket of calm. If there are stresses in my life, I just seem to let them roll off my back. Oddly enough, stress tends to fuel my writing, both fiction and blogging and otherwise. I don’t feel that desperate need to create because, well, I’m creating. Right now. The little one is currently almost a foot long and weighs about a pound and a half. She’s a squirming, somersaulting, dancing little creature who, quite honestly, takes up most of my thoughts during the day. (No, I’m not writing SF right now… why do you ask?)

I’m okay with not writing a ton. Instead, I’ve been reading. As far as publishing and writing go, 2011 was not productive. Not in the output sense. But I haven’t stopped reading. In fact, I’ve read more in the last year than I’ve read in the last 5 years combined (in no small part thanks to my commute and the suggestions of my dear friend Samuel Montgomery-Blinn in the realm of audiobooks). I think of it in much the same way as I do my pregnancy: I’m feeding the creature. The best books I read this last year were Howards End by E.M. Forster (which will forever move me), The Age of Innocence  by Edith Wharton, Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor and The Magician King by Lev Grossman. Yes, that’s an unusual cross-section. But each of those books spoke to me in a really important way that will, undoubtedly, impact my writing permanently.

There’s also the book release. Pilgrim of the Sky has been let out into the wild, flying like the skylark. Overall, I’ve been thrilled with the reception, and have learned (mostly) how to ignore and move on from the less enthusiastic reviewers (how on earth someone mistook my book for YA, I will never know…). Which, thankfully, have been mostly the exception. A first book out there in the real world is a scary thing, but I’m glad to have gone through the experience. I’ve got a post brewing about the book that answers, hopefully, some of the questions/misconceptions people might have. If you haven’t had a chance yet, you can check out some of the reviews posted recently! (There’s a few I know of that are waiting in the wings, and I’m trying not to be impatient!) Additionally, I was interviewed by the Outer Alliance about the queer aspects of Pilgrim of the Sky, and how Maddie’s sexuality fits into the book as a whole; you can hear the interview here. (Additionally you have until the 16th to enter the contest for a signed copy of the book by yours truly.)

Not to mention that, along with the other GeekMom editors, I’ve been working on the Geek Mom book! We sold the book to Crown Publishing a few months ago and are swiftly approaching our deadline. So I’ve been immersed in geeky child rearing, projects, and cooking. Not a bad thing, but definitely doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for even more writing.

The good news is that I’ve settled on my next project (or rather, which project to continue) when February is over and our deadlines are met. Not sure how much writing I’ll get in, what with the brain the way it is, but it’s worth trying. I’ve also started taking a look at some of my back-log of novels and considering What Next To Do. Surely I can’t keep sitting on them. That does no one good!

To everyone who’s supported Pilgrim of the Sky – thank you! I can’t say it enough. My friends, family, and beyond have helped make this experience truly memorable. And it’s just starting, y’know? Here’s to 2012 and beyond.

A Whole Lot of Publication Goin’ On

Well. I have lots of things to share. Enough things to share to warrant a list. Yes, a list. With numbering and everything fancy. So: behold!

1.) Currently you can find me in the premiere issue of Fantastique Unfettered. My story is called “Without a Light”. It’s a story about deadly desire, set in early 90s New England backdrop where, well, weird stuff happens. Like that Stephen King guy, I grew up in the frozen wilderness of New England, Massachusetts to be specific, and it’s the first story I ever set there. I think it definitely owes a lot of its tone to King’s short stories, which I devoured as a kid. But I’m very honored that it was chosen for inclusion in this premiere issue.

2.) My short story “Dead’s End to Middleton” — about seven gunslinging gals (the Sutherland sisters) with preternatural abilities to destroy paranormal creatures in 1880s Arizona — just went live on EscapePod. Originally it was in Crossed Genres about a year ago. But you can now listen to it, too! Bonus. The premise of the story is pretty simple. I wanted to write a story with lots of explosions that didn’t end up with everyone dying. Because, honestly, I write too many stories that end in death. So it’s surprisingly light-hearted in spite of its rather curious setup.

3.) On a related note, I also sold a story featuring two of the aforementioned Sutherland sisters to Stone Skin Press, for their anthology Shotguns v. Cthulhu. With a title like that, you can imagine how thrilled I was to contribute. Let’s just say it’s got a whopping monster foe, some Pinkertons, lots of Swampland, a family feud (including a shootin’), and a heist. It takes place about five years after “Dead’s End to Middleton” and follows Cassandra and Lydia across the country to Georgia, where the story is set. “The One in the Swamp” will blend two of the things I love quite dearly: steampunk Western vibes and Lovecraft.

4.) I also sold a short story to an anthology-that-I-can-not-yet-name. Of particularly cool note, and to anyone who’s a fan of the Aldersgate podcast, the story is called “Pushing Paper in Hartleigh” and tells the tale of how Sir Gawen left his cushy post as a paper-pushing captain in the Order of the Rose and defected to the unruly Order of the Asp. In the mean time you also get to meet younger versions of Sally Din and Sir Renmen. It was immensely fun to write, and I’m thrilled that it’s found a place to call home.

5.) In addition, I just got note that a short story I wrote called (tentatively called “Fish Eyes”) will be included in a future issue of Bull Spec. This little story (little for me, meaning it was actually under 2k) has been a darling of mine. I let it linger for too long and went back, did a serious edit, and sent it to Sam thinking it just might be the kind of thing he’d enjoy. Turns out I was right. Anyway, it’s very dark, very strange, and vaguely Viking/steampunk. Sort of. And there is a kind of creepy mermaid in it.

I’d say this is all quite a jolly good start to the New Year! I’m still entrenched in edits for Pilgrim of the Sky, and certainly trying to focus my energy (what I have left over after work!) on that. But it’s definitely cool to see so much progress so early on in the year. Work is keeping me pretty busy, but I’m having a blast (and, considering my husband is still unemployed, thanking my lucky stars each and every day).

A moment of blatant self-promotion

The Mammoth Book of Steampunk is looking for reprint recommendations. And whaddya know, but I’ve got a bunch of stories that would qualify for just that. They’re seeking suggestions over here. So if you’ve read something of mine that you like, please feel free to let them know! (I added some notes to help you remember each story.)

  • “The Brass Pedestal” – Steampunk Tales #4, Short Story category, November 2009 (Sophronia seeks revenge on her philandering, relationship-destroying brother by getting a bug implant and a metal corset)
  • “Dead’s End to Middleton” – Crossed Genres #16, Short Story Category, February 2010 (seven gun-toting, alien-killing sisters in the American West, and the kid who falls in with them)
  • “Dr. Adderson’s Lens” – Bull Spec #1 – Short Story category, Spring 2010 (invisible, soul-sucking birds, some zombies, and a very special lens)
  • “A Dear, Lovely Thing” – Faerie Magazine #20 – Short Fiction category, June 2010 (a skeptic professor discovers a clockwork fairy in her garden)

That should do it! Thanks in advance.

Weird Tales Uncanny Beauty Issue

Picture via Jeff VanderMeer's Flickr stream

I’ve been waiting to talk about this until it was official but, hey, look: official! And awesome. I had the privilege of coming up with a project together with Brigid Ashwood, a brilliant artist and fellow lover of speculative fiction. The piece in the upcoming issue is entitled “The Wakened Image” and it’s a look at some of the “made” women in mythology, taken from the Mabinogion and Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Brigid helped me brainstorm the subject, and then I wrote a three-part poem in blank verse; Brigid provided some astonishingly beautiful pictures to accompany the text.

The issue isn’t available yet, but soon. I’ll keep you posted. I am so excited to share this piece, and definitely squeed a little seeing my name on the front of Weird Tales. Who wouldn’t? :)

Aqueduct Press Highlight – 50-6-1, via Jeff VanderMeer

Jeff VanderMeer says:

I don’t know if readers realize this, but Aqueduct has reached the 50-book mark in just their sixth year. That’s a significant achievement for any press–both the longevity and the quantity, not to mention the quality and the focus. Not to mention that Duchamp is a class act as a publisher dealing with writers.

Jeff also conducted a full interview with founder L. Timmel Duchamp, who has many great things to say about her inspiration behind the press. I particularly like this bit:

When I started Aqueduct, two thoughts dominated my thinking: first, that mainstream publishers were for complicated reasons passing up excellent books that needed to be published; and second, that a solid audience for such books not only already existed, but was also a subset of a community known loosely as “feminist sf.”

You can read more about Aqueduct, and indeed order their books, here at their website. Go forth and enrich your minds!

The Long and Short of It: A Cowardly Writer

I never started out writing short stories. Or even poems. In my mind, when I sat down to write at the ripe old age of twelve (spiral bound notebook and pen in hand) I was writing a frakking novel. It’s always been novels. Not to say that they’ve always been good novels, of course; simply, this is how my brain thinks. And that’s not surprising, really. I read more novels than anything else. I am a very choosy reader, but when a book takes hold of me I am in for the long haul. I know characters that have changed me for life; I have seen landscapes in print that I will recall to my dying day. Books are intimate journeys… they are friends, too. I write what I love and know. It’s not that surprising, right?

But it seems in this publishing profession, there’s an unwritten rule about getting short stories published. They can’t hurt, right? You write these pieces, you send them out, you mostly get rejections, but every now and again someone might actually pay you for the thirty some-odd hours you put into that work. Then, you can update your bio with said publication, and maybe even get into the SFWA!

This is my big problem: even though I’ve been writing for a very long time, I am still a short story newbie. Some of my short stories have taken longer to write from beginning to end than novels. (Yes, you read that correctly. The story “The Monastery of the Seven Hands” took over a year to write; Queen of None was drafted in six weeks, approximately, and edited in about a month. 4,000 words… vs. 85,000 words.)

I fret short stories. I fret and fret. I edit for hours upon hours. I rewrite. Then, I finally get them out the door and submitted and… yeah, then things get interesting.

When I first started seriously submitting short stories, I was on a roll. Most were accepted; those that were rejected were given lots of feedback. I felt very sure of myself. Then, I started getting rejections. Okay, I got three. Not a huge amount; far less than many people. But it was enough that, in the case of both of the stories involved, I just sort of stopped submitting. My assumption, however right or wrong that it may be, was that each particular story was just unpublishable. There was something so wrong, so innately off-kilter about the story that no one wanted it–and no one ever would want it.

So I put the stories to bed.

Then, inevitably, I opened up my “Submissions” folder, and these little stories looked back at me, questioningly… wondering, no doubt, what they ever did so wrong to deserve such treatment. So then I decided they needed to go back (from rejection to revisiting the Submission folder might take a month… maybe even more. I reason I’m simply too cowardly a writer to send it back immediately to another publication.) Back! Into the wide sea of submissions, that is!

But going back, man. That’s when the proverbial scat always hits the fan.

At this point, I’ve lost my faith in the piece. Everything looks wrong. The opening, the closing, the description; I poke holes in the plot, I roll my eyes at the dialogue. I don’t even know where to start editing. I wonder if I even wrote this story; or, perhaps, how much I had to drink when I did. One story I recently hacked in half. I literally cut it down by half the wordcount (assuming, somehow, that during that purge I’d omit the offending passages or something). But you know what? I still haven’t resubmitted that story. I’m still sitting on it.

DO NOT BE LIKE ME.

I suck.

No really. This is crazy. I realize this is totally crazy of me. I’m a writer, and I write short stories as well as novels. (Well, maybe not as well as, but in addition to?) I’m also a relative novice in the short story market–so the best thing I can do is try to place stories, and if they don’t place, write other ones.

(Note: I also need to stop taking so frigging long to write them, too.)

The difficulty of having been accepted so early on is that it puffed up my ego a bit. I don’t think I tried as hard with the stories that came after. Or maybe what I’m writing just isn’t hot right now. Or maybe they do suck as much as I fear.

Whateverseriouslyitdoesn’tmatter.

The point is that writers have hurtles. And rejection is part of the game. I didn’t think rejection bothered me, honestly. (I know, you’re probably laughing hysterically after reading this post, too!)  Sure, I didn’t cry. I didn’t write back angry letters to the editors who rejected me. But I did something worse: I stopped. I turned tail and ran.

I’m not going to do this any more. Just so you know.

Now where’s that liquid courage?

Thoughts from a #dumbwriter

Cartonnage1880b

A dummy head.

For every thing I learn about publishing, writing, and editing, there are about a dozen others that I’ve yet to figure out. No, I’m not an imbecile. (Though I sometimes walk into walls, I owe it mostly to my roving imagination and general lack of coordination.) I’m just a #dumbwriter.

Over the last few years, I’ve been doing my best to get a full, bird’s eye view of Writing and How to Get Published in This Day and Age, but there are still instances where I just miss entire chunks of the geography. Those black holes on my map are where the #dumbwriter lives. Sometimes, it’s because I can be, well, really dumb. Sometimes, it’s innocence or naivete. Other times, it’s laziness or general myopia. You get the picture.

A few nights ago I decided to compile a few of these lessons on Twitter, under the #dumbwriter hashtag. Why? Because laughing at yourself is good; through laughter you an learn and, hopefully, never make such mistakes again. Here’s a few, with longer-than-140-words explanations for your perusal. Feel free to add your own #dumbwriter if you want, either here or on Twitter. We can learn from each other!

Observation: when I write “…” in dialogue, it usually means I’m thinking, not the character. [delete, delete, delete] #dumbwriter
Sure, this one seems really obvious. But one of the things about editing is finding the right time to do it, and therefore giving yourself a better view into your work. My solution? New fonts, new word processing program, and big point. I moved everything from Scrivener to Pages (which now also features a full screen mode) and went from Arial to Garamond and, honestly, it was like being given a pair of new eyes. I’d never done this before (other than to put the .scriv files into standard manuscript format–and I loathe Courier) but it was incredibly successful and really helped to highlight some of my Very Bad Writing Habits.

Number one offender: the ellipsis. Especially in dialogue. Over and over I found my characters… taking pauses… in the middle of their sentences. And what I realized was they weren’t pausing–I was. Seriously. I couldn’t think what they were saying, so I put … in rather unconsciously. Taking them out not only made the characters come across as significantly more well-spoken, but moved the pace along, too. Go, go, #dumbwriter!

Lesson learned re: publishing: You are no one’s priority except your own. Use your time wisely. #dumbwriter
Okay. This has been a big, big lesson for me. I won’t go into the details because a) I’m paranoid and b) I’m even more paranoid. But, let’s just say I have lots of waiting ahead of me due to some stuff. Okay, that’s vague. Chances are, the whole thing will end up with a resounding NO, and I’m fine with that. But the only thing worse than rejection is waiting for rejection–and in that space of waiting for rejection, contemplating the possibility of acceptance.

Publishing. Moves. Slowly. Just when you think you can’t wait more, you’ll be asked to wait more. You make the mistake of talking to your parents about it, and then they’ll ask you how things are going, and just when you thought the waiting wasn’t bothering you anymore, it will. Then, once you’ve cruised past the whole impatience thing, while you’re engrossed in a new, exciting project, you’ll get that sudden stab that… AGH! You’re still waiting.

Take a deep breath. Let it slide. Use your time wisely. Unfortunately, in this industry, the only time you take priority (unless you’re, you know, Stephen King… and I bet even he has his days) is with yourself. Agents, editors, publishers–all these folks have multiple clients and schedules that we simple #dumbwriters can’t even comprehend, especially when we’re starting out. So, if you’re going to be a professional writer, if that’s your goal, you can’t half-ass stuff. If you have one book in limbo, write another. Start something new. Keep moving. Did you edit? No, seriously: did you really edit? Have people read your draft? Multiple people? Get on that. Get better. You’re allowed to be selfish with your writing; seriously.

Lesson learned re: writing output. If you already crapped out four books this year, chances are #nano is not the best idea. #dumbwriter
So, it’s NaNoWriMo month, right? I did it last year and well, had every intention of doing it this year. Except as soon as I sat down to write something new, flags started going up all around me. My first realization was that, honestly, I don’t need a 50K draft of anything right now. Sure, I have four books from this year, and the beginning for a fifth and tons of ideas for new ones. But, speaking of priorities, is a 50K draft of a neat idea the best choice for my career at this point?

Over and over again, I asked myself this question. Then I realized, no. No it’s not. Because looking back at the books I’ve written this year I saw that two in particular were nagging at me. The drafts weren’t terrible, but they were in need of work. And if I want to get the book sold, it better be its best. It’s not something that’s going to take all month, no, but it’s got to be a priority even before I begin another project.

And honestly, this read-through/edit has been among the most fruitful of my life. The book is surprising me in so many ways. The characters are more vivid, the plotlines more complex, and I’m learning more about my writing and editing process than I ever would going full-boar NaNoWriMo. This year, it’s just not the right time for me. I want to grow, and personally, the writing part isn’t the hard part. That I’m learning to enjoy the editing process and, in turn, getting the thrill of making a good book even better, well, that’s proof I’m going about it right.

Lesson learned re: writing: There is no such thing as too many backups. (Says she of the thrice-fried hard drives) #dumbwriter
This weekend, my MacBook crashed. Big time. We were able to save the hard drive, but still had to reinstall everything. Thanks to Dropbox, and the miracle of Target Disk Mode (by way of helpful Twitter suggestions), we saved all my writing. But we came very close to losing quite a bit (at least one complete short story that I’d forgotten to backup to Dropbox).

Worse even? This is so not the first time it’s happened (see… DUMB). Over a year ago I had a hard drive meltdown, and in the process lost between 10-15K of The Aldersgate. Gone. Caput. Vanished. Instead of getting back into the groove, I sulked about it for too long. This time, even though I had two straight days with zero output, I got right back on the bandwagon. There is nothing dumb about backing up in multiple places!

—-

No one’s going to get it right the first time, and as writers we constantly have to shift gears as we write, edit, prepare, submit, promote. It’s not an easy task, sure, but that’s the business of it. The best part about being a writer in today’s world is that you’ve got an instant network if you work at it. Agents, editors, published writers, all there on Twitter, Facebook, WordPress, wherever. You can ask questions, you can get answers. You don’t have to live in hole (even though we all feel that way when we’re writing a book).

And more than anything? It’s okay to be a #dumbwriter. Don’t let people make you feel stupid for not knowing. We’ve all got to start somewhere, after all.

New writers and the lure of self-publishing

Sure, we hear a great deal about self-publishing from established writers, agents, and editors. Most tend to agree that it’s not the most brilliant idea to go bandying your first ever work about. At least if you intend to make a career out of it later. (For a good idea of when it is/isn’t a good idea, you can check out Christina Baker Kline’s “To Self-Publish or to Not Self-Publish“)

But I think, however, much of this information goes unheeded because, from my experience, new writers are the most susceptible to this trend. Surely you don’t see Stephen King uploading his latest. But why is this? Here’s a few reasons I think might contribute to why new writers are so tempted by self-publishing.

The afterglow is strong. Finishing that first book is a trippy experience; it’s like a drug. You’re on top of the world, you feel accomplished and incredible, and you’re ready to present your case to posterity. But, wait. Hold on a second… Sure, writing a book is a great accomplishment, and certainly not something that everyone is able to do in a lifetime. But lots of other writers well, um, write books. And many first novels never see the light of day, for good reason. Some new writers, however, just want to get the ball rolling. After leafing through the lastest writer’s guide they’re just too overwhelmed to know where to start, so they bypass the middleman and go straight to print.

The vanity of the printed word. They don’t call them vanity presses for nothing. In an age of digital media, perhaps this is losing its luster a bit, but I think plenty of new writers have that soft, romantic view of seeing their book “in print” for the first time. And rather than shop the book around and wait for the publishing business to catch up, they just go all-in. They’ve been waiting years to see the looks on the faces of their families when they open that book and, well, now they can do it, and are willing to compromise a lot to get a little.

Everyone’s heard of somebody who… got a book deal/was rejected 100 times and is now a Bestseller/made it big/spoke at the White House… because they self-published. Yes, sometimes it can happen. But what most of these people who “made it” after self-publishing have in common is either very good writing or unique approach. And, sad to say, but much of what is being self-published is neither.

They think they’re being badass. Sure, there’s something almost subversive about the self-publishing movement, especially for those who have had bad experiences with the publishing industry. But, well, it is a business. And like any business, writers who want to be successful have to learn to sink or swim–or find smaller tributaries that might get them in the right general direction but, chances are, will just end up causing erosion along the way… I agree with Jeff VanderMeer that, in a decade or so there’s a high liklihood that self-publishing will be more like indie record labels (which makes me wonder what small presses will be…). But until then, the best way to get a book published remains the same: be a professional, play the game, get ‘er done. Unless you don’t care what happens to your book. In which case, you’re not really being subersive just… well, kinda dumb.

They think that publishing is a lottery. And that if their book is “out there” somewhere, it’ll get picked up. The hard truth is that the publishing industry is nothing like a lottery. It’s a biased, trend-based, complex business where dozens of people make decisions that most often, don’t include you. Sure, it may seem like publication is a crap shoot. But most published writers will tell you it’s damned hard work, waiting, stubbornness, and a handful of luck tossed in. Being self-published, in most cases, won’t endear you to publishers or agents.

Many new writers are just plain impatient and/or ignorant. Instead of getting on with writing, they are continuing to flaunt their one draft. They feel entitled and special, and they’ve spent so much time writing that one book that they can’t even consider waiting more for the whole publishing machine to deal with the book. (For a great insight into a writer’s timeline, check out John Scalzi’s recent post: “Why New Novelists are Kind of Old, or Hey Publishing is Slow“) New writers are sometimes just not ready to accept that.

All that said, “self-publishing” means a lot of different things to different people. I’ve podcasted The Aldersgate over at Alderpod for a little more than a year, presenting the draft in hopes that people would respond, comment, critique. What ended up happening? People have treated it much  more like a final piece than I ever would have considered. There’s something very permanent about that approach, that I, as a new writer to the internet at the time I started, really didn’t anticipate.

Having writing available is a good thing, almost always. I’ve had more hits to the short story on my site, “Castledeck and the Arabella” than most of my other pages. It even inspired someone to do a recording of it themselves! It was a story I wrote specifically for the site–a giveaway. I had thought about doing that with the entirety of The Aldersgate, but decided against it after some consideration. That too, would have been another type of self-publishing, and even more permanent than a podcast, where listeners only have access to audio.

No, I’m not published yet. But I’m not rushing in with guns blazing. I’m not worried about rocking the short story market mostly because I write novels, primarily. I spend my time doing that, getting better, and kind of waiting. Yeah, really exciting, right? In the meantime, I’m celebrating the little victories along the way, and meeting awesome (and some not-so-awesome) people and just learning about the industry.

Inevitably people have asked me (knowing that I’ve written three novels in the past year) if I will self-publish. Even non-book people seem to think this is a logical next step. My answer? Give me a decade. I’m only 28! If nothing happens by the time I’m in my 40s, maybe it’s time to look for a new career. But in the mean time I’m doing my damnedest to do it right…

What future Natania told past Natania.

Photo by Pierre J.

Photo by Pierre J.

No, I can’t really go back in time (if I could, you’d be reading this on a telegraph!). But if I could, there’s a few things I’d tell myself about writing, publication, and and the business of print.

Never underestimate the kindness and generosity of other writers. Most of the progress I’ve made this last year has been because of the friendships I’ve made with other SF/F writers. First it was through WordPress, then it was through Twitter. Not only have other writers helped me learn the ropes and what to expect, but they’ve been a constant source of inspiration and support during the writing, editing, and shopping process.

Never underestimate the selfishness and self-centeredness of other writers. While, thankfully, not as common as the nice folks, there are some astonishingly vain writers out there who are writing for one reason: themselves. They feed off of praise and adulation, and love to talk about themselves and their work but rarely help other people. Steer clear of these folks, no matter what honeyed promises they give you.

Listen to agents. It’s hard advice, at first. It will likely burst your happy little bubble, and will be difficult to hear. At first you’ll be overwhelmed by the number of queries each and every agent gets, then by the sheer fail of it all. But then you’ll realize how important it is that you listen to their advice because, unlike ten years ago, now with Twitter and Facebook and the blogsplosion, you have the opportunity to be in the know. The secrets are out, for the most part. But, conversely, you have no excuse for being ignorant! So in some ways, the competition is even more intense. Keep on your toes.

The Internet is not magic. Just because you blog, podcast, write, critique, and are involved in active Twitter chats doesn’t mean you’ll find success. It can help, of course, but it still takes persistence and work. There are no magic publication fairies that will scoop up your manuscript and whisk it off to Tor. That said, you have to act as your own emissary–so be on good behavior, and try not to be a dick.

Rejection isn’t personal. It’s biased, yes, but not personal. It’s also part of the game. Learning to wear rejection as a badge of honor is a good idea, but it’s no easy task. You can think you’re tough, but life is weird. Chances are you’ll get a major rejection on a day that was crap already, and no matter how much you try to say it doesn’t bother you, it will. It’s natural. It’s something you hoped for, and nothing sucks so much as the destruction of hope (even if it’s just temporary). However, you’re only allowed to let it bother you for a day, an hour, a small increment of time, and then move on. If you can’t move on, frankly, you’re just not cut out for this business.

Make your own victories. It’s not about what you’re writing compared to everyone else. It’s not even about your word count. It’s about telling your story and telling it right. It’s about finding your own voice. Make daily goals, and stick to them. As long as you keep championing on, the sting of rejection won’t be so harsh.

Never take your readers for granted. Their input is some of the most meaningful and helpful you’ll ever get. There is nothing so amazing as sharing something with a reader and having them enjoy it, having the story mean something to them, too. Listen to everything they say… their comments can be more insightful than the most seasoned critic.

Grow a pair. You’ll find, as you continue to write, and move beyond that first novel, that there are things you should have done, could have done, and were afraid to do. Be fearless. Go out on a limb. Be the voice you want to hear. Maybe you can’t slay dragons in real life, but you can do anything between the lines. Trust your imagination, listen to your characters, and be brave enough to heed what you hear.

Read, read, read. Never go a day without reading something. Read books that rock, books that suck. Read how-to books and mystery novels and gardening books. Read cooking books and encyclopedias. Learn from the craft, never stop the stream of information. It is what you love, and if you stray from that path, you’ll get lost. Trust me, I know.

Novelfail: Facing rejection with grace (or learning to)

I’ve had short stories rejected before, and I like to think I’m pretty good at dealing with it. At least, it’s enough to piss me off a while, but not enough to throw me into the pit and give up writing. The story selection process is extremely subjective, and I can deal with that. I just keep writing.

However, yesterday, on my way to take my sister to her chemotherapy treatment, I got my first novel rejection letter. This is another bird altogether, and due to the timing of the situation–dealing with jetlag and the issues my sister is facing–I was a little bent out of shape for a few hours.

My biggest complaint might seem strange, but I really wish it had been a form rejection. Just a simple “this isn’t for us, thanks for your submission”. As it was, the rejection letter praised my “well-written” work, and noted that the characters were engaging. Sure, that’s nice. But it also let me know the exact reason for the rejection.

And the reason? It’s a small detail that has very little bearing on the rest of the plot. It’s not even something I had to keep, just something I thought was neat.  I read over the letter again and again, and just couldn’t get my head around it. If they’d read a few more chapters, it would have been explained. It was supposed to be a point of intrigue! (But… instead was a point of FAIL)

Because of the conversational tone of the rejection letter, I was tempted to write back and argue my case. I mean, they even gave me suggestions to change that detail! It took me about thirty seconds to realize that that was a very, very stupid idea. In fact, it’s a kiss of death. You never write back after a rejection! NEVER. Especially as an unagented newbie… I need to be on absolute best behavior.

What’s hard is that I feel really, really ineffectual. And I hate feeling that way! I want to fight for my novel, to give it a chance, to argue my point. I joke that I’m cowardly, but I’m fighting a very knightly feeling to rise up and protect! Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to be mean about it–I understand their hangup in that it seems a little odd. I just want to show them what I did with it, as they didn’t read past the first three chapters.

But I can’t. I have to accept their decision, and move on, hoping that someone else will pick up the novel when I submit it again.

Rejection is part of the game, though. I’m continuing to think about it, and insist that this is all for the better, but can’t shake the crappy feeling. I guess that’s human. Still, I’m not flagging; I literally got the letter and wrote about 100 words in my WIP just because I sort of had to. Which is a victory in and of itself. The hardest thing about rejection is the feeling it gives you, how it makes you question what you love doing. But writing, for me, isn’t just about loving it, or sharing it. It’s about making a living, about improving.

And the only way to win against rejection is to get better at what you do.

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” – Samuel Beckett