new publisher?

[Teresa Edgerton]

OK, I don't mean to be crabby here -- or actually, maybe I do, because I've seen things going on around here that are not at all helpful to new writers.

The people who know the least about publishing always seem to have the most to say, and it's almost all negative, and it gets passed around and around and around, until everyone takes it for granted.

It's very discouraging to new writers. They see the whole publishing field characterized as a brutal, uncaring, monolith, peopled by individuals who have nothing better to do than make up stupid, arbitrary rules and crush the hopes of hardworking unpublished writers. With people telling them this, under the guise of offering sympathy and encouragement (and no doubt believing that they are offering sympathy and encouragement), it's no wonder so many writers give up far too soon, after only a handful of rejections.

There is an element of luck. Editors are human and make mistakes. But hard work and determination and a sincere desire to learn and improve do count for something. There are two ways of looking at rejections:

#1 We are all helpless pawns and unappreciated geniuses, victims of a cruel system.

#2 I still have a few things to learn. I am capable of learning them, although it may take a great deal of time and effort.

Now, honestly, which viewpoint is the most empowering?

[John Jarrold]

Positive thinking is necessary for all writers, for sure! If you don't believe in yourself, why would anyone else?

[Mark Robson]

Originally Posted by John Jarrold

Positive thinking is necessary for all writers, for sure! If you don't believe in yourself, why would anyone else?

Here, here! The sad thing is that much of the publishing world in the UK is depressed - it's only the nature of the moaning that varies. I hear accomplished authors of high standing often moan that publishers are not doing enough to promote their work and that advances do not reflect the value of what they have written. Believe me, aspiring writers do not have the monopoly on reasons for finding life in the publishing industry is not 'fair'.

My view has always been a positive one. Whilst everyone else around me moans, I go out and make things happen. Perhaps that is why my readership is still growing rapidly and my publisher is keen to acquire more of my work. Let's face it, there are a huge number of authors out there with a lot more talent than me, but few who can say they have progressed their career as far as I have in the last 18 months.

Do I still get rejected? Of course I do! Does it hurt? You bet it does. Despite my sales record there are shops that still turn me away when I approach them to organise events. Schools still turn me away because my fees are too much for them (I charge just over half of the recommended minimum fee) and as far as I know, despite all the positive reviews and strong sales, the Imperial Series has not even been nominated in any of the regional awards, let alone the nationals.

Is any of this going to stop me being positive? No. Today I will write for my six hours, or 2000 words, whichever comes first. I will then send out posters to schools and shops, and later in the evening I will get on with reading the next in my stack of research material. I have already seen discipline and positive thinking take me further than I could ever have imagined possible. It is the indomitable spirit that will always make the most impressive victories.

[John Jarrold]

Yes, writers should, of course, LOVE what they do! Some parts of a writer's life are going to be Desperate Fun, but others are serious. And making things happen, as Mark says, is a part of a writer's life.

[Triceratops]

Well said, Mark and John. This is not an easy business. I had some success 17 years ago, where most of my credits reside. I just came back with a vengence in the past two years, having written six books now. It's nose to the grind stone every day for me, without letup. Sometimes it's ten hours a day, but I'm willing to give that up. It's a business that requires tremendous dicipline. Not short courts. Study your markets. Learn and perfect your craft. And for God sakes, listen to your agent.

If some one were to tell me that they wanted to be a writer, I'd probably tell them to take two asprin, prostrate themselves in a dark room, and wait for the feeling to pass. It ain't easy. Short term gratification doesn't exist.

Poul Anderson said it best when I asked him how long it would take me to master the craft.

"Preferably a lifetime."

Tri

[John Jarrold]

Cheers, Tri! I remember saying to Tim Powers once: 'Think of it as a career...'

[SJAB]

I would just like to say thanks to everyone for their good wishes, and to Teresa and Mark for injecting some down to earth advice on the business into the thread.

Personally I don't think there is a "them and us" situation in publishing. It might have a stronger element of personal taste than some (Though I ran a small craft business for years and that was very much guided by the taste of the buyers) and a editor/agent will go with what they believe is right for them/can be sold.

Sending a story/novel off to a publisher/agent is really the same as applying for a job or tendering a contract. You hope you have what is needed, but then again you have to be prepared for the no thank you, or even no reply at all. They hurt, of course they do. Worse still is having your work accepted, then held for three months before a magazine says, we like it, but we just can't use it at present. I have had that a couple of times with one market. Then a good friend sent his first story there and got accepted and published. His story hit all the right buttons at the right time, simple as that.

It is hard work and as Triceratops said, "It ain't easy. Short term gratification doesn't exist."

It isn't and like all want-to-bes I found that out the hard way over the last ten years of trying. That is why I a so proud of the fact that I have actually sold a short story in the paying market. I am tempted to just frame the cheque as proof I can do it.

The strange thing is when I began this mad idea of trying to write I corresponded with a published author, who was at the time a member of the same forum (not a writing one, a subject I was studying at the time) He said, well in ten years you should be starting to sell. I thought he was joking at the time, seems he wasn't. I have spent ten years of trying, slowly improving, learning all I can, having some highs and some lows where I wonder why I am doing this and what for. Not for money that is for sure. Maybe it is a desire to put down the day dreams in my head. I enjoy it, love the research I have to do with each project, love the contract with others. Trying to write has widened my interests and brought me a lot of friends, for that reason alone it has been worth it.

[John Jarrold]

You sum up the need for both enthusiasm and a sense of reality extremely well! Per Ardua ad Astra!

[Mark Robson]

Originally Posted by John Jarrold

You sum up the need for both enthusiasm and a sense of reality extremely well! Per Ardua ad Astra!

Now there's some latin I do know! You weren't in the RAF, were you?

[John Jarrold]

Ha! No, but I was in the Air Training Corps at school! We got to fly planes and fire guns. The Scouts got to...tie knots...no-brainer...

[SJAB]

Thank you, John.

As to the Scouts things might have changed. My daughter is in the Guides and went backpacking round six European countries in two weeks with them when she was 16. This year as a young leader she is off to Barbados to work with the Brownie groups there. In my day it was learning how to mend socks and if you were lucky camping for a weekend in Wales.

[John Jarrold]

See, 'back-packing'...that made me shudder at 14, let alone now. Give me a nice, warm barracks in the ATC. Or now, a nice en suite hotel room...

[Mark Robson]

Originally Posted by John Jarrold

See, 'back-packing'...that made me shudder at 14, let alone now. Give me a nice, warm barracks in the ATC. Or now, a nice en suite hotel room...

I'm with you! I've had my fill of camping, survival exercises, mess tins, and baked beans. Give me a nice five star hotel and a three (four or five) course meal every time.

[SJAB]

Back-packing, and camping are great when you are young. The holiday that sends shivers down my spine is the "self-catering" family holiday. i.e. twice as much housework as normal with sun burn.

[John Jarrold]

Originally Posted by SJAB

Back-packing, and camping are great when you are young. .

Hell, no! Didn't like them then, either! Comfort, warmth...probably why I hated cross-country running at school and always entered the 100 yards race!