| Author | Message | ||
     Carey AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Carey Post Number: 1607 Registered: 05-2004 Rating: |
Hello I don't know if you remember a post that asked the question "Why do you write". Several of you replied in passionate details the driving force behind your desires and need to write. I can assume all of you have felt the sting of rejection. Not just your final product but also a brutal construtive criticism of a chapter or character developement. It could even be a business plan of a draft of a speech, I know you've had what you thought to be the s**t and someone that you respect, told you that it was a mess. Now, my question is, what next. I know there is a tendency to defend your work. But then the realization that they could be right kicks in. Do you then still argue your position or fight through the pain of rejection and use the feedback in a positive way. Surely the answer is to do whats positive but exactly how do you get past "you". What if they ask you to show more passion in your writing. How do you do that? What if they asked for more personality? Could you give an example of that. The pain of rejection is hard. How do you get through it and not try to defend your position. Is there a tendency to think that you know better than those you've choosen to critc/edit your work. That's certainaly a foolish position but I am sure it happens? Could yawl share a few stories of rejection/feedback and the resolutions. | ||
| Carey AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Carey Post Number: 1608 Registered: 05-2004 Rating: N/A |
I need a hug, yawl, and some words of wisdom ...**sigh** | ||
| Urban_scribe AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Urban_scribe Post Number: 722 Registered: 05-2006 Rating: N/A |
from Wikipedia: In 1995, Rowling finished her manuscript for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone on an old manual typewriter. Upon the enthusiastic response of Bryony Evans, a reader who had been asked to review the book’s first three chapters, the Fulham-based Christopher Little Literary Agents agreed to represent Rowling in her quest for a publisher. The book was submitted to twelve publishing houses, all of which rejected the manuscript. Guess who's sorry now, Carey? I'd say 12 publishing houses. Look, writing is art. Like all other art forms, writing is subjective: One man's trash is another man's treasure. You can't allow one editor's OPINION of your work to deter you. If you believe what you've written is worthy of publication, then submit it, and keep submitting it, until you've exhausted EVERY publishing house that accepts your genre. Along the way, if you're fortunate enough to receive a detailed rejection letter that outlines where your story "fell apart" for that particular editor, then take those suggestions under serious consideration and tighten up your ms accordingly. Overwhelmingly, you'll receive form rejection letters that pretty much tell you "Thanks, but no thanks" and nothing more. When an editor takes the time to let you know why your ms didn't work for her, once you've finished cussing her out and calling her every idiot in the book because she failed to understand you, take a step back from your work, separate the art from the artist, and look at your ms through her eyes. One thing you must bear in mind is that when an editor rejects your work, they're doing just that - rejecting your work, not rejecting you personally. They don't know you, all they know about you are the words on the pages in front of them. Allow your inner artist to be pissed for about half a second, let all the self-doubt sink in for about half a second then shake it off and try, try again. I reject manuscripts every day. And I've received my share of hate mail indicating how completely clueless and incompetent I am; how I just didn't "get it". But every now and then, every now and then, I receive a letter thanking me. And so another thing to remember is that editors don't wake up in the morning thinking, "how many writers can I phuk with today". We don't have quotas, eg. for every one ms we accept for publication, we must reject thirty-three. Truthfully, a good portion of manuscripts that are rejected have nothing to do with the writing. Sometimes it's just as simple as writers not following submission guidelines and/or submitting a work that particular house doesn't publish. Sometimes it's as simple as bad timing - they already have a similar work slated for publication. I just rejected an ms yesterday; I found the writing to be well-executed and the topic fascinating. Alas, it was a non-fic subject that my company doesn't publish, so I had to take a pass on it. And my rejection letter was a simple: Thank you for thinking of [name of publishing company]. Unfortunately, we are not the right publisher for this work. [Name of publishing company] wishes you great success in your writing career. I won't be the least bit surprised when I see that book published. Based on the sample chapters and assuming the rest of the ms is as good, does that work deserve to be published in my opinion - yes. Could I accept that work for publication - no. And sometimes I receive mss that just aren't "ready yet". The concept is good and the writer has a distinct voice, but the ms lacks a certain "oomph". I like the work, but I don't love it. It's almost publishable, but not quite there. (And no, it's not an editor's job to fix that. If that were the case, editors would acquire everything that came through the door). Each time an editor opens a submission, they're looking to fall head-over-heels in love. Believe me, we kiss a lot of literary frogs in search of our literary prince. You see, I can stand before an acquisition board and fight passionately for a work I'm passionate about, but I can't fight passionately for a work I'm just interested in. I love my sweets, one of my favorite desserts is lemon creme pie. There's a restaurant here in NYC that makes the best lemon creme pie I've ever tasted. I have gone out in the pouring rain, the freezing cold, and the sweltering heat, to go get THAT lemon creme pie. Over the years, I must've tasted at least a dozen different lemon creme pies. They were all pretty good but nothing special - unlike THAT lemon creme pie. Editors receive lots of pretty good mss but nothing special, nothing they'd go out of their way to acquire, nothing they'd stand and fight for. We're looking for THAT manuscript. | ||
| A_womon AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: A_womon Post Number: 2549 Registered: 05-2004 Rating: N/A |
Carey, You should love your work, but you should never love it so much that you refuse to do rewrites. I've said this on the boards before. One of the reasons a writer can keep getting rejected is they send out the exact same manuscript without reworking what they've written, despite professionals (sometimes it's someone the writer has hired to edit their work, sometimes it may be a knowledgeable friend,or professor, etc, who has some understanding about the writing process) making suggestions that could help you make your work stronger. No matter who you've asked to look over your work, look at the critique with an open mind. Ask yourself would making changes suggested change the heart of what you are trying to say, or would it merely enhance and clarify what you have written? Only you can answer that question. My two cents... Yes I can do that. | ||
| Chrishayden "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Chrishayden Post Number: 7717 Registered: 03-2004 Rating: N/A |
Now, my question is, what next (Generally you view editors like you view lovers. When one dumps you the best way to get over it is to get another one. I usually have compiled a list of publications or editors or publishers to send a work to. When the first one rejects it I send it out again to the next one. And so on and so on. Most of the time the rejection is general. So you don't know if your story stank, or it did not fit the magazines needs, or it was too long or too short, or they already had one like it, or what. If you do not get a specific reason, then go on. There are some editors who just reject anything from a first time author out of hand. They only start considering or responding specifically after they have rejected you several times. They call themselves breaking you in, making you pay dues. If you have NEVER EVER had anything published before you can play this game with them. If you have, screw them and go to someone else.) What if they ask you to show more passion in your writing. How do you do that? (This is just general bushwah. If they tell you that ask them how or where or what do they mean or, better yet, ask them for an example--writer or story. If they don't reply they were bsing you. They do that, too, you know. They are human.) What if they asked for more personality? (See above) The pain of rejection is hard. How do you get through it and not try to defend your position (You got to get over it. The first thing Professional Wrestlers learn is how to fall without injuring themselves, because in their game they are going to fall a lot. The first thing a writer has to learn is how to take rejection, because you are going to get rejected a lot. Isaac Asimov said he used to get rejected all the time, even after he got famous. Walter Moseley tells the story of his publisher, who'd published all his Easy Rawlins mysteries, rejecting his science fiction. You can be rejected for many reasons. Above all DO NOT SEND OUT ONE STORY, BOOK,QUERY--WHATEVER--AND SIT AROUND WAITING TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS. After you send one thing out, start to work on another one. I generally have several projects up in the air at any one time. One gets rejected, screw it. I'm on something else. Martha Bass, God Rest Her Soul, a gospel singer (and mother to David Peaston and Fontella Bass) used to say you better have a rubber butt if you get out here cuz you gonna git kicked in it a lot. And so it goes. | ||
| Cynique "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Cynique Post Number: 13458 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A |
In other words, when your masterpiece gets rejected, "suck it in". Tomorrow you might get lucky. | ||
| Carey AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Carey Post Number: 1609 Registered: 05-2004 Rating: N/A |
Hello Coming to this board should be a college credit. I don't care if you are a would-be writer, speaker or debater, there's something to be learned while you're escaping behind the veil of the Internet. My first real writing class was years ago at Ball State in Muncie, Indiana. It was never my goal to be a writer, I think it was a require class of some sort. However, like many other courses that are stocking stuffers for the institutions, I learned little from that experience. I've held resentments towards those that champion experience over education. I've frequently viewed that as a way for others to discriminate, in a sly way. But, like the earlier post that asked the question, why do you write, this post is generating responses that are opinions based on years and "tears" of experience. It's like listening to visiting professors from across the United States. Here are a couple more that arrived off the board: Hi Carey, Here's a HUG, I have been hired to do some "ghost" writing on a t.v. show right now and I'm not able to visit the board very much for a while. I just wanted to tell you that #1-- #2--even the very best works of literature have all been rejected; it's all a matter of personal TASTE. #3--One of the worst things a Writer can do is invite too many people to consult, advise and coach on how to write. You have to pay your dues like everyone else. You have to write. You also have to write from your own unique voice--what you wish to say to the world and who you wish to say it through is so integral that it has to be a "personal" decision made by your mind and soul. You can't have all these cooks in the kitchen pumping you up --because that's not writing. That's plotting. And plotting; pasting things together; trying to please 100 different people--it will destroy your chances. you need to form an outline of a story that you want to tell. After you form the outline and you've made notes about the characters---just sit in the floor square legged and rock your body back and forth taking deep breaths. Begin to tell yourself parts of the story as though you are an old grandfather telling a story orally. This is a good practice for finding your voice and loosening yourself up. Perhaps you will want to FIRST write a short story. That takes more skill and attention than a full novel and it is the best way for writers to hone their skills, develop their voice and teach themselves how to write their own style. What you must learn is to how to write a "Carey" novel. Not how to write like someone else or what you think will please such and such a person. Frustration, stops and starts, writer's block---that's all part of the process when you are looking for your voice. Go sit in the floor when you're alone---total silence around you and rock yourself telling a story. Shut out the outside world and begin to learn how to be alone and live within the world of your writing voice. 90% of writing is being alone and entertaining yourself with words and sentences. When you see a lady with a big yellow hat crossing the street ---make up an oral story about her. These excersizes will help you to find your voice. Once you are comfortable with your writer's voice--then you will begin to say what it is that is deep inside you dying to get out. Even if that something is merely making others feel good by entertaining them with "escapism." Doesn't matter if it's hardcore "literature" or commercial escapism ---it just has to be YOU and it has to come from the sincerest part of you. You already have the basic skills. I saw the sketches. Here's a Big Hug. Kola Boof ************************** Anonymous (preferred by e-mailer) Old school flavor is what you exude in your writing at AALBC. I would guess that on the boards, you write the way you speak. Carey, you have lived several lives in one lifetime...draw on your rich and varied experiences. You "show" passion in your writing by describing a situation in which you were passionate. Or tenacious, or motivated, or witty... Paint them a picture of your first ******* What would that look like? Do you have a childhood story that's relevant to paints you in the light in which you want to be seen? Is a bid whist game a metaphor for the writing life? If so, tell them that, and in the process you will tell them a lot about you. Images, images, images. #1 rule of writing: Show, don't tell. Be specific! "There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein. " ~Walter Wellesley "Red" Smith ************************************************* Wow, I can't wait to read more. So far, all the posts have been little gems, short, long ... brilliant. | ||
| Caribana First Time Poster Username: Caribana Post Number: 1 Registered: 01-2009 Rating: N/A |
Hello, I don't see any 'new thread' heading, so here I am introducing myself. I'm Caribana from de Caribbean. Here's a new book by my intro. http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail~bookid~58492.aspx Enjoy!! | ||
| Caribana Newbie Poster Username: Caribana Post Number: 2 Registered: 01-2009 Rating: N/A |
I mean 'new thread' for newcomers to introduce themselves. | ||
| Kola_boof AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Kola_boof Post Number: 4932 Registered: 02-2005 Rating: N/A |
Carey, you posted my email.  How sweet. |
