REJECTION: Half Full or Half empty?

           I received two more rejection slips the same day this week. One of the greatest challenges for new writers is the sure string of rejections certain to appear in the mailbox or inbox of your email.  Without a doubt, managing this aspect of an emerging writer’s career is the most daunting.

The immediate visceral response to these tends to be it as a confirmation of one’s greatest fear; that is, having embarked on what amounts to an impossible journey. It results in once again analyzing the wisdom or sanity of trying to write for publication. This includes a deep consideration regarding whether or not all the time, effort, and energy spent producing our work would be better off spent on other things.

The story I received the rejections for, You Look Like My Daughter, ultimately is about how we choose to interpret things. A key to surviving as a new writer is in understanding the need to interpret rejection in the context of one’s chosen goals.

Writer’s Relief, the research group I used to help determine where to send out Daughter, and whom I will blog about as I am sending out my next, says it takes at least 100 rejections before one is successfully published.  Using this as a guide, I can also think of it that I am 1/10 of the way there. The rejections I received this month were for a story sent out in July. That is why having multiple works out is so important. The steady feedback that your work is out there and you are increasing your chances by these numbers is imperative. Because one of the thrills of being a writer is the potential to have your work read by a wider audience I am realizing that while I am making progress in the numbers game, I need to get more work out there.

To me, at least this early in my excursion into the world of writing fiction, a rejection means I actually have met the goal of getting some work out there. It also is a good checkpoint for me to update my plan. Since it happens to be close to the New Year, it is a perfect opportunity to incorporate my interpretation into my writing resolutions.

Is the glass half full or half empty? Half full definitely works better to keep one going. For now, I think I’ll stick with this one!

Coming soon: A writer’s New Year’s resolutions.



REVISIONS

How do you know when a story is really done?

For me, this is the hardest skill to learn. One thing I now know is the process of revision is far more extensive than I initially thought.

As part of my plan to return to writing, I want to do some market testing. There is no question that the ultimate goal for most writers is publication. I decided to complete three stories, send them out, and see if I get any feedback that suggests my writing is at a publishable level. As I worked with my mentor, it became apparent that my belief in a few revisions was way off. As I work to complete the second and third stories, I am in the midst of revising theme each twenty times.

A key part of the revision process is finding people whom can give you feedback that is valuable. I have learned to give the feedback time to enter my mind. An interesting phenomenon has been my initial response of frustration when I send off what I think is my final draft and it comes back with numerous suggestions. After the obligatory response of wanting to quit and deciding I just am not going to succeed at this, I force myself to sit down at my desk and work on them.

Each time, the next draft is better.

As a general rule, I find my characters to be interesting and am drawn to them. I am starting to realize as I get close to the final version I am actually getting sick of them! In sending off the latest revision of one of the stories I am currently working on, I realize I am close.

Everything I have read says that it is best to have your work in the best form possible before sending it out for publication. Be forewarned, extensive revisions are a major part of that process. Find someone who can give you valuable feedback and make sure you take the time to give your writing the support it needs in the revision process. In the end, it will be worth it!  

The Basics

So, what exactly should be in the plan for a new writer?

Where to begin?

Well, although it seems obvious….writing! A major part of successful planning is the development of specific/concrete goals. I am also a strong believer in developing goals that one can be successful in reaching, as this makes it easier to stay motivated. The key is making a specific commitment to writing; one that you can attain. I know some writers who simply make a commitment to writing a certain amount of time per day or week. Others will set their goals related to completion of a certain story or chapter within a particular timeframe. The bottom line is to become successful at anything, putting in the time is essential.

While quantity of writing time is extremely important in developing a plan to be a successful writer, another key component is developing the quality of your writing. I have found this part to be a lot less straightforward. There are the obvious paths of pursuing a formal degree through college. My experience however, is many people whom are interested in pursuing writing may not be able to pursue this avenue. When I first started writing again I did an online course at Gotham Writer’s School. There are plenty of these types of opportunities.  I have heard Writer’s Digest University offers good ones as well. I think the key is though, that part of any successful plan for a new writer needs to include a concerted effort to learn/improve the craft through some formal training.

While I found the online classes helpful, they did not provide me the degree of depth I felt I needed. I continued working on the quality of my writing by pursuing a one-to-one mentorship and have found it to be extraordinarily helpful. The added advantage of the mentorship is it focuses specifically on my work so it fits into being part of my commitment of time to writing. It is important to note that both of these require taking on some expenses, with the mentorship being more expensive. That being said, it is money I feel is well spent and the truth is it is very hard to develop any business without the investment of some resources.

As part of my “other” profession, I attend conferences as part of my professional development and continued education. I have always found these events helpful and stimulating. Thus, as part of my writing plan, I set the goal of attending a minimum of two writing conferences per year. So far, they have been very helpful in learning more about the field as well as learning the craft itself. One of the goals of this website will be to summarize what I learn as I continue to attend conferences.

 A final part of beginning your plan to be a writer becomes evident pretty quickly. As with any business, the business of writing requires a budget. Many of the activities I described above do require some expense and it is important to recognize and plan for this right at the beginning. It is important to think about how many resources you would like to put towards your writing career so you can begin to decide where they would be most effectively utilized.

So, if you are thinking of developing a plan for seriously pursuing creative writing, there are a few basics to consider right off the start. First, set concrete/specific goals for the quantity of time you are going to spend actually writing. In addition, pursue a professional development and continuing education strategy for learning the craft and improving the quality of your writing. Finally, develop a budget in recognition of the fact there will be some expense in the serious pursuit of a writing career.

The Next Level

So perhaps I have made it to the next level as a writer. At the 2011 Writer’s Digest Conference, a couple of the speakers talked about how the attendees, by virtue of the knowledge and experience they gained by attending, had taken a step to the next level. It got me thinking….so what exactly does it mean in the field of writing to be at the next level?

Is it the pervasive feeling I am in way over my head? That the business of writing is nothing like I imagined it to be? That perhaps I should forget the whole thing and focus on all the things I already have accomplished?

Then it hit me. I needed to do what I have done for the majority of my professional life. I needed a plan.

Yes, I said it. I needed to give up the fantasy that I would sit at my computer, type out the cacophony of thoughts and ideas percolating in my mind, and someone in the publishing industry would recognize their brilliance and pay handsomely for them. The reality, writing is a business and so, success would require the same approach as any business would. This blog and website represent one of the first steps of my plan to explore the writing industry.

Perhaps the next level is a recognition it is time to embark on a journey that will take me places I never expected to go. At the conference, a constant theme was the need to develop a “platform”. I made a commitment to invest in my writing career by developing a website which can be used as my platform. I am thrilled at the fact that as I write this it represents completion of one of the first major goals of my plan.

Even though I feel as if I am on this journey alone, I know there are many others on a similar one. As I was developing the idea of the website, it came to me to integrate the other areas of my life into my writing. Since part of my “full-time job” involves teaching, I decided a major theme of this site will be to chronicle all that I have learned about the writing industry as I go through it. My hope is that other beginning writers can benefit from the experiences and knowledge that ultimately will be the content of this site. I am excited to hear from others so please feel free to help by letting me know what you like, dislike, would like to see, and even contribute actual content.

So…perhaps I really have reached the next level. Not only have I developed a basic business plan to launch my writing career but I am beginning to meet some of the concrete goals I have set for myself. The funny thing is, typing this statement is not as painful as I thought it would be! It doesn’t mean I have given up the fantasy of my creative genius being recognized and sought, it means I am a step closer.

Next up: Other aspects of “The Plan…”