Last January, I finished a first draft of a novel. I was quite proud of myself. I thought I had really done something. I thought, hey, I'll just check this thing for typos and send it on its way. There are so so SO many things wrong with that thought. First of all, what my novel really needed was a meaningful and constructive critique followed by a deep revision process that bordered (actually, is bordering) on a total re-write. Besides the writing, there's a whole gamut of elements that go into the "send it on it's way" part of things. - Buy the Writer's Market. Find agents and publishers who take unsolicited submissions. Learn to write query letters. Go to conferences. Network with other writers. Start a blog. Comment and support other blogs. Keep up on your reading. Submit your work. Take the rejection. Get an agents. Build a platform. Give your readers something of value.
Did that list make your head spin? It makes me want to panic, put the computer down and just deny that I have any interest in writing, but I know deep down, that just won't work. Writing is a compulsion. That sounds bad, I know, but I've now spoken to enough writers that I know that it's pretty normal, - or writer normal, which isn't normal at all, but I digress. So, I have to write. Fine. But that doesn't mean I have to try to publish. But if I don't try to publish, why even bother writing? It's like the damn tree in the forest. Somebody needs to hear that thing. These circumstances leave me with few options beyond getting the information and figuring it out. It's all I can do, so I'm reading the books and the blogs, going to the conferences and listening to words of the writers who have managed to pull off this seemingly impossible task. As I run into gems, and I've already been lead to a few, I'll be sure to share, and if you're reading this and have found things that have helped you, I invite you to do the same. Tell me everything and I'll do the same for you, because it's all we can do. Learn it and then work it. Good luck to us all!
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