Lessons from the Publishing Underbelly by Deb Jenny

If you would like a glimpse into what publishing teaches many writers, click here. I probably don’t need to write anything more, because that about sums it up. But just for fun, here goes…

Publishing has taught me:
– to be determined
– to be goal-oriented
– to be determined
– that while I’d be a lousy at selling cogs or widgets because I don’t have any connection with them, I definitely have a latent salesman (hopefully not Willie Loman!) gene in me when it comes to something I do believe in, such as my writing
– to be determined
– how not to let my spirit be crushed
– to be determined

And to be completely fair, publishing has also taught me:
– to force myself to be a better writer
– to be determined
– to reach deep within myself and pull out what I didn’t know was in there, in order to be a better writer
– to be determined
– to believe in myself
– to be determined

Growing up as the lone girl amongst three brothers, I faced plenty of adversity. And I dealt with it by digging in my heels, setting my mind on my goal, and being certain I wasn’t going to let anyone get in my way. I didn’t know what a gift this would be for my future career as a writer. Who’d have known that same stubborn streak that enabled me to hold out for that last remaining serving of Count Chocula would also keep me from succumbing to discouragement as a professional writer and calling it quits. Because the vagaries of the publishing industry are legendary; many an author has been chewed up and thwacked out like a fat wad of tobacco along that potholed highway to publication.

Publishing has also taught me patience. In spades. I remember one time on Dateline NBC, or maybe it was Prime Time, they showed a compelling psychological experiment in which a group of children were tested to see if they could delay gratification. Before each child were placed ten M&Ms . The kids were told if they could refrain from eating the candy for ten minutes, they would be rewarded with an additional ten M&Ms. It was amusing to watch as some children instantly inhaled the candy while others wrestled with the dilemma before caving in to their desires, and others still sat patiently till the timer went off, ultimately enjoying their added bounty, not showing the least sign of having felt deprived. Let me tell you right off–I would be have been in that first greedy group. Patience is a camp in which I seldom pitch my tent.

But in publishing, if you don’t have patience you will go mad with waiting. Nothing comes suddenly. The writing process, the revision process, the agent-solicitation process, the editorial-submission process, back again to revisions, more editing, copy edits, copy editing the copy edits, and then waiting forever for the book to come out. All at a pace several notches slower than that of a dying one-armed no-legged man dragging himself toward an oasis in the desert. I won’t even get into the payment aspect of things–but rest assured that it’s a long, long, long time between when a contract is signed and a royalty payment arrives.

Some other things you might not know about publishing. Unlike with a more remunerative profession–say, trading on Wall Street, where you’re pretty much deciding whether to buy or sell–writers need to refine skills we never knew we had. Such as divining tea leaves. I cannot tell you how many times I have sat at my computer trying to interpret a rejection (or the more optimistic “positive rejection”). Or helping a writer friend interpret a rejection.

“Okay, by ‘no’, did she mean ‘no’? Or would she take another look at it after I revised it?”
“And what exactly does it mean, ‘You have a fabulous voice, but the book doesn’t feel ready yet’?”
“Hmmm…by ‘unsympathetic protagonist’, does she mean the protagonist is beyond redemption? Or does this particular editor not like smart aleck characters?”
“Well, when they say try back in a couple of weeks and you’ve tried back every couple of weeks for eight months, does that mean it’s time to stop trying back?”
“If everyone else is writing about vampires/werewolves/red-headed-stepchildren/teen angst/memoirs/the color of the sky, then maybe I should stop writing what I’m comfortable writing and write about six-headed nymphomaniac-slasher-stalkers…”

The funny thing about this business is that it can be very hormonal. PMS has nothing on the world of a writer navigating the murky waters of publishing. A professional writer is given to extreme highs and lows–it’s the nature of the beast. On a given day a writer can get a hugely insulting rejection (“you’re not cut out to be a writer”) and flattering affirmation (“Your book changed my life, I can’t thank you enough for putting into words what I feel.”) Because of this erratic temperament, there are some days in which I feel like a squirrel in the middle of the road. Headed one way, then back, then back again, and oh, damn, what am I to do? And I guess there are some days I feel like that poor squirrel who ends up flattened along the double-yellow line. Crushed by the inability to move in one direction successfully. But then I have those times when I’ve socked away enough acorns for the winter and I get to be fat and happy, content in the knowledge that I did everything I could, and the rest is up to the fates. Those days make up for all of the roadkill days.

In one of the writing groups to which I belong, we remind ourselves frequently: T-P-T. Talent-Persistence-Timing. It all plays into it. With a lot of hard work, and a lot of good fortune, eventually things will happen. As for the talent part? That comes along with the hard work. And sure, there are those who can’t write very well, for whom a book deal somehow miraculously falls into their lap, but for the most part there are a hell of a lot of terrific writers all competing for that holy grail, and those who give up might even be some of the most gifted, but if they don’t have it in them to tough it out, no one will ever find out. So maybe it’s not so much hormonal as Darwinian. In that case, pass the Peanut M&Ms. Looks like we’ll be needing them in the meantime.