Whenever anyone asks me how I got my start writing, it comes out that I went to an arts high school. It wasn’t strictly a performing arts school, although all the rich old ladies who donated money seemed to want it to be. No, in addition to music, theatre, and dance, we had the counterculture Visual Arts department and the somewhat less glamorous Communication Arts. I loved my time in…
This post is a little tough for me to write, because I know I can’t write the magical post that most writers seeking representation are longing to read: “Ten Steps That Will 100% Result in Your Finding an Agent.” I know from my pre-publication days that it seems like there’s a secret code, an insidery method to getting an agent (and then selling your novel). Sadly, it’s not true. But…
(Also read: Part One & Part Two) The language of book publishing is the language of a heady, passionate love affair: Adore, real, emotional, open, honest, LOVE. Those were the words from the early rejections I clung to (blocking out “cancer is a tough sell” and “not for me” and “don’t feel the burning passion”) the entire trip from Wisconsin to Maine, like a woman who’s been dumped but keeps…
When Falling Under went out on submission I thought I was ready. Yes, I upped my email checking from, say, twenty times a day to, oh, two hundred. And of course I hovered by the phone and studied the submission list, ate more chocolate and drank more coffee than usual, took up and put down a few dozen projects–knitting, photo albums, muffin making, etc. But I thought I was ready…
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…
When a friend or I suffer a writing or publishing set back, we tell each other “at least this will give you something to talk about with Oprah.” This usually makes us feel better because: a) the idea of chatting with Oprah gives us a warm fuzzy feeling b) the mere idea of appearing on Oprah, gives us dreams of vast book sales which makes the current rejection or set…
Do I really need to write about what it’s like to get rejected? I don’t think so. If you’ve ever heard (or said), “It’s not you, it’s me,” then you already have some idea of what the world of agent and publication rejection is like. So here’s my advice for dealing with rejection: You come up with a plan. I’m going to tell you (again) what I did to get…
For me, it began in the third grade. I wrote my first story, called The Haunted Meatball. My teacher, Mrs. Brennan, told me it was wonderful. So wonderful, in fact, that she was going to send it off to have it published in a children’s magazine. So off went my first story, into the world. And we waited. We waited for weeks. Then months. Then one day, she took me…
