Writing Success happens, but you need to leave Middle Earth, Hobbitses
by Ruth Harris
Whether we write Space Opera or Women’s Fiction, Romance or Thrillers, our job is fantasy. We make up characters, imagine lives we never led (Spy? Shifter? Wizard? Supermodel? Yarn shop owner? Billionaire? Serial killer?), go to places we’ve never travelled to like distant planets or space stations, and describe activities we’ve never engaged in.
We work hard to make our fantasies seem real to our readers and always understand the difference between the fantasy lives we create and our everyday lives that include the day job, laundry, the kids’ soccer practice and hectic business travel schedules.
So far, so good, but there’s an ooopsie factor and it’s the common fantasies about publishing, the long-running starry-eyed fictions I’ve heard over and over. Here is where I might rain on your parade (tho I don’t want to). What I do want to do is try to separate those fantasies from the realities you are more likely to experience when you take off those rose-colored glasses.
As Anne and I say over and over: We made the mistakes so you don’t have to. We learned the hard way—so you don’t have to.
Fantasy: “The end” is the end.
Reality: “The end” is the beginning.
In a recent email Anne wrote: “I just wrote ‘the end’ on the rough draft of the new Camilla book. Lots of work to do, but it feels good.”
Anne’s a pro—and a realist. As she makes clear, typing “the end” on a first draft is just the beginning. Still to come:
- Fine tuning characters and character arcs.
- Fixing plot holes.
- Adding (or subtracting) red herrings if you’re writing a mystery, foreshadowing if you’re not, cliffhangers when needed.
- Initiating a search and destroy mission for filter words.
- Checking continuity (Does Susie suddenly become Ellen somewhere in the draft?). Here’s where your style sheet is indispensable.
- Grammar and spelling.
- That crucial first chapter.
- A killer ending.
- A come-hither blurb.
- An irresistible query if that’s the direction you’re taking.
- An elevator pitch.
- A cover.
- A marketing plan.
OK? See what I mean. 😉
Fantasy: You know your book is a “sure thing.”
Reality: You (probably) don’t have a clue.
Which might explain why all too often the book you are sure is going to be a winner, isn’t. And that includes creative stars like Woody Allen and Kurt Vonnegut.
As William Goldman famously said speaking of Hollywood but also applies to publishing: “No one knows anything.” Least of all the creator.
Recently Dean Wesley Smith highlighted a new study of creativity and quoted from the summary of the study:
“One of the attributes of creative people says Prof. Dean Simonton—a University of California academic who’s been researching creativity for over 40 years—is that they have an extraordinarily poor sense of whether the thing they’re creating, inventing or making is any ‘good’ or not.
“In fact, Simonton thinks that it’s virtually impossible for anyone involved in a creative project to know for sure whether they’re making a masterpiece—or just a mess.”
Bottom line: Don’t ask the author. The creator is often the last to know.
Fantasy: Overnight Writing Success.
Reality: Depends on how you define overnight.
There’s fantasy and then there’s reality: most “successes” — even (or especially) the ones that are hyped as being “overnight” — come after long periods of effort, rejection, setbacks and disappointment. From Stephen King to John Grisham to JK Rowling, years and years of rejection after rejection set the foundation for success.
“Overnight” might just be measured in years or even decades but the fantasy lives on. A few prominent successes explain just how long “overnight” lasts.
“Overnight” is almost always the consequence of years of failure and frustration that come with the territory. When you’re feeling frazzled, frustrated, and fed up, just remember that you’re in excellent company and that your “overnight” success might be just around the corner.
Fantasy: You’ve got an A-list agent who “loves” you and your work.
Reality: Agents are people, too.
If you’re a beginner or even a solid mid list writer, the odds of landing a powerful, big shot agent are slim. To none.
If you do get Mr or Ms Hot Shot Agent, prepare to be ignored. They have $$$$-making clients that come first, second, third in line way before you.
You think you’re going to get a phone call returned? An email answered? LOL We’re talking Answered Prayers here. You know…beware of getting what you want.
Or: every silver lining comes with a cloud.
On the other hand:
A solid mid-list writer of my acquaintance managed to get a Big Time A-list agent who “loved” his sexy thrillers and saw a big future for him. Mr. Mid-list dumped his solid, low-profile agent and small publisher, signed on with Big Time Agent and waited for the mega bucks to roll in. Big Time Agent set up an auction, sat by the phone, expecting the escalating bids.
But: crickets. No one offered. There was not one bid. None. Not. One. It’s like giving a party only no one comes.
Big Time Agent did manage a modest deal but the publisher, who felt he had been rummaging in the reject bin, didn’t support the book, and the agent was turned off by the lack of response. The writer, sadder but wiser, and ultimately not at all unhappy, continued his career as a stalwart of the mid-list.
The problem here is that agents (like editors and writers) are also prone to fantasy. They want to be excited, to be turned on, to be part of The Next Big Thing. But, despite their experience and deep knowledge of the business, they can also be wrong and, when they are, they lose interest. Fast.
Fantasy: You’re a NYT bestseller, so you’ve made it.
Reality: Dumb and dumber.
My editor, K, was bright and savvy but also somewhat off-putting. A bit arrogant, a trifle narcissistic.
To show you how clueless I was, K and I were having lunch at Four Seasons (where else?) after my first hard cover novel, Decades, was a surprise (to me) success—a NYT bestseller, major paperback sale, first serial, and worldwide foreign and translation sales.
“Your next book should be about my affair,” K told me over that lunch—he was married to wife #1 at the time—whereupon he proceeded to fill me in on the lurid details.
Did I take notes? Nope.
Did I write my next book about K’s affair? Nope.
For one thing, Decades was about a married man having a hot affair (which might be one of the reasons K “loved it” in the first place) so I was burned out on the subject. For another, I had already started another book with a completely different theme that interested me.
What I realize in retrospect is that, even though I was now officially “successful,” I didn’t feel successful (does anyone?) and I wasn’t confident in my creativity (is anyone?). Besides, I certainly had no long track record a publisher would feel confident about.
K did publish my second book but with no ads, no promo. It wasn’t about him and his fab love life and he just wasn’t interested. I realize now that K’s story would have been different from the story I’d just written: different people, different settings, different outcomes, a completely different book.
I’d been handed a big opportunity and I’d naively turned it down.
Learn from my dumb, big mistake:
When your editor tells you what they want, give it to them. 😉
Ditto your readers: They “love” character X? Write another book with character X.
Get the stars out of your eyes. You’re not “selling out” (although that never even crossed my mind). You’re being realistic.
Call it Professional.
Fantasy: The next book will be easier.
Reality: Ha. Ha. Ha.
by Ruth Harris (@RuthHarrisBooks) June 25, 2017
What about you, scriveners? Have you fallen for any of these fantasies? What gave you the reality check you needed? How long after you write “the end” are you still working on revisions? ***
BOOK OF THE WEEK
Beautiful and inspirational, A KISS AT KIHALI draws on the power of human-animal relationships, the heroic accomplishments of African animal orphanages, and the people, foreign and Kenyan, drawn to careers involving the care and conservation of wild animals. Filled with drama and danger that lead to a happy ending, A KISS AT KIHALI will appeal to readers who love tender romance and who have personally experienced the intense, mystical bond between humans and animals.
“A must-read for anyone who cares about animals and the environment, because what we do to them, we do to ourselves”… bestselling author Sibel Hodge
OPPORTUNITY ALERTS
The Golden Quill Awards. The theme is “Liberation.” $500 first prize. Short fiction, poetry and personal essay categories. Up to 1500 words for prose, 40 lines for poetry. Entry fee $15. Deadline September 15, 2017.
Cliché Story Contest! Yes, finally somebody WANTS clichés. STRINGYBARK DOG EAT DOG SHORT STORY CONTEST Write a story which contains a common cliché and is titled that cliché. (One cliché per story, please). Over $1000 in prizes, plus publication. International entries are most welcome. Deadline July 16, 2017. Max length, 1,500 words excluding the title. Entry Fee $12 (Aus.) Deadline July 16, 2017
The Insecure Writer’s Support Group is putting out a new free anthology for writers. A Guide to Writing for Profit. They’re now open for submissions. 500-1000 words. Deadline July 31.
WOVEN TALE PRESS COMPETITION 6,000 words maximum of literary fiction or creative nonfiction. First prize is a one-week writing retreat in the legendary Hamptons in New York. Seven nights and accommodations for two. Also, publication and a complimentary copy. $$ prizes for 2nd, 3rd, 4th prizes. Fee $20. Deadline July 31, 2017
Memoir writers! Here’s a list of publishers who accept memoir submissions. Without an agent!
Boyds Mill Press accepts unagented submissions of children’s book manuscripts. Highlights for Children owns the press.
20 Literary Journals that publish new writers. Compiled by the good folks at Authors Publish magazine.
Everything I make is a mess. Some just more organized.
That last one would make me laugh as well. Say the third one is even easier and I’ll laugh twice as hard.
Thanks again for mentioning the IWSG’s anthology opportunity. We’re excited about it – and some other really big news we received last week!
Alex—let’s hear it for (slightly) more organized messes! 🙂
Ruth & Anne – ah, we fiction writers certainly are good with fiction, aren’t we? Thanks for a read that had me laughing/crying as I recognized my writing friends & myself.
CS—Thanks! Pathetic, isn’t it? Or, should I say, “aren’t we”???? 😉
Oof. Ms. Harris, you cut me to the quick with your Middle Earth metaphor! Honestly, I was hoping for some specific advice in my own long-neglected genre.
I see much good advice here, nothing to complain of (once you excuse the dilettantes like myself from the lecture hall). I would carp that some times, and perhaps some people, find themselves unpopular, their work out of the fad-stream; it’s perhaps a flip-side of the coin you’ve laid out here. Professional writers can, will, must adapt to taste. Those who feel a bit more, ahm, vocational about the genre or style need to be thick-skinned enough to deal with being ignored as you’ve said. And then God bless us, everyone!
Will–I have to take the blame for the Hobbit reference. I couldn’t resist the great photo of the New Zealand Hobbit-house. 🙂
Will—Anne beat me to it! The Hobbit reference is 100% hers. I’m the one who’s right behind you with recommendations for a thick skin—as necessary to writers as good grammar and a vivid imagination!
There’s also the hobby/lottery fantasy, and a lot of writers don’t realize they have it. It’s when the writer wants to write a book that becomes a best seller so they can quit the day job. Which is where everything stops. They only think about the result of having enough money to quit the day job, not about what’s next.
Linda—Ah, yes. The next step. And the step after that! 🙂
Great post, Ruth.
“As she makes clear, typing ‘the end’ on a first draft is just the beginning.” The key phrase: first draft–as you so expertly stated. That’s where so many writers fail. I’m tired of reading novels full of spelling and grammar errors.
“… it’s virtually impossible for anyone involved in a creative project to know for sure whether they’re making a masterpiece—or just a mess.” Which is why putting something away for weeks or months before reviewing it will open a writer’s eyes.
“Fantasy: The next book will be easier. Reality: Ha. Ha. Ha.” Love your ender. I don’t think you could have said it any better.
Kathy—Thanks! Writing: the profession in which “the end” is only the beginning. 😉
Wonderful, Ruth, and with your “grounding” sense of humor. Just loved it. Keep ’em coming! 🙂
Paul–as always thanks, and, as always, much appreciated! 🙂
Oh gosh, Ruth – this was so fun — and the last category had me cackling for a good long time. :o))
Fantasies are so sneaky. I read each one you noted, certain that none were going to involve me (cuz I’m so stable and serious), only to find at least 3 I would admit to indulging in… It appears I’ve been infected with alt-reality. lol
You made my Sunday, as you and Anne so often do — thanks!!
Maria D’Marco
TigerX (aka Maria)—absolutely perfect! Alt-reality nails it! Thanks for expressing our affliction so succinctly!
Oh, what fun this post is! I particularly love the last fantasy. Every single next book gets harder and harder to write. Why? Because the expectations are greater. And yes, sometimes it’s the expectations we put on ourselves. Because the thing I dread most of all is critics and readers saying, “Well, it’s okay, but not as good as the last one.”
I also love your fantasy about knowing what is good. I have no idea what’s good anymore, of my own writing. I’m hopeful, of course. Praying to the gods. But can I tell which book is going to be a bestseller? nope. Totally baffled by what does well and what doesn’t.
thanks for this post, Ruth!
Melodie–agreed! The more we write, the more we (think) we know & the higher our standards soar. Have we actually moved from fantasy to delusion? Aaaargh!
Ruth,
You and Anne have excellent, informative, eye-opening, and entertaining blogs. In the 6 Fantasies blog, however, I seem to be hearing a message very different from one I’ve heard in the past, which is, write what you want to write. You describe being burned out of the topic that Editor K wanted from you and being motivated to write something else. Then you say you should have written what he/she wanted. Did I misread? Help me understand, please. Thanks.
Hi SK—What I was describing was my inexperience (& unprofessionalism). I wasn’t burnt out on the subject but I wasn’t experienced enough at the time to understand that a new book—even if on a similar subject—would necessarily be about different characters, have a different setting, different POV, most likely a different beginning, middle and ending. In general, I have found that pleasing your important and influential editor is an excellent idea. 😉 Hope that clarifies.
Laughing out loud at the “next book will be easier” fantasy. 🙂 For me, each one gets a little harder, but each one is also a little better (sometimes a lot better).
Kassandra—Exactly! The more you know, the harder it is—and the better you get. Definitely not “easy.” Not at all!
Hi Ruth,
I love this realistic pep talk — couldn’t resonate with me more. One of my earliest lessons from a writer came when I was ten, from a local author, when I asked her how you become one. “Work on your alligator skin,” she told me. It wasn’t until I was grown up and had written my way through my first “novel” — a mess — that I realized what she meant. Four manuscripts later, into the third draft and heading into a fourth on the third manuscript (abandoning the fourth ms to let it sit and come back to it with new perspective) I feel like I’m swimming in swamp water every day as I get tougher. It’s not about sales or success or recognition anymore. It’s about the love for the craft, and from that, earnest commitment to do the work that’s needs to be done, whatever that takes. No weeping, no pity party, just get up every day and do it, improve. Success can be a milestone, something appreciated in hindsight.
Hi John—Thanks! Yep. Excellent advice. Alligator skin + rhino hide never hurts either. If you don’t love the process, why bother? I love the concept of “success as a milestone.” Well said!
As you so poignantly point out, a draft is a draft. And I absolutely love the statement about creativity – that we can’t tell if what we’ve written is good or not. I thought one of my books was good and then an important person read it and loved it and loved my voice, etc. I don’t see that it’s worthy of all her hoopla. I don’t understand it. I’m flattered but ….will it sell? I guess I’ll see soon enough.
Patricia—It’s amazing, isn’t it?, that the reaction of others can be so startling to us? And we think we know what we’re doing???? That’s why I think of reviews as Rorschach tests…tells more about the reviewer than the author. I even wonder if they’ve all read the same book. 😉
Thank you for this fab list. I continually feel I’m going two steps forward and one back. And your last fantasy about it getting easier, it doesn’t. I was recently a guest at a book club where they read my novel and one of the questions the ladies asked me was, “So, it’s easier now that you’re on your fourth novel, right?” WRONG!
In some ways, because I know more (know more ways to screw it up), it almost seems harder. Plus, I’ve lost the stars in my eyes that my novel will be a runaway best seller and picked up for a movie–even if a few reviewers think it should be–it’s not the reality.
This is a must read for all authors, but especially newbies. I am totally sharing with my critique group!
Tam—Great anecdote! Thanks for sharing. I guess, tho, when you stop to think of it, that even though Roger Federer won Wimbledon four times, he had to work just as hard (or harder) to win the fifth. There are circumstances in which experience doesn’t help as much as one would like. Writing a book is certainly one: the challenges get harder, coming up with fresh new ideas, characters and situations is tougher, and, as you say, you’re more aware of the pitfalls. Appreciate the share. Merci! 🙂
Ruth, I love this post and especially love the bit about, “I’d been handed a big opportunity and I’d naively turned it down.” I did the same thing! I landed an A-list agent, not by any of the queries I’d cast into the wind or anything else the pundits say to do, but by what I’d written on my ranch website about horses.
The agent read it, loved it, and wanted to board her horse here. She was a major horsewoman. We don’t board horses, but I managed to get my first, not particularly awful, but not so good either manuscript into her hands.
She wasn’t interested, but she was interested in my notes for “The Horse Book,” the book chronicling my life with horses. She took what I’d written over a lifetime of adventures with equines and read them all in one session. “I was crying so hard that I was sobbing–and then shrieking with laughter. Write this book. I can sell it.”
But I was on a spiritual quest, pursuing a higher cause. I couldn’t stop to write something so mundane. I wrote and self published a memoir/self-help book. It won awards but sold almost nothing.
The agent dropped me faster than you can say, “That horse can buck.” It took me years to figure out what big mistake I’d made.
The if-you-land-a-top-agent-do-what-he/she-says rule should be number 1 in the lists of how to succeed as a writer. You/me/we may want our view of artistic integrity. Agents care about sales, and THEIR interests.
I look forward to next week’s posts, Ruth and Anne.
PS I still haven’t written The Horse Book! It keeps getting longer as time passes… Hope I write it before I croak.
Sandy—OMG! So it’s just not me! I was so dumb I didn’t even have the excuse of “artistic integrity.” I just plain didn’t know what I was doing even though DECADES was “a success.” You’re absolutely on target when you say that agents care about sales and THEIR interests. And why shouldn’t they? Learning—and truly understanding—that publishing is a business is an essential lesson for writers to learn. Don’t learn it, and you will get dropped in a flash! No soft landing, either. 🙁
The best cure for all these fantasies? Experience! Although I haven’t had the NYT bestseller experience (what a story–ouch!) yet I think I’ve been through all the others and learned the hard way.
Karen—You’re so right! Experience is the answer. That’s why Anne and I do our best to pass along what we’ve learned. Still, why is it we—writers & everyone else tbh—have to learn the hard way? It’s not fair! Wah!
I’m not a fan of the term, “overnight success.” I don’t think there is any such thing in the writing world. Even if an author’s first book hits it big, they still put the time, effort, and investment into it.
Kristen–overnight success is a headline writer’s fantasy!
“Ditto your readers: They “love” character X? Write another book with character X.” Thank you. So obvious… but so easy to miss!
Hi Jemima—”Obvious” isn’t always obvious. Until it is. 😉