From the Archive – Newbie Advice
The writing and publishing industry has changed, which isn’t surprising. It’s always been fairly fluid, but now it’s harder for a young writer to get a toehold into the industry.
I saw a question on another writer’s journal from a young writer wondering if an editor would still work with writers with potential even if there were problems with the submission. The answer was “no”. I couldn’t argue with it.
In a high technology world, the advice I received in college about making sure your submissions are in “proper format” is more apt now than then. You can have the most brilliant story ever conceived, but if there are fundamental flaws, it’s going straight in the trash.
The reasons:
1. Appearances matter. Though it can be argued there’s really no such thing as STANDARD MANUSCRIPT FORMAT – there still is. New writers need to know that you don’t turn in a manuscript on pink paper with purple ink and wingding fonts. Yes, looking professional is still a major part of the battle. General guidelines are found in numerous books, websites, and even publication websites. If your manuscript makes an editor’s eyes bleed, they’re not likely to buy it.
2. Access to guidelines. There’s no longer any excuse for not hitting your proper market. Websites like http://www.Ralan.Com and others exist as clearing houses for not only submissions guidelines, but reading periods and styles. Knowing your market no longer has the obstacles of finding, buying, and reading the markets – most of them are online. There’s no excuse for demanding to know why a submission was thrown out if you submitted outside the reading period or sent a Western to a Horror market.
3. Access to information. In no other time in history has technology given writers access to so much information so quickly – not only industry information, but also access to cutting edge theories and experts. Suspension of disbelief is much harder to come by when all one has to do is pull up Google or Wikipedia to discover if your underlying theory is full of holes.
4. Time. Accept the fact we live in the Society of the Sound Bite. Editors receive hundreds of submissions a month. They literally don’t have time to look for potential. Your potential has to grab them by the lapels and shake them until they have whiplash from the first line. A very common rejection is “didn’t grab my interest”, because it’s true.
So what’s a young writer to do? How do they grab, hold, and keep the interest of an editor? That’s the $64 Billion question. If there was an easy answer to it we’d all be rich. But in general terms? There are some steps you can take.
1. Turn in Clean Copy. Clean copy is more important than you know. Clean copy is the manuscript free of spelling, grammatical, and structural errors. If an editor knows they won’t have to spend a lot of time on your manuscript from acceptance to publication, that’s a foot in the door.
2. Remember the Golden Rule. “Do unto others…” it applies here. Yes, you have a product to sell. Yes, if you’re good at it, it matters. If you come of as rude, pushy, or even crazy – that’s bad. Think before you act. If you would hate to have someone badger you in the bathroom, then why would you do it to an editor? Don’t be “That Guy”.
3. The American Idol Age. Sorry, but we live in it. It’s no longer enough to write the Brilliant Novel. Authors who don’t read, do conventions, conferences, or publicity because it takes them away from writing? They don’t sell books unless they’re now Stephen King, Tom Clancy, or Janet Evanovitch. Authors now have to be the “full package” – writer, promoter, marketer, seller. Writers who sell books, well, sell books.
Okay, so you’ve done all that, what now? Write the best piece you can. It doesn’t matter if it’s a short story, novel, script, or greeting card. Hone your craft. LEARN your craft in whichever manner works for you – classes, critique groups, workshops, books. This is where trial and error come into play. You have to find what fits your needs, and know it’s okay to leave if you’re not getting it. Beware of anyone promising guarantees, there are none. Some writers get published the first time out of the box and take a slow, steady career. Others take decades to break in, then burn up the industry. No one can tell you what your journey is going be, only how to take the first steps. Where your writing journey takes you and how long it’ll take is up to you.