[From the Archive] Newbie Mistakes #13
Still working through 2009 posts from that previous website… some stuff still rings true…
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It’s a new week, and an amazing week. I’ve beaten my deadline with days to spare. I had a productive and entertaining time at ArmadilloCon, and don’t have another “Keep it Professional” story to tell. This article actually began last week and I’ve been wondering how to answer it. I call it, Newbie Mistakes #13 B & C – The “It’s Not Me” Mistakes – with subcategories. These are the mistakes that are more in tone and language than action. Usually committed by those who are smart enough not to slide the manuscript under the stall door in the bathroom after stalking the editor, and yet can still sabotage their own nascent careers.
Last week I ran across a great video link to a Stephen J. Cannell video interview that encapsulates the “Permission to Write Crap” advice. I ended up subscribing to the RSS feed because it seems to be a decent website geared toward freelance writers – and writers in general. The website owner posted a question about whether or not any of her readers would consider self-publishing — which is a completely different post. BUT… one of the responses addressed Newbie Mistake #13 B & C.
In the first round of comments this person commits Mistake #13B – “I Can’t Work in This System”. The brilliant epic simply can’t be boiled down to a one page query. It’s a large series that must be read entirely to be completely appreciated. No agent or publisher will ever read me because they won’t take the time to read the whole, brilliant thing because I’m unpublished.
These are half-truths at best. Cop outs at worse. I questioned her. Why can’t the epic be boiled down to one page? If you can’t do it, get an impartial third person you trust to do it for you. Why not pitch it as a series?. Well, I heard the first book should stand alone… and if the first part stands alone, it’s boring/ordinary/a set up with no resolution. Okay, DUDE… that’s no way to take over the world. I learned a very valuable lesson from a comic book writer a year or so ago. It’s called A Full Unit of Entertainment. Series can be pitched by unknown writers. Series are GOOD. Series imply the author will make lots of money over a long time to the publisher. BUT…every book in a series should provide a beginning, middle, end. A set up that does nothing … doesn’t do anything for your reader either, no matter how brilliant. And if you’re unpublished? There are ways to fix that…
Then there was Mistake #13C – The System Is Broken. Are you kidding me? Duh. Of course the system is broken. The system was designed when cavemen first picked up a stick and berry juice. Deal with it. It’s the system we have. You have to work with it if you want to play the game. Those who throw up their hands, cry “The System is Broken, therefore I’ll self-publish” are those who aren’t looking at the Big Picture. The outcry for a new system to be invented? Guess what? It’s easier to fix/change a system from the inside. If you don’t even try to play the game, how do you intend to influence the rules? Who’s going to hear you or pay attention?
Honestly, people, Frank Sinatra LIED TO YOU. “I Did It My Way”??? Yeah, that doesn’t work. I learned this the hard way. I’m stubborn – I’m a redhead from Missouri, it’s genetic. When I was young and stupid I didn’t listen to those who went before. I tried to do it my way. Guess what? I got my butt handed to me by pros until I learned to play the game. If I had listened back in college, maybe I’d have the career that Scott Lynch has at 31 or Jay Lake. But I didn’t, and now I’m catching up. Conventions, publishers, other writers will consider a small or independent press published author a professional LONG before a self-published author.
It comes down to how badly you want it. My mentor professor in college once said, “You can have the most brilliant piece of writing ever, but if it isn’t in proper format it’s going straight in the trash.” That’s true for every form of publishing – and goes well beyond words on a page. You have to play the game by the current rules – if you want to play the game.