What to do when you've done nothing.....

IThinkICan29 · Jul 26, 2006

Well I've been reading through the query submissions in the Share Your Work section of this site and my knees are really knocking. I have NO writing experience (nothing published-no fancy writing courses)!!! Just a bunch of short stories I've allowed my instructors, friends, and family to read, tons of notebooks filled with poetry, one WIP (70K-almost completed), and three other novels running around in my head.

I guess I'd just like to hear from former MEs. Did you include the time your fourth grade teacher marked your Halloween story with a big fat juicy red A and asked you, no begged you, to read it aloud? Or the time you waited until two hours before your Art History (final) paper was due (10 pgs-no outline-no freakin' nothing) to write it? Too many parties, too much drinking, and too little sleep (you got an A by the way-I LOVE YOU SALVADOR DALI!!)...LOL

My point is, I got nothing....no-thing....zilch....nada. Is there a way to make something out of my nothing? Or, should I be content with my nothing?

CaroGirl · Jul 26, 2006

Be content with your nothing and work toward getting something. Including the 4th-grade A only draws attention to your lack of credits.

MidnightMuse · Jul 26, 2006

Don't think of it as having nothing. Think of it as the first step toward your ultimate goal. We all start out sweeping the floors, hoping one day we'll make CEO.

And some of us do!

(I'll settle for making it into one of those nice cubicles)

Just start from here, and go forward. Writing, submitting, and writing more.

arrowqueen · Jul 26, 2006

Everybody started out the same way. Just go for it - and good luck.

Marlys · Jul 26, 2006

If you have all those stories floating around, now's the time to start submitting them. You still have to finish your novel and polish the hell out of it before even starting to think about crafting your query letter--in the meantime, you can try to get some short fiction published.

Of course, the jury is still out on whether having credits will help snag an agent or editor's attention--I've known writers whose agents encouraged them to build up short story credits, and others who think only the novel itself is important. But if it will help you feel more confident about yourself and your chances, by all means get some publications.

Best of luck!

blacbird · Jul 26, 2006

arrowqueen said:
Everybody started out the same way.

Well, maybe not Paris Hilton.

caw.

kristie911 · Jul 26, 2006

I have nothing but I'm not letting it stop me. I'm still trying. I've tried the short story route but have found it's not really my thing. I'm not going to give up on the shorts because it would be a publishing credit or two but I'm just not that interested in them. But it hasn't stopped me from writing a novel, shopping it around (waiting to hear on a partial I have out right now), and continuing to work on my next novels.

I'm not going to let my lack of publishing credits get in the way of what I really want. The only thing that can get in the way is lack of talent...

Siddow · Jul 26, 2006

If you've got nothing, it's okay to just skip the paragraph in the query where you would list publication credits. And I mean skip; don't pad the query with irrelevant stuff like what your Mom thinks or that you own a coffee mug that has "Writer" on it in gold lettering.

And why don't you send out some short stories? Poetry? Plenty of markets for them...flood 'em. You'll get something eventually.

Cat Scratch · Jul 26, 2006

Kristie, I left the credentials portion out of the query and just let the rest speak for itself. I actually did get quite a few requests for partials, so it doesn't always matter.

Good luck.

IThinkICan29 · Jul 26, 2006

I'm very new to this world. Up until a few months ago, I was content with hoarding all of my work, dying, and becoming famous 100 years after my death (I'm weird like that). But my friend has been riding me like bald-headed donkey (don't ask-please!) about getting my stuff out there. I've finally decided to put my toes in the water. It's all baby steps from here on out. I'm already nervous about getting rejected, and I haven't even sent anything out yet. I'm a freakin' wreck and it's so very sad.

Thanks for the encouraging words. I'm going to bookmark this thread because when I actually have to send out the queries, I'll need something to keep me from throwing my computer down a flight of stairs.

Kristen King · Jul 26, 2006

Siddow said:
And I mean skip; don't pad the query with irrelevant stuff like what your Mom thinks or that you own a coffee mug that has "Writer" on it in gold lettering.

Oh, wait, you mean you're not supposed to tell them about the coffee mug? ;]

Kristen King · Jul 26, 2006

IThinkICan29 said:
I'm already nervous about getting rejected, and I haven't even sent anything out yet. I'm a freakin' wreck and it's so very sad.

Sweetie, think of it this way: You're not published in Magazine X now; if you submit something and they say, "No thanks," you still won't be published in Magazine X (not to say ever, just at that moment). YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE. Just go for it. And remember that when you get your first (and second...and thirty-seventh...and...) rejection letter, you'll be in good company.

Check out these sites for inspiration and a laugh:
http://debcentral.com/rejections/
http://www.rejectioncollection.com/

Kristen

Jamesaritchie · Jul 26, 2006

Credits

IThinkICan29 said:
Well I've been reading through the query submissions in the Share Your Work section of this site and my knees are really knocking. I have NO writing experience (nothing published-no fancy writing courses)!!! Just a bunch of short stories I've allowed my instructors, friends, and family to read, tons of notebooks filled with poetry, one WIP (70K-almost completed), and three other novels running around in my head.

I guess I'd just like to hear from former MEs. Did you include the time your fourth grade teacher marked your Halloween story with a big fat juicy red A and asked you, no begged you, to read it aloud? Or the time you waited until two hours before your Art History (final) paper was due (10 pgs-no outline-no freakin' nothing) to write it? Too many parties, too much drinking, and too little sleep (you got an A by the way-I LOVE YOU SALVADOR DALI!!)...LOL

My point is, I got nothing....no-thing....zilch....nada. Is there a way to make something out of my nothing? Or, should I be content with my nothing?

Good credits do mamn an agent is likelier to request sample chapters or the complete manuscript simply because you've proven you can use grammar and punctuation, and you've proven you can write fiction well enough to be paid for it in a market that's far more competative than the novel market.

Really good credits can also impress editors because they mean a writer may be bringing at least a small fan base to his novel.

So credits can be very important in finding someone to read your manuscript, but in th eend, the novel has to speak for itself. Good credits make agents say yes to looking, but only a good novel can make an agent represent you.

Meaningful short story credits and very tough to get, which is why they're important, but also why agents say yes to writers without credits. Not everyone who can write a good novel can sell short stories, and agents know this. So while good short story credits rightfully make agents say yes more often, they are not a requirement.

Just write a great query letter, skip the part about credits, and maybe send along the first couple of pages of your novel.

expatbrat · Jul 26, 2006

We all start with nothing (naked, bald, can't walk or talk...) It is the choices you make on route that dictate where you go from there.

Decide what you want and go for it. If you aim at nothing you will hit it. Focus on what you do have, work towards what you want, and go win.

I find walking into a bookstore motivating. Look at all those people who got published and have books in here. Thousands... If thousands can do it so can I.

Akuma · Jul 26, 2006

IThinkICan29 said:
Well I've been reading through the query submissions in the Share Your Work section of this site and my knees are really knocking. I have NO writing experience (nothing published-no fancy writing courses)!!! Just a bunch of short stories I've allowed my instructors, friends, and family to read, tons of notebooks filled with poetry, one WIP (70K-almost completed), and three other novels running around in my head.

Just because you're not published and have not taken any courses doesn't mean you're hopeless. Short stories, poetry, and a 70k WIP sounds like experience to me--even if it may just be your start.

And even if you're rejected, who cares? Just keep writing and writing and practicing and practicing--write until your pen is sharp enough to pierce diamond.

Serena Casey · Jul 26, 2006

I am glad you asked this, IThinkICan, because I am starting my first query and I wondered about that too. I don't even have the "Writer" mug!

Hey! I had a poem about winter published in "Grit" when I was 12! Does that count? Darn.

blacbird · Jul 27, 2006

expatbrat said:
I find walking into a bookstore motivating. Look at all those people who got published and have books in here.

Yeah. They intimidate the merde out of me. I can't imagine those thousands of people went as long as I have at this without ever getting anywhere.

caw.

maestrowork · Jul 27, 2006

Well, finish those shorts, poetry, and novel, and send them out. Every writer starts out with nothing. I was a "nothing" just a few years ago. Now, I'm almost nothing.

KTC · Jul 27, 2006

Like Ray, I was nothing just a few short years ago. Once you start sending out, you will go from nothing to one. Then two. Then three. You get the picture. We all have to start somewhere. Perseverance will start to pay off and you will have something. Get completing and then get submitting. It will happen.

JimmyB27 · Jul 27, 2006

Siddow said:
If you've got nothing, it's okay to just skip the paragraph in the query where you would list publication credits. And I mean skip; don't pad the query with irrelevant stuff like what your Mom thinks or that you own a coffee mug that has "Writer" on it in gold lettering.

Mine's a teacup, does the rule still apply? :tongue

Seriously, though, everyone has to start somewhere. You know all those big name writers on the bestseller list; even they were unpublished once upon a time.

What to do when you've done nothing.....

IThinkICan29

CaroGirl

Living the dream

MidnightMuse

Midnight Reading

arrowqueen

RIP, our sarky besom

Marlys

Resist. Love. Go outside.

blacbird

kristie911

Happy to be here

Siddow

I'm super! Thanks for asking

Cat Scratch

The Peacock Next Door

IThinkICan29

Kristen King

Kristen King

Jamesaritchie

expatbrat

Look what we made:

Akuma

Rare Writer Pokemon

Serena Casey

User Titles Rock

blacbird

maestrowork

Fear the Death Ray

KTC

Stand in the Place Where You Live

JimmyB27

Hoopy frood