When "No" is a good thing.

Some of you were there, and some of you are headed there.

You had a work of fiction in hand, eager to send it out into the world for hundreds of eager publishers to fight over. You were quite certain you were the next Tom Clancey, or Tolkien, or whoever writes in your Genre. And then you get that "No".

Well, I'm fortunate in that I haven't had a lot of "no" responces. But I haven't had any "Yes" responces either.

Actually, the very first "no", wasn't actually a real "no". But it was a pivotal "no", nonetheless.

I was at a writter's conference, and had a manuscript with me, just in case I met any of the movers and shakers there. But I was entirely clueless to the process and the lessons you'll eventually learn along the way. Being eager, I wanted to get someone to look at my work. But unfortunately, there was only one day they were looking at writing samples, and that day was sold out before I could get a seat. So, I signed up for the rest of the conference.

I met a few movers and shakers, and clueless me asked someone if they'd take a look, and they just said, "No." Well, "That's not my Genre...or I'm not taking anyone new...etc. And by the end of the conference, I couldn't pay the janitor to look at my masterpiece. Well, if you have unrealitic expectations, you are still disappointed all the same. And I was somewhat sad no one even looked at a page of the thing.

Looking back, knowing what I know now. That was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. When I look back at the origional story, it was good, but since that time, I came back, retooled it, and it is a much better story. Come what may, I know the end product is so much better, it was a blessing in disguise that no one took that first draft.

"No" is such a terrible word when it feels like rejection. However, sometimes "No is actually an opporunity to take what is good and make it better, or what is better and make it great.

Who here feels that (and this can refer to a past experience) at some point a "No" was the best thing that could have ever happened to you. And to make it more fun, you can add other life experiences, "Boy, in retrospect, I'm glad she dumped me..."

Have fun: Share your experience and we'll all grow a little wiser.

Julie Worth said:

The problem is, you can’t polish a story in a vacuum. I can’t, anyway. I get lazy. Everything I write is fantastic, gifted and gilded, right up to the moment I’m sticking it in an envelope. I flip through the pages. Oh good Lord! Every page has glaring errors. Every paragraph has an awkward sentence. So I redo it and send it out. And again, a month later, the same thing happens with the same piece. The work is never perfect. It’s never done. But it’s only when it’s going out there, to be seen by people who are not idiots, that my whole brain goes into overdrive, pumped up by some parental/editorial adrenalin. You can’t go out there looking like that!

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I've gotten enough positive feedback to feel I'm on the right track. But like yourself, I tend to miss some obvious mistakes. My next step, when my tax return comes in, is to have a freelance editor go over my story before I send it out. I'm planning on going for some pretty competative agents, so I want to make sure book one is airtight before sending it out.

Inspired said:

In the end, I realize that I need to slow down and learn to really write well, while making a decent amount of money (well, compared with my other job.) I'm going to teach for at least a few years, quit my part time job, and dig into writing again. When I'm truly ready, I'll go more full-time into writing. I'm not ready yet.

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Sounds like a smart move. Hope it goes well for you.

azbikergirl said:

The first few "Nos" I ever got on my current novel WIP hurt like a mug. And enough of them convinced me that I simply couldn't write my way out of a soggy paper bag. I put the story away for twelve years. In 2002 I rewrote it. Then I rewrote it again. For the last 3 years, it has consumed me. The problem is that it's a cool story, but I don't know whether I have the skill as a writer to do it justice. I've joined several crit groups, but I find that the majority of the writers in them are no better than I am. (Some are quite good, however, and I heed their advice.)

Finally, I think my skill is almost there. "There enough" to try again, anyway. But if I get a "no" (or a whole slew of them), does it mean I'm not "there enough?" Or does it mean the story isn't as cool as everyone says? Or simply that it's not right for this agent or that editor? Or...?

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AZ, obviously, you aren't like those people who simply can't write. My guess is that except for a few really outstanding writers, the difference between someone who almost made it and did make it is really slim. In essence, the biggest difference is that the published writers (some) have learned the knack of writing a "hook." It's that little something that sets there book apart.

In every murder mystery someone gets killed, someone looks for a killer, and someone is eventually found. In every romance, someone falls in love. I think the key for us new writers, is that to be discovered, you have to come up with a hook. The more people pounding on agent's doors, the more we gotta say why ours is better.

If you ask me, most everything has already been written in some form or another.

karenranney said:

I have come to expect that hideous moment when I drop something at Fed Ex. In a day my editor is going to call and ask, "What is this crap? We paid you a lot of money to produce something readable! This ain't it!"

Point 1 - Never feeling quite good enough is part of the author struggle. It makes you work harder with the next book.

Point 2 - Take the good from criticism and throw away the bad. The "bad" in this case is the little voice telling you you're pond scum. We all live with this little voice. The secret is muzzling it.

Point 3 - The same house that turns you down today will buy you tomorrow. I've always been amused by the time the head of my publishing company wanting to know why I published my first books with a competitor. I didn't tell this person that I was turned down repeatedly by editor after editor. The funny thing is that I went to Avon after they called me.

Point 4 - The secret to success in the publishing business? Here it is, free and without charge. Lean in, because I'm going to whisper it: persistence. Yep, that's it. For published and unpublished alike. Hey, I get my proposals rejected all the time. I just pick myself up, brush myself off, and go back into the bullring.

Oh, and it helps to always have manners and always be polite. Publishing is a relatively small business and people have long memories. Authors who think they're better than the rest of mankind are avoided like the plague. Who wants a problem? Also, the assistant you have today may be the Senior Editor you pitch to tomorrow. I've seen it happen.

Warm fuzzies!

Karen

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I appreciate your wisdom.

brokenfingers said:

But it seems to me that a fiction writer needs something else. Besides all the aforementioned necessaries, there is another crucial ingredient needed to concoct a good story that people will want to read and come to love. I think there is another force absolutely necessary if a writer is going to get published.

I’m not talking about talent, that is uncontrollable and random - like luck. I don’t know what to call it exactly. Desire? Need? Fire? Passion?

Because something drives us. Some flame burns within us and its fire kindles our writing, throws us back into the ring to fight another day.

But I wonder:

Is our writing just an attempt to harness that flame that burns within?

Or a need to share that light?

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Once a story is birthed, I feel it does burn like a fire. I'm not big on mapping every fine point, so I'm generally enjoying a story as it unfolds. In a sense, I get a big picture concept. And I go from there. However, I leave things open. I've changed bad guys to good guys, and good guys to bad guys in mid story, because they simply added more dimension that way.

Having that flexibility allows me to get excited about the story. I have this knack, and I'm certain others do as well. I'll put myself into that character's head, whether good or evil/ male female/adult child. So, when I begin to write their dialogue, I'm thinking in real time, "What would I say here?" Not "What would they say". And as you know, in a real conversation, half the time you don't know exactly what you are going to say until it's said. In fact, you may map out what you wanted to say, but said something entirely surprising to you.

So, the reader will be like someone listening in on a real conversation. They may be certain they can anticipate where this is going, then comes the curve. I know it, because I experience that same feeling when I'm writing it. A conviction emerges, or outrage, or a flipant sense of humor.