Over and over I read cautionary tales posted by authors and agents about how long it takes to get published. The fifth book seems to be the magic formula for a lot of authors...that's the one they finally had success with because they kept writing and kept learning and finally got good enough to write something publishable. They look back on their earlier efforts with indulgent affection but they know that the agents who rejected them were right to do so.
Here's my problem. I love this book. I didn't include any overt references but it was inspired by some closely held personal beliefs that are dear to me. I truly don't believe I'll write a story I like better than the one I'm working on now. That doesn't mean I'm a one trick pony (maybe I am) but I've already written another book that was fun to write and I might go back to later but it really isn't as good or compelling as this book. The story is there, the characters are well developed, the length is right, and the writing is coming up to snuff with polishing. I want to get my baby prettied up enough that other people can love it, too.
It has not been my life long dream to be a professional writer and I can honestly say that this did not start out as a quest for publication. It was just a story that captured my imagination and turned out well enough for ambition to bite me. It's a good story. I'm terrified that since this story is the one that popped fully formed into my head like Aphrodite springing from the foam of the sea that I lack the technical skill to give it the chance it deserves.
I don't want to just get a book published. I want to get THIS book published.
And why not? Why not have this book by your one and only. If writing as a career is not your goal, then you can spend all of your time, energy and effort into perfecting this baby. Just don't tell any prospective agents or editors that you're a one trick pony. Remember to make noises, drop hints, that you're considering a series or a follow on book based on a favorite secondary character in this novel. Or that you have a million ideas that are all in the same genre as this one. (So maybe don't put this blog in your bio or signature or add a post about how you're getting the writing bug when you send this WIP out)
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, it takes friggin years for a book to go from idea to a form you can buy in s store.
Thanks, Sarah!
ReplyDeleteActually, when I refer to the "story" it is really at least three books. I'm more than half way through the second since writing is so much more fun than editing and that is my displacement activity of choice. At any rate, the main character undergoes a pretty significant shift in self-perception throughout the three books. In the first one she's fighting her reality, the next accepting it, and finally embracing it in the third.
I do have another really cool idea that I am letting ferment while I work on this one. I still need a bad guy for that story but I'm a happy ending girl. It's easier for me to build a story around my hero and throw some trouble their way than the other way around.
Ditto Sarah! Wise advice, but then she *is* smarter than a fifth grader!
ReplyDelete:-)
I feel the same about my first book. I keep sending it out on beta reads, and hope one day to get it right. But it's not the kind of story that you're talking about, the kind with the urgency you describe.
It's fun being in a circle of writers though!!
:-)
Awww. I feel included! It is fun...
ReplyDeleteWow! I was funny in the first grade? I am reading this incredible book right now for any person who has the heart of a writer like I do. It is called "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott. It is incredible and hilarious. VERY insightful.
ReplyDeleteDoes each of us have that ONE STORY that is THE one which defines us? Well, maybe. But I'd like to think my WIP just like whatever birth year I am in (39 this year) is the best yet. Or maybe the books we write are like our children. We love each one incredibly, but they have their own personalities, etc. so they are special for those reasons. Unless you are like my mom and DID have a favorite (which wasn't me) and everybody knew it, even though she swore up and down she didn't.
Which reminds me, there's a great chapter on jealousy in "Bird by Bird".
Jennifer, maybe your mom and dad did have a favorite (although I never picked up on it) but of their three children you were MY mom and dad's favorite!
ReplyDeleteIn all seriousness, I never could pick up on who the favorite was. Although, I asked plenty of times, "Who do you love more?" My friend in college said she would ask her mom the same question. The answer would be (with a knowing grin, "YOU know who." and maybe a wink as well). My mom would go on for ten minutes about how she loved each of us very much. She didn't have a favorite.
ReplyDeleteLaurel, your comment is so disturbing. I was your parents favorite? I guess since I didn't live with them, that helped, huh? Too bad one of their own kids couldn't be their favorite. Do you think I should go visit them next time I'm in town? I'd hate to lose out on the favored status because I haven't visited in 25 years.
(You know my tongue is in my cheek, right?)
You should definitely visit the next time you're in town! I can assure you they would be delighted. They might want to trade one of us for you!
ReplyDeleteXOXO
L
I think they quit wanting to trade when they stop having to pay college tuition. And then there is the grandkid factor. Do you know I was joking with my parents about going to visit them without my kids and they told me I wasn't welcome there without the grandkids? I gave them a bunch of chances to take it back, tell me they were joking, etc. They never would. So, anyway, if I do a book tour and I go to Montgomery, I'll either have to stay in a hotel or bring the kids.
ReplyDeleteI may be a few years from a book tour though. But don't think I won't tell that story on G.M.A. one day.
laurel, as in most things, persistence is the key :)
ReplyDeleteYou've captured EXACTLY how I feel! Wow!
ReplyDeleteWow, Glen, THANKS! Glad I'm not the only one. From your profile I would say you're way ahead of the game. You know you want to do this and you're only 24. I've always done it, I just didn't know I wanted to...
ReplyDeleteOoops...I'm on the mother-in-law's computer. "Terry on Tybee" is actually ME!
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Laurel