The Game is On--The Necessity of Persistence and a Commitment to Growth

Writing can be a discouraging business.  Less than 1 out of 100 writers who completes and queries a novel receives an offer of representation from a literary agent.  Those lucky and/or talented enough to be in that 1% are still not guaranteed the joy of seeing their book in print.  Only something like 60% of agented books sell to publishers (That includes books from established authors).

Every accomplishment starts with a decision to try.

Once the reality of the stats sets in, a writer reaches a decision point.  He must ask himself, "Do I give up and do something else, or do I learn how to play this game and stick with it?"

Now, I'm not making light of this business by referring to the process of getting published as a "game."  It is a game in that there are winners, losers and rules--lots of rules.

First of all, you must learn how to write.  Really write, not just put a story on paper.  One of the rejections I received from an agent on a full request on my first project was telling.  It said something to the effect of:

     Your story and characters are intriguing.  I was disappointed that the writing didn't live up to the premise. 

Okay.  Well, crap!  I had all my commas, semi-colons and quotation marks in the right places.  No run-ons, no sentence fragments that weren't intentional (like this one).  Gah!  I even had all the formatting correct.  So what gives?

Well, DUH!  Writing isn't grammar and punctuation.  Naturally, a writer has to be able to write correctly, but a writer has to write well.  I majored in English Literature in college, so I'm the master of the thesis paper and formulaic literary analysis.  That rejection letter brought it all into focus for me.  Writing fiction is an entirely different beast.

 

     I was disappointed that the writing didn't live up to the premise. 

Yep.  There it is again.  Those works rattle around in my head every time I sit down at my computer to write.  The fix?  I read everything I could get my hands on in the genre in which I write and paid attention to the writing itself in addition to the story.  And you know what I discovered?  The agent was right--my writing stunk!  

At this point, I vowed to get it right.  I put away that first project and its half-finished sequel and started a new, unrelated book.  I simplified my style and intensified my characterization.  I then found  a critique service through a university graduate program.  The professor critiqued my first thirty page of my first project and my new one.  She found things I do consistently in my writing that weaken it.  

I focused on the new project, which was superior to the first (Huge understatement--the first one was...well, it was a typical first novel: Overwritten and as a result, way too long).  I applied her suggestions from the first thirty pages all the way through the novel.

You have to learn the rules of the game.  And then you have to play better than anyone else.

Albert Einstein

After too many edits to count, I researched the process of querying and followed all the rules.  I was amazed at the difference between the reaction of agents to my new manuscript compared to my first one.  Night and day.  

My writing improves with every book I write.  I am so grateful to the agent who was honest with me and didn't just say, "No thanks," or, "Not for me, but another agent might feel differently."  She told me, in essence, "You have a strong story but your writing stinks.  Quit or fix it."

Imagination and talent is something we are born with, but writing skills are learned.  I'm certain that I will look back on my recent novel and think it's a total piece of garbage, but it did the trick and I got the agent.  And twenty years down the road when in a moment of complacency, I feel like my writing does live up to my premise, all I will have to do is read a the first few pages of a novel like THE GRAVEYARD BOOK by Neil Gaiman or THE SUMMER GUEST by Justin Cronin to bring me back to the reality that I will always have a long way to go.  

In the meantime, I'm going to press on and keep writing and growing.  I didn't even hesitate when I reached the point where I had to ask myself the question, "Do I give up and do something else, or do I learn how to play this game and stick with it?"  I'm in the game for keeps! 

Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence.  Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent.  Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.  Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.  Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.

Calvin Coolidge

Hang in there everybody.  The only thing all published authors have in common is that they didn't give up.  

Mary

Mary Lindsey writes paranormal fiction for children and adults. Prior to attending University of Houston Law School, she received a B.A. in English Literature with a minor in Drama.

Mary can also be found on her website.