 For Authors: March 19, 2008 Issue [#2282] |
  For Authors
This week: Edited by: Vivian  
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Some people don't realize how much their attitudes affect the results of attempts to be published.
I'm going to share some of the information I've gained from agents, publishers, and editors that may help us be better candidates for being published.
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Watch that Attitude
Not wanting to be a full-fledged-career writer is fine. Writing for a hobby shouldn't bring shame, but we need to be honest if that's how we feel. A wrong attitude toward constructive criticism, rejection letters, and advice labels one a hobbyist, even if a enthusiastic hobbyist, or a wanna-be writer.
I've heard and read much information from agents, publishers, and editors about the attitude they encounter in their jobs, the attitude of writers, attitudes that will keep people who want to be publish from being published, at least by a quality publisher.
NOTE: Some companies that call themselves publishers accept most, if not all, material submitted. Some do little or no editing. Some are so busy releasing titles that they push "books" through to the public that are full of problem areas. I have some of those books in my library, and I keep them to remind myself how important editing, complete editing, is. Yes, most all books have at least one or two typos, that's a human error and possible, acceptable, but I'm talking about major and many errors.
One of the first examples given by a group always concerned the author who thinks their manuscript is perfect as it. Some of the "experts" use form letters and no longer give reasons for rejections because of the backlash when they gave suggestions for improvement, even when they offered to consider the manuscript again once improvements were made.
Receiving a rejection letter, whether personalized or a form letter, hurts. I know and understand because I have a huge collection of said rejections. The way we react to rejections, our attitude, either allows us to try, try again, or we become defensive and don't progress in our writing careers, or don't go far.
Therefore, a dedicated writer, after a brief time of crying or pouting, will gather up his/her courage and do one or more of the following:
1. Look at any suggestions given by an editor/agent/publisher who took the time to send a personal rejection. Then revise and improve your work. The suggestions given may not work, but you know the problem areas and can rework them so that they are clear and avoid the problems noted.
2. Get feedback from people who will critique honestly and know what they are doing.
3. Write and rewrite before resubmitting to the same place if the rejection letter gives you that option, or submit elsewhere.
A hobbyist, on the other hand, blames the agent/editor/publisher, a poor attitude that leads nowhere toward being published.
Another problem with attitude that the group complains about is the author who believes his/her time is more important than the time and effort of the publishing person. Revisions are either not returned in a timely matter, are not completed as required, or are fluffed off with a remark such as, "That's the editor's job."
A dedicated writer, knowing that a publisher's schedule is tight, returns revisions as quickly as possible, completed and improved.
No agent, editor, or publisher wants to hear, "Well, my kids, husband/wife, friends all think my work is great. That should count."
A dedicated writer will find a qualified editor or two to proof the manuscript and help the author find ways to improve.
What kind of writer's attitude do you have: one of a hobbyist or one of a dedicated writer?
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Words from Our Readers
zdadach
Hi;
I am trying to write a memoir about my experiences in New York in my early twenties , quebec, osaka and abu dhabi in my fifties.. so many things made ask myself so many questions and how can i survive. my conclusion is one of my pieces called: A strory for kids first...
the conclusion is that societies are different but people are the same. i want to call my memoir: The challenges of a traveller. the real challenge was to discover myself not the others
thanks
Zineddine
People write memoirs for different reasons: for themselves, for others, to leave a legacy, to give descendants a record. Whatever the reason, go for it.
decora 
Thanks for the great newsletter on Memoirs!
Glad you liked it.
Shelly Quade 
Your newsletter gives a lot of useful definition for a memoir. I think one of the important things to point out about a memoir, however, is that the most interesting ones are also often the hardest ones to write. Re-living memories, bad or good, can be really hard to handle.
You are so correct: Re-living memories is hard to handle. I have had to wait nearly forty years before I could write about some events in my past. Doing so was still extremely difficult.
Doctored Climber
Thank you for writing on memoirs. That has been a hot subject in my college writing class lately and I just didn't get what they were. Your article on them clarified this for me. Thank you!
You're welcome. I'm glad I could help.
PuppyTales
Awesome NL, Viv!
Interesting... the word "memoir" has usually made me shudder... me think, "Ah! True, boring stories of someone's boring life!"
Truth be told, I didn't exactly know the exact definition of a memoir. Then, recently, I was reading James Herriot books... well, not quite. I have one on tape, and recently, I read the first one. In any case, I realized that these are some of the funniest, funnest books I've ever read. And they're memoirs!
So yeah. I like this newsletter; I've realized memoirs are Cool!
Hey, Puppy, some people can man anything boring, and some can anything interesting. I'm glad you found some that are interesting and funny.
Zeke  
Sometime memoirs are quite painful to relive. Other times they serve to put bad memories into perspective. Nice work. Thank you.
Zeke
I've heard others say that writing a memoir helped them handle the past. You're right.
Mavis Moog
I love writing memoirs and I love reading them, especially if they are far from my own experiences.
I think it's important to see character development as important in a memoir, as it is in fiction.
There is just one problem, as I see it. Real-life rarely pans out like a fictional plot. Ends are left hanging, conclusions are rarely satisfying and themes are difficult to pin down. Sometimes, a little story-telling craft, exaggeration, confabulation - call it what you will - produces a more entertaining read.
If a memoir is exaggerated or fictionalized, it's only honest to make a note of that. Some writers have gotten into trouble by changing many experiences and manipulating situations and claiming the mixture as fact. A little note stating that everything isn't factual will at least allow the reader to realize the truth.
But you're right. Real life doesn't always leave things neat and tidy with a complete closing, but that won't keep a good writer from having a closing that is satisfying to the reader.
Hope you're back next week for another For Authors Newsletter and that you join me next month.
Vivian
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