A double dose of fuckitol.
Jan. 25th, 2010 07:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
megwritesYou know what? Fuck it. Fuck. It. All.
I'm writing what I want to write, and if it's not marketable, then it's not marketable and I'll write something else later that is. But I like this story, I believe in it, and I want to tell it.
I'm done reading the blogs and the endless repetition of trite advice, especially from people who's experience and accomplishments are far less than than their ability to mouth off on a blog and tell writers how tiresome and inferior they are. I'm tired of people who seem to have a lot of whining to do about how haaaaaaaard it is to do their job, how put upon and abused they are, and rarely have a good thing to say. Mostly, I'm tired of hearing it from people who seem to hate their jobs and take that hate out on the people who might want to work with them.
There are some awesome sources of advice and insight out there, and I'm going to be paying attention to those. Because there are blogs by really great people - writers, agents, editors, marketers - who not only genuinely love what they do but are eager to work with others to create great things. Those are the people who are worth my time.
I'm done with the idea of "gatekeepers". Agents and editors aren't gatekeepers, they're partners. Writers, agents, and editors all need to get this stamped on their foreheads. You shouldn't think of them as the guardians of some promised land who can open a magical door for you. Getting a book deal is not the end, it's the beginning of a whole other mountain to climb. Publishing is not a magical fairyland where all your dreams come true - it's a business like anything else.
There are certain things that partners or potential partners do and don't do. Making the other party feel like the very act of sending a query is an affront to your existence? Is not it. Arguing when an agent/editor hands down a polite "sorry, no"? Is not it.
But in the end, fuck it. I've got some writing to do.
I'm writing what I want to write, and if it's not marketable, then it's not marketable and I'll write something else later that is. But I like this story, I believe in it, and I want to tell it.
I'm done reading the blogs and the endless repetition of trite advice, especially from people who's experience and accomplishments are far less than than their ability to mouth off on a blog and tell writers how tiresome and inferior they are. I'm tired of people who seem to have a lot of whining to do about how haaaaaaaard it is to do their job, how put upon and abused they are, and rarely have a good thing to say. Mostly, I'm tired of hearing it from people who seem to hate their jobs and take that hate out on the people who might want to work with them.
There are some awesome sources of advice and insight out there, and I'm going to be paying attention to those. Because there are blogs by really great people - writers, agents, editors, marketers - who not only genuinely love what they do but are eager to work with others to create great things. Those are the people who are worth my time.
I'm done with the idea of "gatekeepers". Agents and editors aren't gatekeepers, they're partners. Writers, agents, and editors all need to get this stamped on their foreheads. You shouldn't think of them as the guardians of some promised land who can open a magical door for you. Getting a book deal is not the end, it's the beginning of a whole other mountain to climb. Publishing is not a magical fairyland where all your dreams come true - it's a business like anything else.
There are certain things that partners or potential partners do and don't do. Making the other party feel like the very act of sending a query is an affront to your existence? Is not it. Arguing when an agent/editor hands down a polite "sorry, no"? Is not it.
But in the end, fuck it. I've got some writing to do.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-25 07:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-26 04:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-25 09:11 pm (UTC)And you know, this is exactly the place you need to be if you want to keep on loving writing--and have any real hope of publishing.
When I suddenly broke from speculative fiction in 2008 to write my Shenandoah novels, which are pure historical fiction, a bunch of people did look at me askance because I'd taken the first steps towards making a name for myself in SF/F, and they thought I was throwing that away. But everyone else understand: These were the books of my heart. I'd already written my first dream book--the SF one with my uncle--and what was originally the one-volume Shenandoah (and is now four) was the other. The story had been in my head in one form or another since 1985; and I finally got to the point where it had to be written.
If you write the book of your heart you can't go wrong, whether or not it gets published.
As for mountain climbing...the way I see it, I have a whole range of mountains I want to climb. Publishing one book was one of them. That doesn't mean I don't want to go see what the view from the peak is over there, too. :)
no subject
Date: 2010-01-26 04:55 am (UTC)