| How Not To Get Published | | | | really it's a bitsad. People who have the |
| | | | story--the part that can't belearned--but |
| | | | tell it badly. They rush in on the |
| | | | adrenalinehigh that authors know so well, |
| If someone had told me in 2000 that I'd | | | | then get rejected and give up. |
| publish four books in | | | | |
| | | | What defines a great story? That depends on |
| 2001, I'd have called him an eejit. | | | | which reader youask. If you're writing a |
| | | | story that moves you, someonesomewhere with |
| The last time I'd been published was 1989, | | | | similar tastes will like it. Some stories |
| and that doesn'tcount because I paid someone | | | | willbe more popular than others, but almost |
| to do it. I'd long since given upon getting | | | | every story will beconsidered great by |
| published again. In fact, I doubted I'd ever | | | | someone. But if it's badly written, thereader |
| writeagain. | | | | will simply put the book down and read |
| | | | something else. |
| By now you may wonder how I made it from | | | | |
| Point A to Point B. | | | | As a teenaged author, gathering up enough |
| | | | rejection slips towallpaper the room, I |
| Or for that matter, why I stopped writing. | | | | didn't give up. I just got arrogant |
| | | | anddecided "You don't understand me, ya |
| The second part is simple. I was chasing | | | | eejit." That's nosolution. Nor is paying to |
| money, becoming ahigh-powered businessman and | | | | be published. |
| losing myself. The first part isa little more | | | | |
| difficult to explain. | | | | Nope, if you want to get published, learn how |
| | | | to tell yourstory. Spelling, grammar, |
| In December 1999, I flew to Hong Kong for a | | | | punctuation, pacing, dialogue... allthat |
| vacation. Thefirst vacation in my life, | | | | stuff you may have slept through in high |
| really. I intended to stay for amonth. | | | | school will becomesecond nature with enough |
| Instead, I married an Australian who taught | | | | practice. |
| English there. | | | | |
| | | | I did quite well in high school English, by |
| I quit my job in North Carolina by email. | | | | the way, but it'snot like they taught pacing |
| | | | and dialogue and real story-telling there. To |
| I found myself unable to legally work in Hong | | | | learn those, you've gotta read. But that's |
| Kong. So what was | | | | noproblem for an author. If you don't enjoy |
| | | | reading, you can'twrite something that others |
| I to do with my time? I dusted off a | | | | will enjoy reading. |
| childhood dream and resumedwriting. | | | | |
| | | | Also, you must listen to the criticisms. |
| I had a slush pile full of old short stories, | | | | Accept some andreject others, but always |
| and I ran themthrough the on-line writing | | | | listen. I believe the Internet makesit much |
| workshops. There are two parts | | | | easier to get those criticisms. |
| towriting--story and style. I wasn't changing | | | | |
| my stories--they camefrom me and were what I | | | | I work as an editor now, and one of my |
| wanted to write--but my style waspathetic. | | | | authors told me that hesees movies inside his |
| Style is also the part that can be learned. | | | | head. It shows in his writing! I don'twrite |
| So I did. | | | | that way, unfortunately, but I still know how |
| | | | he feels. |
| Then came something that amazed me. New | | | | |
| stories. Mixing with the | | | | When "the Muse" pays me a visit, I've gotta |
| | | | write it down asfast as it comes to me. |
| "writing culture" got my creative juices | | | | That's the one part that can't bepackaged, |
| flowing again. After allthose years. Better | | | | taught or mass-produced. That part comes from |
| than ever, in fact. | | | | you,the author, and no one else can do it the |
| | | | way that you do. |
| Next, I published them. Between March and | | | | |
| December 2000, Ipublished twenty stories in | | | | Kurt Vonnegut, whose works I greatly admire, |
| twenty different e-zines. I onlymade $6, but | | | | writes onesentence at a time, and makes each |
| I was building my resume. I believed that I | | | | one perfect before hebegins the next. But I |
| had ashort story anthology in me, and I'd | | | | don't write like that, nor do most ofthe |
| decided to try publishingit. I felt I needed | | | | authors I know. We just let it fly, then go |
| a "track record," so I got one. | | | | back and fixit later. |
| | | | |
| I also had a novel in my slush pile. A | | | | But if you don't want to get published, don't |
| gripping imaginativestory, badly told. But | | | | go back and fixit. Pass that raw copy around |
| I'd finally learned about the craft, | | | | to your friends and family andlet them tell |
| thestructure, and the hard work that comes | | | | you how wonderful it is for fear of hurting |
| after that originalflash of inspiration. | | | | yourfeelings. Then send it to the publishers |
| | | | and collect therejection letters. That's what |
| You see where I'm leading by now. I wrote two | | | | I did in my younger days, and Iwasn't |
| new novels, andsigned contracts to publish | | | | published. |
| all three novels plus the newshort story | | | | |
| collection in 2001. | | | | It took me twenty years to learn my lesson. |
| | | | It would genuinelymake me feel good to hear |
| It's a common sight among new writers, and | | | | that most writers aren't takingquite so long. |