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