Lacey Louwagie's Blog, page 34

Another Day, Another Rejection

I received another rejection today for my young adult novel, and I have to say it's my best rejection yet. Mary Kole's response to my manuscript was both kind and encouraging — proof that agents are not heartless beasts searching for any reason to trash your work. (I never believed this, by the way, but I think it bears mentioning that an agent or editor can reject your work AND be a good person, just as your work can be rejected AND be good work.)   So, I was honestly more encouraged than dismayed at this most recent rejection, except that my work seemed to fit particularly well with what she was looking for. But, if she didn't love it she didn't love it, and now we can move on. Next up, March! (I haven't yet decided what my March submission will be, but I have a long list of possibilities and it's just a matter of zeroing on one). It helps to know that every time I submit something, I'm getting closer.

Today was my first session of the senior college class I'm teaching this year. I always start my writing classes with a few tools for busting writer's block. Today, I had my students write without letting their pen stop for ten minutes; then followed that up with mapping; and then did free writing inspired by my collection of bizarre postcards. About a third of my students are repeats from last year, so I'm trying to vary things a little while still giving a solid foundation to the new students (and it's nice to know those students who did return found the class worth taking again — many of them spoke highly of it during our introductions). At the end of the session, one of the new students who seemed unsure about what exactly he would write came up to me and said, "I never knew writing could be so fun!"

And that's really step one toward any successful writing journey.

E-reader, How You’ve Liberated Me!

So, I’ve talked before about how I’m a “finisher” by personality. That means that, for the whole year that I’ve had my Kindle, I’ve only read two books on it. That’s because the first book I chose to read on it was Les Miserables (it seemed like a good idea at the time.) I finished Les Mis yesterday … which means that my Kindle has suddenly become a wealth of possibility. (All this time, I’ve been collecting books on it, but then feeling depressed because it would be so long before I could read them.)

I’m glad that I read Les Mis, but I’m not in a hurry to start another LONG book anytime soon. So I’ve been looking at the short pieces I have on my Kindle, including a lot of sample chapters I’ve downloaded. And it’s in these sample chapters that I realize I’ve finally found some freedom from my “finishing” tendencies.

I’ve read a lot of books that I don’t like, just because I felt some sort of obligation to them after reading page 1. That’s one of the reasons long books intimidate me so much — because I KNOW I’ll be stuck with them for a while. If I don’t like a book, this is a lot of wasted time while better books go unread. But thanks to sample chapters, “finishing” can now mean something very different. It’s OK to just read chapter one because … that’s all I’ve got. And if I didn’t like it, I can still know I “finished,” while if I DO like it, I can go to the library or put it on my “to-read” list, knowing in advance that the time will be well spent. Brilliant! I’m going on a Kindle book-buying binge tonight to celebrate (and by “buy,” I really mean trolling the free stuff.)

Also, in semi-unrelated news — I “mirror” this blog over at SheWrites, and this week my post about editing and self-publishing was one of the site’s featured posts. That means it’s generated a few comments and friend requests, which connects me more strongly to that community. This brings me closer to one of my goals this year, which was to really become part of an online writing community — and reminds me that the most important part of getting your writing noticed is to keep putting it out there. So, here I go again!

E-reader, How You've Liberated Me!

So, I've talked before about how I'm a "finisher" by personality. That means that, for the whole year that I've had my Kindle, I've only read two books on it. That's because the first book I chose to read on it was Les Miserables (it seemed like a good idea at the time.) I finished Les Mis yesterday … which means that my Kindle has suddenly become a wealth of possibility. (All this time, I've been collecting books on it, but then feeling depressed because it would be so long before I could read them.)

I'm glad that I read Les Mis, but I'm not in a hurry to start another LONG book anytime soon. So I've been looking at the short pieces I have on my Kindle, including a lot of sample chapters I've downloaded. And it's in these sample chapters that I realize I've finally found some freedom from my "finishing" tendencies.

I've read a lot of books that I don't like, just because I felt some sort of obligation to them after reading page 1. That's one of the reasons long books intimidate me so much — because I KNOW I'll be stuck with them for a while. If I don't like a book, this is a lot of wasted time while better books go unread. But thanks to sample chapters, "finishing" can now mean something very different. It's OK to just read chapter one because … that's all I've got. And if I didn't like it, I can still know I "finished," while if I DO like it, I can go to the library or put it on my "to-read" list, knowing in advance that the time will be well spent. Brilliant! I'm going on a Kindle book-buying binge tonight to celebrate (and by "buy," I really mean trolling the free stuff.)

Also, in semi-unrelated news — I "mirror" this blog over at SheWrites, and this week my post about editing and self-publishing was one of the site's featured posts. That means it's generated a few comments and friend requests, which connects me more strongly to that community. This brings me closer to one of my goals this year, which was to really become part of an online writing community — and reminds me that the most important part of getting your writing noticed is to keep putting it out there. So, here I go again!

Overwhelmed, or Just Lucky?

I thought about blogging today about how the upheaval in my personal life has once again been detrimental to my creative life. I've mentioned it here before, how hard it is for me to write in transition. For me, transition is the enemy of The Writing Life, whereas routine seems to be its best companion. As I write that now, I realize how ironic that is, because it is in the transitions that life truly happens; if it weren't for transitions, what would we have to write about? Everyone knows that the hallmark of good fiction is character development, and a character that ultimately changes by story's end. Memoir, too. So I'm going to keep living, and changing, and writing about it all in my journal — and maybe when the dust settles, I'll be able to utilize it in fiction, too.
 
These days, my life feels like an endless to-do list, and I'm at the point where something has to go. Because it's so hard for me to write in transition, I've decided to go easy on myself in this regard. But as I was feeling overwhelmed at the grocery store today, wondering how I would ever get it all done, I remembered a podcast I listened to by Gregg Braden last week. I'd never heard of him before, and I still don't know much about him, including how credible he is or isn't. But his work has to do with research to link whether our thoughts or, more specifically, our belief systems and deep-soul feelings, have the power to affect our reality. He claims that our thoughts are weak, but that when we deeply believe something, it has the power to impact our circumstances. And so, with this in mind, I try not to let myself get stuck in a feeling that I "can't do it all" or that there's "just too much." I'm trying to consciously change my script to this:
 

I have enough time, money, and energy to meet my needs.

 
And when I remembered that this is what I want to learn to feel deeply, I immediately saw my dilemma from a whole new angle. Right now, I'm swamped with freelance work and wondering whether I've bitten off more than I can chew. I'm trying to decide whether I'll need to let someone down or whether I just need to pull through this stretch, not drop any balls because I may need this work in the future. And that's when I realized how incredibly lucky I am to have this problem. When I first started freelancing three years ago, I was petrified with the fear that I'd be without work and without a means to support myself. Money is incredibly tight right now … so what better time to be inundated with work? I can do this, one deep breath and changed script at a time. 

Editors Could Change the Rep of Self Publishers

Last week, the Huffington Post published this article about why indie (i.e.: self-published) authors still aren't taken seriously, despite runaway successes like Christopher Paolini or J.A. Konrath that we hear so much about.  The reality is, many self-published authors end up with a basement full of books they can't sell (something that, at least, self-publishing ebooks can bring to an end). The number one reason HuffPo lists for this lack of credibility is … bad (or no) editing.

And although I know in my heart there are probably lots of self-published gems out there just waiting to be discovered, I often pass by self-published books entirely due to this massive lack of quality control. And although I'm a "finisher" who often reads through books that I'm not enjoying at all, I often can't get myself to sit through the grammar errors and inconsistencies in a self-published book, no matter how much the subject matter entices me.  I read unedited work every day for my job — when I'm off, I want to read a book that someone else has already done the hard work on. (And here's a word to the wise for all writers: you should be doing the hard work so your readers don't have to.)

If more self-published authors took themselves seriously enough to hire editors, I think they could gradually begin changing self-publishing's bad reputation, especially as people become more and more frustrated with a few book publishers having all the power. Yes, I know that money is often an issue when self-publishing, and yes, professional editors do cost money. But in addition to lack of feedback and experience, I think another major problem with self-published books, especially with the explosion of self-published ebooks, is that a lot of writers read the "success stories," think, "That could be me!" and invest in self-publishing as some sort of get-rich-quick scheme. And anyone who thinks writing is a get-rich-anytime scheme is majorly deluded (in fact, anyone who thinks writing is a do anything quick scheme is deluded; I can write a passable novel draft in a month, but it can take me up to two years to revise said draft after that.)

But even after all that, I'm glad that self-publishing is now an option for authors. I'm glad writers have more platforms for reaching readers. I'm glad that Random House and Penguin are no longer the only ones who get to decide what the public reads. And I actually love working with authors who are planning to self-publish — and take themselves seriously enough to work with an editor and through multiple drafts — because most of these writers DO have talent, and they only need a little refinement for that talent to be taken seriously. And if your goal as a self-publisher is to gain readers (not to make a huge monetary return on your time and talent investment or to attain critical acclaim), then you'll probably feel perfectly satisfied with the results.

Although e-readers are new, electronic publishing is not. In fact, as soon as people were getting online, they were posting their stories. My own humble beginnings were as a fan-fic author who posted online — I self-published. And I remember thinking, at the time, that posting a story on the Internet was just as good as being published because people were reading my work — even people I didn't know! That's still thrilling as a writer, and I give kudos to all those who take the time to write and have the courage to share, who want no reward but to have real readers. I'm entertaining serious thoughts about returning to my roots as an electronic self-publisher myself if this year's worth of submissions doesn't achieve the desired results.

So, if you also want to self publish something that's had a rockin' editing job to boot, you know where to find me.

My First Book — Coming Soon

Over the past year, I've made mention several times about an anthology of young adult Catholic voices that I've been working on. Last week, my co-editor and I heard back from the publisher, and this morning we confirmed that the project is a go. The book will be available in the fall, hopefully by September, in print and ebook editions. I can't wait to hold it in my hands, and more importantly, to share these stories of passionate, gutsy, smart young adult Catholics with the world.

I'm also excited to be moving into the phase of book production that has before now been purely hypothetical to me. Although I've seen dozens of magazines, one poem, and one short story through publication, this will be the first time that I'm moving through the post-acceptance process of something that I've pulled together on my own, and not because I was hired to do so by someone else. I also very much appreciate knowing that I'm "on the right track," as our publisher referred to our submission as one of the "most professional proposals" he's ever seen. That's encouraging, since I'm now regularly putting together similar proposals to shop my young adult novel to agents and publishers.

If you want to meet some of the writers featured in the upcoming Hungering and Thirsting for Justice anthology, check out the Young Adult Catholics blog. And if you'd like to read some high-quality, thought-provoking Catholic/Christian/Spiritual literature, definitely check out ACTA Publications, a publisher I admired years before knowing they would publish my first book project. In particular, I recommend one of their newest offerings, Grace Notes by Brian Doyle, and the book that first put them on my radar, Remaining Catholic: Six Good Reasons for Staying in an Imperfect Church by Martin Pable. I have a long list of additional books from their catalog on my "To-Read" list. They're definitely a publisher to watch, and I'm thrilled to be working with them.

The 10-000 hour rule

I'm currently reading Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, which has brought me face-to-face, once again, with the "10,000-hour rule." What this says, essentially, is that to reach true expertise or proficiency in ANY field (music, programming, writing, sports, etc.), one must first accomplish 10,000 hours of practice. This divides out into about twenty hours a week for ten years.

At first glance, this seems incredibly hopeful — it means that the true secret to excellence isn't inherent talent or special opportunities or being in the right place at the right time, but simply putting in the time. Dedication is the only thing needed, and dedication is one thing we have control over. Right?

Except that twenty hours a week for ten years IS a lot of time. If you have a full-time job that does NOT give you a chance to practice your passion, 40 hours are no longer available to you for practice. So if you add 20 hours of practice per week, you're now essentially working one full-time job and one part-time job, which people have to juggle all the time — but often to the detriment of their homelife, their housework, their sleep schedule, and ultimately, their health. And remember, these 20 hours are unpaid.

An ideal situation would be one in which you could work part time and still make enough money to practice those 20 hours — but access to that ideal situation does, in fact, fall under the category of being granted a special opportunity (an unusually lucrative part-time job, a substantial reserve fund, a supportive spouse, etc.) For the rest of us, we have to make a choice: excellence in our passion, or balance in our lives?

I used to think there was nothing I wanted more than to excel as a writer. But you know what? That's not what I want more than anything anymore. What I want most now is to love my life. And squeezing in twenty hours of writing per week on top of my paid labor would quickly deplete me. The state of mess my house would fall into would drive me crazy. I'd resent the time not spent with my loved ones. I'd eat less well, and I'd sleep less well. I might become an excellent writer, but I'd feel like a zombie as a human being. Not only that, but the longer I've lived, the more I've come to appreciate a sensibility like Don Miller's, in which he refers to sitting down to write as "harvesting the crops," whereas the planting and sowing of those crops comes in living life. And it doesn't do anyone much good to harvest crops when we've had no time for planting.

So far, Gladwell hasn't commented on how important it is to get those 10,000 hours in a relatively short period of time. When I do the math on my own writing practice, which has been about an hour a day since the age of 13, I come up with a mere 4,000 hours. If I add to that the amount of writing I do for work, I can bump that up to about 8,000 hours. If condensing "putting in the time" to ten years isn't  required to achieve the excellence promised after 10,000 hours, then I feel quite content letting those hours continue to trickle in, slowly but steadily, over the course of my lifetime. If I don't reach true excellence in writing until I'm middle-aged or ready for retirement, it's a trade off I'm willing to make. I have a lot of crops to sow in the meantime.

New, by me! (sorta)

I just added a new page to this blog for writing insights that stick with me from the various writing resources I'm constantly sifting through. Constantly striving to simplify my life, I like to get rid of these items as soon as I'm done reading them — but this page lets me hold onto the best of them (that, along with my overwhelming list of bookmarks).

I've also recently written for Young Adult Catholics, a post in memory of my aunt Marian, who passed away one week ago today.

And speaking of young adult Catholics … the manuscript I've been working on with the co-editor of the blog went to the publisher one week ago today, too. And now that it's off my desk for a while, I'm finally returning to my neglected Rumplestiltskin retelling. I've found it hasn't been hard to pick up where I left off, and I'm relishing the excitement of being in the "creative" phase once more. I'm on the homestretch — a few more pages, and I'll be able to write those magical words, "the end" (of course, we writers know it's never really "the end"). Perhaps I should make it a goal to be finished with draft one by Valentine's Day and present it to my fiancé, who gave me the initial idea for the story.

If You’re Going to Publish, PLEASE Call Your Friendly Editor!

One of my writers’ group friends forwarded this headline to me today:

Woman with fun in bra arrested

A convicted felon has been arrested by police in a Phoenix suburb after telling officers that she was hiding a handgun in her bra. By: Associated Press report, Arizona Republic 

I don’t think any more needs to be said. 

If You're Going to Publish, PLEASE Call Your Friendly Editor!

One of my writers' group friends forwarded this headline to me today:

Woman with fun in bra arrested

A convicted felon has been arrested by police in a Phoenix suburb after telling officers that she was hiding a handgun in her bra. By: Associated Press report, Arizona Republic 

I don't think any more needs to be said.