CLASS DISMISSED (Sort of)
It's Labor Day. The last day of a three day weekend that should have been spent doing anything but laboring. Yet, on Saturday and Sunday I spent seven hours each day at UCLA teaching a class of would-be authors everything I know about publishing, writing and keeping your creative head above water.
But this isn't about what I know or don't know about publishing. Nor is it a complaint about having to work while everyone else played. I wasn't alone, after all, there were other people in that classroom working just as hard as I was. This is a thank you to them. While the class has been dismissed, it will be a very long while before I forget the students.
Bob, Roger, Michaela, Deanna and Lisa stand out. They came because each had a story to tell. Some had been working on their book for years, others had a vague idea of what they wanted to write about but all had that desire to publish. And, as with so many who write, the desire that had once niggled at them was now a full-blown passion. It was my job to help them understand what lay ahead of them once their books were done.
I won't kid you, it's like walking a tightrope when you teach a class like mine. We spent the first day talking about reality: traditional publishers scrambling as they try to figure out what to do about the onslaught of E-publishing opportunities, readers wanting quality writing at a lower price, bookstores now selling both e-readers and books, bold Indie writers offering their work without benefit of editor or agent. So I have to be careful not to discourage a new writer by overstating the sheer confusion in publishing these days. I didn't have to worry with this class. They were beyond hearty.
Research had been done, manuscripts had been written and edited and they were ready to adjust their vision in order to put their best 'author' foot forward when it came time to submit.
But the most impressive thing about this class was that they gave so much back. When the class was dismissed, they left me energized by their intelligence, in awe of the creativity and, above all, they reminded me that there was joy in writing.
I sometimes become so focused on all the information about books and publishing and new opportunities for writers in terms of cyber outlets that I sometimes forget what all this is about. It's about writing with abandon, it's about telling a story that is burning inside, it's about having the courage to put my craft out there for people to embrace or reject.
So, the long weekend is over. The class is gone, back to San Diego and Valencia and a few other places that only underscored these students' commimtment to their work. And I am here, writing this blog. Tomorrow I will work on my new book. I will work happily and well. And, when my book is almost finished, I imagine I will get an email from someone in the class informing me that they have just signed with an agent, or received an offer on their book and I will be energized all over again.
What a successful class. I hope my students learned as much from me as I did from them.
But this isn't about what I know or don't know about publishing. Nor is it a complaint about having to work while everyone else played. I wasn't alone, after all, there were other people in that classroom working just as hard as I was. This is a thank you to them. While the class has been dismissed, it will be a very long while before I forget the students.
Bob, Roger, Michaela, Deanna and Lisa stand out. They came because each had a story to tell. Some had been working on their book for years, others had a vague idea of what they wanted to write about but all had that desire to publish. And, as with so many who write, the desire that had once niggled at them was now a full-blown passion. It was my job to help them understand what lay ahead of them once their books were done.
I won't kid you, it's like walking a tightrope when you teach a class like mine. We spent the first day talking about reality: traditional publishers scrambling as they try to figure out what to do about the onslaught of E-publishing opportunities, readers wanting quality writing at a lower price, bookstores now selling both e-readers and books, bold Indie writers offering their work without benefit of editor or agent. So I have to be careful not to discourage a new writer by overstating the sheer confusion in publishing these days. I didn't have to worry with this class. They were beyond hearty.
Research had been done, manuscripts had been written and edited and they were ready to adjust their vision in order to put their best 'author' foot forward when it came time to submit.
But the most impressive thing about this class was that they gave so much back. When the class was dismissed, they left me energized by their intelligence, in awe of the creativity and, above all, they reminded me that there was joy in writing.
I sometimes become so focused on all the information about books and publishing and new opportunities for writers in terms of cyber outlets that I sometimes forget what all this is about. It's about writing with abandon, it's about telling a story that is burning inside, it's about having the courage to put my craft out there for people to embrace or reject.
So, the long weekend is over. The class is gone, back to San Diego and Valencia and a few other places that only underscored these students' commimtment to their work. And I am here, writing this blog. Tomorrow I will work on my new book. I will work happily and well. And, when my book is almost finished, I imagine I will get an email from someone in the class informing me that they have just signed with an agent, or received an offer on their book and I will be energized all over again.
What a successful class. I hope my students learned as much from me as I did from them.
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