Mama Jude's Pep Talk

heyjude

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There must be something in the water. So many of us seem to be discouraged lately, whether it's over the publishing business and how darn hard it is to get published, or over our writing. Or (fun!) both.

So listen up, my dears.

First: Publishing is hard. Getting an agent is hard. Getting a publisher is harder. We have to have faith in ourselves, in our writing, and in the industry. Publishing has gone through hard times before, and it always rights itself. A good writer will eventually get published--unless said writer quits!

Second: Writing is hard. We don't always start out writing well. I just told someone this story yesterday--I had a mentor who used to actually beat me with my rolled up chapters. They were really, truly awful. (Also he made me memorize Mark Twain quotes denouncing adverbs, but that is a different story.)

Writing well takes most of us years. For most of us it will never be an effortless exercise. Most of you know that I hated the last book I finished. It simply wasn't very good. Do I quit? Heck no! I move on. Maybe someday I'll go back and force that book to be good. Mebbe not. But I sure don't quit writing.

If I wanted to be an Olympic swimmer, I couldn't drag into my pool and expect to swim well. (Especially because I have a deep and abiding fear of having my head underwater, but again, different story.) I would have to start swimming. And keep swimming. (And maybe be twenty years younger, which means that this metaphor isn't working out so well, but you get the idea, right? Right?)

I believe that if you put your mind to it, you can write, and write well. I believe that if you want to quit, you should. If your characters don't keep you up at night, demanding their stories be told, maybe you're not a writer after all.

But you are. Of course you are. Would you be here if not? So keep plugging away. In your down time, go beta read for other people. You'll learn as much doing that as writing.

And if you get discouraged? Come here for a hug. :Hug2:
 

Midnight Star

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I needed this so badly. Thanks, Mama Jude. :)

Somehow I feel like this was directed towards me...maybe you just have a skill at connecting with people like that.
 

heyjude

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Aw, Midnight. :) Yes, I had several people in mind with this post. You were one of them. I was one of them, too. We all need a pickup sometimes, don't we?

For everyone who holds their breath while they send out a query letter, for everyone who checks their email every six minutes (seconds) waiting for a "yes", for everyone who gives over material to be beta-read, you're brave. (#4 on the list of reasons I love you all.)
 

Midnight Star

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I actually have two phobias that I need cured: Apiphobia and Atychiphobia. I should probably seek help for them, but I also have mild Latrophobia, which won't help much. Yes, these are all my own diagnosises (is that a word?), not a doctor's.

Did I also mention I'm terrified of betas, and agents, which makes my decision to write a novel I hope will be published questionable?

I'm a fraidy cat, it's true.
 

MarkEsq

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Aw, Midnight. :) Yes, I had several people in mind with this post. You were one of them. I was one of them, too. We all need a pickup sometimes, don't we?

Yes. I'm definitely in that zone right now. Publishers rejecting me one-by-one, my dreams of a series with my lovable MC starting to spiral. Now I'm trying to get up the courage to try something a little different, kind of a mystery but not, first person and far more informal in tone that what I've done before. That's taking courage that I usually have, but that's only coming in occasional waves right now.

So, yes, I'll take that hug. And thanks for being prescient enough to offer one up before I had to ask. :)
 

jeseymour

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You want discouraged? I have a publisher all ready to print up my book this fall. The problem? I don't think it's good enough. I sent it out on a whim to these good folks, and bless their hearts, they liked it. While they were looking at it (and buying it,) I had two beta readers looking at it, who got back to me after I had sold the book. They found all sorts of problems. Now I have Doubt. I fixed the big issues, but I don't know whether to try to fix more or just let the publisher take it as is (and they do like it) and move on. Sigh. Of course, I've always had these Doubts. I'll edit as long as I can, right up to the moment of publication. But I'm sick of looking at this book. I want to move on. Besides, it is pretty good.
 

heyjude

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:Hug2::Hug2::Hug2::Hug2::Hug2::Hug2: For all of you and a few extra 'cause we know I don't do math. (Neither do you. Admit it. You told me.)

Midnight, it takes real courage to submit, whether it's to a beta or an agent. I was blessed by a mentor who toughened up my skin by hurling general insults. :evil Let me tell you, I was terrified the first time I subbed to an agent. The rejections can be crushing--if you let them. Or they can make you vow to do better.

Oh, Mark. We are in the same place, so I really feel your pain. And you really, really feel mine as I keep emailing you about it, haha. In the spirit of sweetness and light, let me just say that any editor that has rejected you is a crack-smoking brain-damaged nitwit. And the little I've seen of your new material is smokin'. No doubts there!!!

Jesey, your publisher must have loved the book to acquire it! (I am not jealous, I am not jealous...) Have more faith in them, if not yourself! And I think everyone is sick of their book by the time it goes to press. I can't wait to buy yours!
 

Midnight Star

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Midnight, it takes real courage to submit, whether it's to a beta or an agent.

You got that right. Whenever I submit, I check my inbox every ten minutes or so even though they won't read it that fast. :D
 

DocBrown

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I don't do math. (Neither do you. Admit it. You told me.)

I do not recall this conversation. :tongue

Since I started back up writing a couple of years ago, a lot of friends of mine have "wondered when I'm going to try to get something published"?

I keep responding: It took me ten years to get my PhD in Math, you think I'm going to become a novelist in just a couple?

In the same way I had to build my math skills, I now have to build my writing skills. Of course, leave it to me to pick the two professions that don't pay squat. :Shrug:
 

heyjude

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You got that right. Whenever I submit, I check my inbox every ten minutes or so even though they won't read it that fast. :D

Ten?!

I do not recall this conversation. :tongue

Since I started back up writing a couple of years ago, a lot of friends of mine have "wondered when I'm going to try to get something published"?

I keep responding: It took me ten years to get my PhD in Math, you think I'm going to become a novelist in just a couple?

In the same way I had to build my math skills, I now have to build my writing skills. Of course, leave it to me to pick the two professions that don't pay squat. :Shrug:

Doc, you're totally right--you're my exception to the math rule. :) And excellent analogy on the PhD!!!
 

Midnight Star

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I'm not quite that obsessive.

Not yet, anyways. Once I start submitting to agents (probably two years from now) I'll probably become even more obsessive than that.
 

heyjude

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Thanks, Todd and Midnight, for the songs. :) Very sweet.

(Whyyyyyyy do I click?!)

Haggis, you get a hug :Hug2:, a scratch behind the ears, and a belly rub. :)
 

FOTSGreg

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Every time, every time I submit something I'm absolutely sure it's going to be rejected. I'm a hack and I'm proud of my hackness. I've been told by a professional (associate) editor that it would be years before I was writing at a professional level.

But, I've had 3 short stories published by the same online 'zine and they're a pretty big venue (and very well-respected for the most part). Yes, they're a nonpaying venue, but do I give a rip? Nope. I'm gaining a reputation there.

Every single time I get something published out there wherever by whomever for whatever I'm putting my stories out there to entertain people and more people are getting to know me and my writing. That means that eventually people will start to watch for stuff I write - and maybe even buy it now and then.

Every time I get something published I think of that editor and say to myself "See what you missed, a$$hole? You tried to discourage me and to extinguish my career before it had even started. This is my payback for that."

Starting small and working up? I can live with that. Starting and stopping altogether? No way. I have been writing since I was in my pre-teens. I'm now past 50. I've published a buttload of non-fiction in various venues, but I've never had a story or novel professionally published. I might never see that happen. Does that mean I'm going to stop writing?

Not just "No", but "Hell, no!"

Just the mention that I'm going to self e-publish a book this July made an acquaintance of mine at my day job happy. He's as anxious about seeing the book come out as I am (which surprised the daylights out of me) and he's happier about it than I am because there is a great deal of trepidation I feel about this particular venture.

But he's going to tell 2 people and they;re going to tell 2 people and so on and so forth.

My writing's going to make someone else happy. It already has and that person hasn't even read the book yet.

Yours will too - if you stick to it long enough.

It's hard. It's dirty. It's cutthroat, and it's inefficient - but if you've got the bug for writing you cannot ever lay it down.

If you can walk away, you should. But think about those people you might disappoint, those people who will never be delighted just to hear that you have a story or book about to come out.

Can you walk away from them?

It is a wonderful thing to be able to inspire delight, anticipation, and yes, hunger, in another human being with your imagination.

So, when discouragement and depression, and rejection get you down, remember the guy I told you about above. He could be anyone you know. He could be a lot of people you know. You have stories to tell. Tell them and forget about everything else.

You may not be a master today, but who is? It takes years to become a master in any field. Be a hack instead and tell stories that delight and entertain and thrill.
 

bigb

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I believe that if you put your mind to it, you can write, and write well. I believe that if you want to quit, you should. If your characters don't keep you up at night, demanding their stories be told, maybe you're not a writer after all.

I must be then, my characters keep me up at night, and I have great ideas instead of sleeping.

Writing isn't the problem, the rest of the world is. LOL

Thanks Jude
 

Haggis

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Thanks, Todd and Midnight, for the songs. :) Very sweet.

(Whyyyyyyy do I click?!)

Haggis, you get a hug :Hug2:, a scratch behind the ears, and a belly rub. :)

Cool. I always love it when my leg goes off shaking like that. :D
 

Midnight Star

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I've just started to realize that I'm crazy. :Wha:
I talk to people that don't exist, I rapidly change my mood to fit my story...and I live in an imaginary world where I control everything including the weather, time and imaginary people.

But oddly, I'm okay with this.
 

kaitie

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I think I'm probably one of the only people around who forgets to check my email to see if I have new rejections waiting for me. Oh wait...I'm supposed to be positive about this huh lol? Responses...we'll go with responses. ;)

It's definitely scary, though. To be honest, I'm more nervous about having people here look over my stuff than I am about sending it to agents. No joke. Heck, Namatu's reading through the story I've currently got on submission, and I'm not religiously checking my email to find out how the submissions are going, but I do occasionally have moments of, "OMG she's going to hate it! I bet it sucks and I'm going to have to rewrite the entire thing." :tongue

I think it's tough because we work so hard on something, and then showing it to other people means exposing our hard work to criticism, which we know we're going to receive. I'm sure even Shakespeare got criticized (mostly because I do it. :D), and I think even the best writer in the world will have someone find something that can be improved. It gets easier the more you do it, too, though. I'm definitely braver now than I used to be.

I'm really glad to have this group, though. It helps a lot to be around other people who know what it's like, even if it does seem like everyone else is finding agents or getting requests all over the place when I can't manage the same. And I know I'm improving for the stuff I've learned here, which is also fun.

You know...I haven't gotten anything done today (I'm sick as a dog), but you've just made me want to write. :)
 

Ruv Draba

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I tell my writing buds that every writing venture delivers two products: a manuscript and a you who wrote it.

A manuscript can sell perhaps once, but a better you can produce many more manuscripts and new writing opportunities. So whatever else you deliver, no matter how unsuitable the manuscript may be, make sure the you your writing serves up is another step closer toward being the writer you want to be. If it does that, then you don't need encouragement (though that is nice); persistence alone will suffice.

That is all. :guns:
 

kaitie

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Mama Jude, Ruv is trying to murder me again.
 

heyjude

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Play nice, children.

FOTSGreg, keep us posted on that book coming out in July! Is this the gated community book? Cause I definitely can't wait to read that!

:Hug2: to all.

ETA: I just want to say that I appreciate each one of you. We all have unique personalities and there is something wonderful about every one of you. When we come together it just makes a fantastic place. Take Midnight for example--you might feel like you're crazy, but you can look around and see that you're not alone. :)

Every time I see one of you after you've been gone awhile, it makes me smile. Ruv's shooting, or Ken checking in on the Challenge thread just to let us know he's still alive... stuff like that makes me happy.
 
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