I've fallen for this false dichotomy also, finding surprising success in starting a couple small businesses (managing a vacation rental, direct marketing the wild salmon I catch in the summer), while I remain reluctant to apply the same entrepreneurial attitude to writing.
Part of me still wants to believe that good writing will stand on its own and get itself discovered, but part of me knows that writing is meant to be read, and that growing an audience is an important part of being a real writer.
I also read your linked article about the lack of men in the publishing industry, and I've been self-conscious about this in my querying sprees. Sometimes I felt paranoid, that I shouldn't be blaming my lack of query responses on my gender. But keeping tabs on the bestselling books of the past few years, especially in memoir, it seems like the pendulum is indeed far away from my position as a straight white boy. Even a straight white woke boy.
So thank you for making me feel less paranoid, and for the encouragement to repurpose my entrepreneurial skills!
Can't using a pseudonym help with the second part? If the publishing house doesn't even know your name until the contract is being written up, what could go wrong? I'd assume disclosure of real identity might occur earlier and "anonymous" submissions in general tend to get rejected at a higher rate?
I hadn't thought of using a pseudonym. I think the larger issue is what Liza touched on in her linked article, that my audience is also likely to be straight white woke boys. I aspire to touch on more universal themes, but have mostly attempted to do so through stories from my own life. That's the problem with memoir for me I guess. Maybe that will change if I give fiction a real shot.
I love the journey Liza. I too found your work from some of your content on Instagram. What you recommend is similar to @iancattanach writers need to be strong marketers and business people as well as strong writers. I appreciate you laying out this knowledge for the rest of us out there!
This line: "I really didn’t figure out how to talk to people until I got to college, though this is probably still a significant milestone given that most writers don’t know how to talk to anyone even far into adulthood." 😁
I just received an "I think I'll pass" from an agent who did not read my manuscript. She just does not feel able to sell memoirs no matter how unique the story or how well-written it is.
I totally relate and see why you're succeeding. Excellent. I feel like there are a whole crew of us getting up and out there and doin it sans gatekeepers. Let's start a Substack revolution! Down with the Literary Kings and Queens of the days of yore. Today is OUR time.
writing every day sounds tedious, bordering on OCD. maximize your writing with critical assessment from other writers and choose publishers wisely. start living and stop obsessing
Crazy how averse people are to reading success stories that they will nitpick everything you do...! How about encouraging people to write more? Being an artist entails some degree of obsession. If you're not writing every day, are you really a writer?
whats more important obsession or success.My book is coming out in July. I never wrote everyday. Congratulations on your business. The famous artist Joseph Albers once wrote creation not excretion
Lets dig deeper - Emerson wrote “ consistency is the hobgoblin of men with small minds” now I think thats over critical, but writing without some oversight, evaluation and editing is compulsive behavior and similar to journaling
It was in Writing Past Dark by Bonnie Friedman or Wild Mind by Natalie Goldberg where I read that a writer's job is to digest life for the rest of the world, and for me this means both writing for myself and writing for publication.
Writing for myself is easier to sit down and do every day. It often does tend toward journaling, but it helps me to bite off small parts of my life to digest and keep me energized along the way.
The pieces I plan to publish from the getgo, I don't work on them every day. Like a cow's cud, I ruminate for some time before coughing it up and chewing on it and then maybe sending it to ruminate again in another stomach. This reminds me of how George Saunders says that thorough revision requires multiple rounds while in multiple states of mind.
I've fallen for this false dichotomy also, finding surprising success in starting a couple small businesses (managing a vacation rental, direct marketing the wild salmon I catch in the summer), while I remain reluctant to apply the same entrepreneurial attitude to writing.
Part of me still wants to believe that good writing will stand on its own and get itself discovered, but part of me knows that writing is meant to be read, and that growing an audience is an important part of being a real writer.
I also read your linked article about the lack of men in the publishing industry, and I've been self-conscious about this in my querying sprees. Sometimes I felt paranoid, that I shouldn't be blaming my lack of query responses on my gender. But keeping tabs on the bestselling books of the past few years, especially in memoir, it seems like the pendulum is indeed far away from my position as a straight white boy. Even a straight white woke boy.
So thank you for making me feel less paranoid, and for the encouragement to repurpose my entrepreneurial skills!
Can't using a pseudonym help with the second part? If the publishing house doesn't even know your name until the contract is being written up, what could go wrong? I'd assume disclosure of real identity might occur earlier and "anonymous" submissions in general tend to get rejected at a higher rate?
I hadn't thought of using a pseudonym. I think the larger issue is what Liza touched on in her linked article, that my audience is also likely to be straight white woke boys. I aspire to touch on more universal themes, but have mostly attempted to do so through stories from my own life. That's the problem with memoir for me I guess. Maybe that will change if I give fiction a real shot.
I love the journey Liza. I too found your work from some of your content on Instagram. What you recommend is similar to @iancattanach writers need to be strong marketers and business people as well as strong writers. I appreciate you laying out this knowledge for the rest of us out there!
This line: "I really didn’t figure out how to talk to people until I got to college, though this is probably still a significant milestone given that most writers don’t know how to talk to anyone even far into adulthood." 😁
(This whole article is killer! 💪)
Thank you, glad you enjoyed :)
Copyright. All writers should learn copyright.
And also all entrepreneurs should familiarise themselves with the relevant IP paradigm.
“I’m going to patent my code”. Uh, let’s talk about that….
Congratulations on your success!
I've also experienced rejections from agents and still trying to pitch my debut novel.
Like you, I feel life is dull and colorless without writing. Unlike you, I'm not so confident in my skills. Neither is marketing one of my fortes.
I just received an "I think I'll pass" from an agent who did not read my manuscript. She just does not feel able to sell memoirs no matter how unique the story or how well-written it is.
I totally relate and see why you're succeeding. Excellent. I feel like there are a whole crew of us getting up and out there and doin it sans gatekeepers. Let's start a Substack revolution! Down with the Literary Kings and Queens of the days of yore. Today is OUR time.
writing every day sounds tedious, bordering on OCD. maximize your writing with critical assessment from other writers and choose publishers wisely. start living and stop obsessing
Crazy how averse people are to reading success stories that they will nitpick everything you do...! How about encouraging people to write more? Being an artist entails some degree of obsession. If you're not writing every day, are you really a writer?
whats more important obsession or success.My book is coming out in July. I never wrote everyday. Congratulations on your business. The famous artist Joseph Albers once wrote creation not excretion
Success looks different to everyone. What works for you might not work for someone else. There is no need to put other people down.
Im pointing out the fallacy of writing everyday will result in better writing or being published.
I completely disagree! Consistency is key!
Lets dig deeper - Emerson wrote “ consistency is the hobgoblin of men with small minds” now I think thats over critical, but writing without some oversight, evaluation and editing is compulsive behavior and similar to journaling
It was in Writing Past Dark by Bonnie Friedman or Wild Mind by Natalie Goldberg where I read that a writer's job is to digest life for the rest of the world, and for me this means both writing for myself and writing for publication.
Writing for myself is easier to sit down and do every day. It often does tend toward journaling, but it helps me to bite off small parts of my life to digest and keep me energized along the way.
The pieces I plan to publish from the getgo, I don't work on them every day. Like a cow's cud, I ruminate for some time before coughing it up and chewing on it and then maybe sending it to ruminate again in another stomach. This reminds me of how George Saunders says that thorough revision requires multiple rounds while in multiple states of mind.