Sunday, March 13, 2011

The Business of Writing

As far back as I can recall I believed I would one day write the great American novel. In my fantasy world of fame and fortune, publicists booked speaking engagements and signings along with black tie events to celebrate this fabulous achievement while throngs of fans sent cards and letters which my personal assistants (yes, plural) waded through in my stead. I think many people have these kinds of daydreams about being a famous writer. Unfortunately, the reality of trying to make a living with the pen (or the keyboard these days) is starkly different.

I've spent the last couple of weeks immersing myself in books, articles, and online advice in pursuit of my publishing dreams. Much of it is familiar - especially the how-to-write sorts of pieces, since I spend my days telling kids many of the same things about their essays - but the business end of it is completely alien. Yes, basic business sense of keeping books straight, saving receipts, and dealing with taxes hasn't changed alot, but the idea of self-promotion is something I never considered.

Numerous articles about getting a first book in print advise writers to develop a platform and internet presence long before submitting the manuscript. I have to admit that I've failed in this respect since I have neither. I'm trying to enlist the hubby's help with this, but he's as clueless as I am. I've looked at several free web page sites, but dislike the idea of advertising constantly running across the top of the screen if someone logs on to my page. (Insert heavy sigh here.) How much is too much to pay for a beginning site? How much space do I need? Which web hosts are reliable and good business partners? Just the idea of building and maintaining a website could be a full time job on its own, but wait - I already have one of those revolving around 150 kids.

In addition, there is a good deal of exhortation to attend writing conferences where personal contacts are made with publishing reps, editors, and agents. Like the website, this makes good business sense, but also takes money and time. You see the catch-22 of course, it takes time and money to build a successful writing business (just as it does for every business), but when the money comes from a full-time job the time is scarce. I'm not sure what to do, but I know I'm not giving up. (I'm tired of waiting for opportunity to knock, so I'm out looking for him!)

To cap all these ideas swirling round my brain, I received my first rejection letter  (from an agent) this weekend. (Don't be sad; I have a backup plan in place.) My first reaction was, "Of course she rejected it." But that thought was fleeting, because the letter was not a form; it was a personalized note with an encouraging tone. The gist of the letter was that while my manuscript was not what this particular agent was looking for, she believed I would find someone to represent me. From everything I've read about rejections, this is kind of note is the cream of the crop because it not only acknowledged that a human being was on the receiving end, but it did not say the writing was poor. (As far as I can glean there are three kinds of rejection: impersonal form letter; harsh critique; encouraging in some way.) And, really, no one expects to get an agent or publisher on her first try.

That said, I am still hopeful - an attitude I attribute to a book called Making a Literary Life by Carolyn See. While this gem of a volume was published in 2002, it found its way to my hands only a few weeks ago. In it, the author discusses how to build a literary life in today's world wherever you happen to be. Like many good books, I felt Ms. See was speaking directly to me, and I began believing (once again) that I could make my living as a writer. This will probably entail learning how to create a website, attending writer's conferences, hobnobbing with publishing types, shameless self-promotion, and writing a good many articles in addition to the books I hope to produce (though without expectation of the great American novel). In addition to hope, this book gave me the courage to look at writing as a job - something I haven't done since my reporter days at The Mountain Press. So, I've made a schedule for myself outlining a set of tasks to be accomplished each day of the week. My thought is that if I treat this business of writing as a business, it might stop being just a hobby.

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