What can I say to those writers seeking a traditional publishing contract but not accepted for their debut full-length publication? ( A thread, and feel free to contribute your own thoughts.)
1. In my job, I've read many manuscripts that should be published, but for one reason or another, have not yet found their home. You have to keep going, be that with your current project, or by starting a new one.
2. The industry is risk averse. As a writer, you could try to too deliberately 'fit' the mold, but do that too deliberately and you may as well be stacking shelves. Writing fiction so often requires a leap of faith, whatever the outcome.
3. Editors are usually right. They're often not so good at articulating why they are right; they're still right, though, and so (to a point) if someone you respect is telling you the work is not complete, it likely needs more work.
4. The right publisher is the right publisher. That won't be dictated by size and reach but rather by the fit of your work with theirs. Find the people and the places who will not only publish but will also love and support your work.
5. You should always be looking to get better as a writer. If you're not, then ask why you're doing this. There are countless other ways to have random people encourage and endorse you without all that extra effort.
6. You need to be the politest and most professional person in the room. It's not always easy to do that in an at times indifferent and isolating industry. You still need to do it.
7. To reach your debut publication, you might need to go through more than one manuscript. That's OK, you're learning a craft, and 10,000 hours is a lot of work. You might hit home before that. If you don't, you're not a failure, you are just a human being.
8. You need to start loving yourself as a writer, now, and start asking the necessary questions. What you write. Why you write. Why it matters.
9. Thanks (@laurajeanmckay): Who is reading your work, and do they know what they are talking about? You are not just indebted to yourself. You're indebted to the story at hand and its optimal execution.
10. @laurajeanmckay: You need to be incredibly resilient. One sub is not definitive. Three subs are not definitive. Your journey literally does not end as a writer unless you want it to. If you're still going, you're still going, so keep going.
11. (Thanks @ben_walter ) If you can get an agent, things get easier. They won't always guarantee your work gets picked up. They will get your work read, though, and that's always a bonus.
12. If you're entering unpublished manuscript competitions, don't enter 'on the off chance'. Own that opportunity. Make a compelling case if there's a non-manuscript component. Make the prose as close to bulletproof as it can be. Don't bank on the odds. Bank on the work.
13. Branding is great and maybe you're knocking it out the park in that area. It won't mean a lot if the writing's not outstanding, though, i.e. it's likely you are focusing on the wrong part of the journey. You are not a light-calorie beer for under 25s. You're a writer.
14. Your uniqueness is what will get you there, with a dash of bonding with the right people. By this, I mean the more you try to sound or look like other authors, the more you'll sound and look like other authors. Live a little. Be you and see if that shit actually works!
15. Take the time to write without distraction, which is what I'm going to go do now. Back soon, and feel free to continue the thread in my absence! #writing #writingcommmunity
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