She walks! She talks! She turns blank paper into books!

[pbray]

Over the weekend, as I was holding down my usual bar stool at the Lost Dog cafe (pint of Magic Hat #9, chargrilled chicken sandwich, sweet potato fries), I was approached by an aspiring writer.

"You're the one that's in here every Saturday," she observed. "Kyle (the barista) tells me you're a writer?"

"Most Saturdays, and yes."

"Books?"

"I've written twelve novels." I fished a postcard for THE FINAL SACRIFICE out of my purse and handed it to her. "That's my new book, it just came out in July."

"Cool!" she replied, and introduced herself as C.

C was clearly thrilled to meet a local writer, proving that you didn't have to live in New York city to become published. She asked the usual questions--how did you sell your first book? Are you a full-time writer? And then she asked the question that I often hear "Don't you have to know someone to get started?"

I hear variations on that theme all the time. Most often from writers who have tried the query route without success, and are convinced that it's lack of a personal connection that's keeping them from advancing. And while it's true that an introduction to the right agent or editor can sometimes be helpful, most of the authors I know got their start the same way I did, persisting through the cycle of writing, sending out query letters, receiving rejections and trying again.

You have to write a great book. Then you have to write an equally great query letter. Then you have to send that query letter out to a carefully researched list of agents and/or publishers. Sometimes it takes years and having written multiple books before you hit on the one that sells.

From what she described, it sounded like C had done her homework--researched agents, sent out queries, and gotten so far as to have first sample chapters and then the full manuscript requested by an agent. Now she's decided that she wants to branch out into sending directly to publishers. As well working on other projects while she waits to see what happens to this one.

I assured her that she was doing all the right things and wished her the best of luck, and then went back to devouring my fries before they got cold. I'm sure I'll run into her again at the Dog, and will be interested to hear how she makes out.

Comments

[jimhines.livejournal.com]

At Gencon, some of the writing panels emphasized the importance of networking. Personally, I'm okay with telling people that networking can help. But I get all twitchy when anyone says you *have* to do it.

I know the connections I made through some of my short fiction did help ... in a way. On the other hand, the first offer I got for one of my novels came from a slush pile submission, one where the readers would have had no clue who I was. In other words, there wasn't any networking involved with that submission, which led to an offer from a major publisher.

Networking can be useful, but networking is neither required nor a shortcut to a lot of hard work.

Sounds like you were a good person for her to meet :-)

[pbray.livejournal.com]

I'm with you on that one. The emphasis on networking reminds me of the "secret handshake" fallacy--that there's a cool kids club out there bent on keeping the vast majority of unpublished in their downtrodden state.

Networking can pay off. It can also do zip for you--I've introduced a handful of folks to my agent over the years, and she's rejected all of them :-) Some went on to find success with other agents, ones they found without a personal introduction. It just goes to show that finding the right agent/publisher for the project is the real key.

A kindness...

[zornhau.livejournal.com]

On behalf of us wannabes... thanks.

Re: A kindness...

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Hey, I'm always happy to talk writing with anyone who's serious about trying to get published.

And that goes double for when I have a beer in hand.

[davidkeck.livejournal.com]

Some forinstances,

I knew my agent through two different contacts, but this actually made him itchy about reading my book, it turns out. (Said agent is a pretty together guy, but he put it off and put it off. Then called with huge relief one Saturday afternoon saying that he was totally caught up in the book -- or words to a similar effect).

Next phase? I knew more than a couple of editors when my book went out to find a publisher. (And I had to close a couple of doors on myself to avoid any appearance of nepotism). The editor who ponied up and bought the book had absolutely no idea who I was.

So. Networking. It's some of the best fun there is, but it may be neither necessary or sufficient.

And I love the idea of having a good local, by the by. I ain't. (But there's a promising place fifteen minutes north of here that I might adopt).

~D

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Good luck finding a local!

A local is good. A local where you can hang out at the bar and mutter darkly at the pages you wrote that morning is even better.

[davidkeck.livejournal.com]

I agree completely. And greatly envy the opportunity to mutter darkly at pages in a murky semi-public setting.

A couple of days ago I was in one of those lovely establishments with a packed chalkboard of peculiar beers. I joked with the guys on staff. They joked back (while they flirted with a table of girls across the way).

Sadly, getting there from my apartment involves three trains, a system of cablecars, two catamarans, and a quick crosstown luge. (A journey which threatens to be impractical, I believe).

Still, I might have muttered darkly there.