pbray

C.E. Murphy explains the economic realities of a writer's life, e.g. contrary to popular opinion, most authors aren't spending their free time rolling around on piles of cash. Then Laura Anne Gilman chimes in to agree.

It takes courage to live the life of a freelancer. Many of my friends who are full-time writers are backed up by partners who have a more reliable stream of income, but even that is no guarantee of financial stability. All it takes is one health crisis, one natural disaster or family emergency and the whole house of cards comes falling down. And let's not mention the other perils of a writers life--publishers going bankrupt, checks arriving months after payment was due, option books being declined, series canceled, publishers merging and slashing acquisitions, being orphaned, well I could list more but frankly it's too depressing.

When coworkers learn I'm a published author, the first question they ask is generally "Why are you still working here?" The perception is that I'm rich, and no matter how much I explain otherwise, I'm not sure I've changed anyone's mind. Instead of accepting that this is the reality for most writers, they then assume that I'm simply bad at it :-)

At WFC this past weekend I was chatting with an editor and expressed my admiration for the consistently high quality of the artwork that graces the cover of his magazine. He then informed me that one of the artists I admired had become so depressed by the rampant theft of his work that he'd stopped creating. I was saddened, but not surprised.

In that vein, I'm posting a link to Seanan McGuire's thoughtful post "As to hanging, it is no great hardship...": Internet Piracy, and Who It Hurts, and her follow-up post here. Most people reading my blog will have already read these, but it's worth boosting the signal.

In preparation for their upcoming annual conference, yesterday I went to the romance writer's bi-annual writing retreat, where jennifer_dunne and I gave our patented "How to pitch to an agent/editor" presentation, with Jennifer taking the role of hopeful author and I was the jet-lagged editor/agent-in-search-of-bar.

A couple folks who were just back from RWA National shared their stories of how their agent/editor appointments went, and this is the point where heartburn set in. One writer had multiple requests to see her manuscript, but wasn't sure if she was going to send it out. She'd heard a number of people saying that the market for that genre was weak, and in her mind this was reason enough not to bother trying. Plus one of the editors she spoke to is from Harlequin UK so she'd have the expense of mailing the manuscript to England. I bit my tongue rather than point out that she'd just dropped at least a thousand dollars to go to National, and now she's quibbling over a few bucks in postage.

Another writer had an agent request to see her work, but the agent wasn't wildly enthusiastic. She'd cut the writer's pitch short, not letting her finish her spiel before asking to see it. I would have taken this as a positive sign but this writer has decided if the agent wasn't in love with the verbal pitch then there's no chance she'll like the manuscript, so why bother?

In both cases the writers said they were considering submitting their manuscripts, eventually, but in reality they were just trolling for more excuses to put it off. I've no doubt that if I check in with these folks at the annual Christmas party I'll learn that both of them have allowed these opportunities to slip through their fingers.

Shame of the matter is that at least one of these women is a very talented writer. But after encouraging her for several years to start submitting her work, I've given up. It looks like she'll remain firmly on the professional virgin side, every now and then sending out a query or meeting with an agent, but never actually taking the emotional risk of incurring one rejection after another until she succeeds.

I firmly believe that the difference between myself and these women isn't a matter of skill so much as it is that I endured two years of rejections, and have the thick stack of rejection letters to prove it. Being a writer is as much about picking yourself up off the mat and trying again as it is about the ability to craft wonderful stories.

And if you happen to stumble across this and recognize yourself, please be angry. Go ahead and prove me wrong by sending your manuscript out. Whatever happens next, whether it's a rejection letter or an acceptance, I promise to be the first to hand you chocolates and buy you a drink.

Following the meme that's being passed around, a few public service links for anyone considering submitting their work to an agent.

First, repeat after me. "Money flows from the agent to the author." If an agent suggests that you need to pay them up front, walk away. Trust me, you're better off without them.

Now for the links.

A Who's Who list dredged from the bottom of the barrel Writer Beware's list of the twenty worst agents.

Preditors & Editors listing of agents (pay particular attention to the "Not Recommended" flags).

Association of Authors' Representatives. AAR members must subscribe to a canon of ethics and have a track record of sales. A good place to start your agent search.