Friday, 25 November 2011 08:16 pm
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deckardcanineJust finished another book. No, it's not short and I didn't read fast; I just started it about a decade ago and put it aside, digging it out twice since. It's Chicken Soup for the Writer's Soul. You see why I chose NaNoWriMo to get back to it. Being a collection of essays by different authors (a few of them vaguely familiar to me) on their experiences, it inevitably varies in interest. But by now you probably know enough about the Chicken Soup series to form your own opinion on whether it's worth your money, so I won't bother with a full review.
Instead, I thought I'd mention one of the final sections, "The Power of Perseverance." Those chapters primarily emphasize how common rejection is. I remembered that Robert Sawyer's record number of rejections for one work before it got published was 18, but that didn't paint enough of a picture for me. Some big hits got dozens or even hundreds. Worst was John Creasey: 774 before even one story got accepted, but eventually he wrote more than 600 published books. (If his name doesn't ring a bell, it may be because he used a ridiculous number of noms de plume, possibly to avoid prejudice on the publishers' part.)
This section is supposed to reassure readers that they will succeed if they just don't give up. But to me, it more or less backfires. Theoretically I could submit that many times, but do I have that kind of patience? Do I want literary success that badly? If Gone with the Wind took more than 25 tries, it would take real hubris to expect mine in fewer. The section does list a number of self-published hits, but I've heard of very few and some had the advantage of preexisting author fame. My childhood poems, jokes, and other small things that got published in anthologies and magazines never prepared me for this kind of competition.
There's also the question of time to write and rewrite. I doubt if many readers miss "Downscale," but my mom sure does and I'd hate to leave it hanging where I did indefinitely, partly because of my promise otherwise. I wouldn't mind taking a little more time to improve the comic and/or its website and hopefully do some unrelated drawings, but that's unlikely enough as it is. Clearly, my best activity to cut back on is movie viewing (you're welcome, Netflix), followed by video games. Basically, any nonsocial free time would be taken up by creative endeavors and exercise... and probably leave me mentally bushed.
What it comes down to is a question of destiny: I must either devote myself in earnest or settle for utter mediocrity. If I don't take my artistry fully seriously -- yes, even with comedy and fantasy -- then I might as well sit at the TV. I'd be wasting fewer people's time and resources.
Fortunately, my present story is such that I'm willing to rework it quite a bit. I can see myself adding and dropping several scenes and characters, making the protagonist all but unrecognizable from before, adjusting the takeaway message... even switching the medium. This might just be my first big-time publication in the works, and I won't resort to self-publication right away.
Instead, I thought I'd mention one of the final sections, "The Power of Perseverance." Those chapters primarily emphasize how common rejection is. I remembered that Robert Sawyer's record number of rejections for one work before it got published was 18, but that didn't paint enough of a picture for me. Some big hits got dozens or even hundreds. Worst was John Creasey: 774 before even one story got accepted, but eventually he wrote more than 600 published books. (If his name doesn't ring a bell, it may be because he used a ridiculous number of noms de plume, possibly to avoid prejudice on the publishers' part.)
This section is supposed to reassure readers that they will succeed if they just don't give up. But to me, it more or less backfires. Theoretically I could submit that many times, but do I have that kind of patience? Do I want literary success that badly? If Gone with the Wind took more than 25 tries, it would take real hubris to expect mine in fewer. The section does list a number of self-published hits, but I've heard of very few and some had the advantage of preexisting author fame. My childhood poems, jokes, and other small things that got published in anthologies and magazines never prepared me for this kind of competition.
There's also the question of time to write and rewrite. I doubt if many readers miss "Downscale," but my mom sure does and I'd hate to leave it hanging where I did indefinitely, partly because of my promise otherwise. I wouldn't mind taking a little more time to improve the comic and/or its website and hopefully do some unrelated drawings, but that's unlikely enough as it is. Clearly, my best activity to cut back on is movie viewing (you're welcome, Netflix), followed by video games. Basically, any nonsocial free time would be taken up by creative endeavors and exercise... and probably leave me mentally bushed.
What it comes down to is a question of destiny: I must either devote myself in earnest or settle for utter mediocrity. If I don't take my artistry fully seriously -- yes, even with comedy and fantasy -- then I might as well sit at the TV. I'd be wasting fewer people's time and resources.
Fortunately, my present story is such that I'm willing to rework it quite a bit. I can see myself adding and dropping several scenes and characters, making the protagonist all but unrecognizable from before, adjusting the takeaway message... even switching the medium. This might just be my first big-time publication in the works, and I won't resort to self-publication right away.