TWO SEASONS

Summer and autumn seem to both be here at the same time in the Ozarks.  It's blazing hot, but yellow leaves are starting to fall, too. 

Flip-flop-shaped sarong clip holding a fallen leaf...

That's pretty much where I am with my work right now, too.  I'm organizing blog tours, promos, etc. for THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY while writing my next MG.  It's kind of a funny place to be, half my head dealing with a finished product while the other half is focused on the basics of plot outline and character development.

That's life as a writer, though; juggling projects in various stages of development makes you feel like you always seem to be dealing with two "seasons" at the same time...

HE-WHOS AND INTERNAL GRATIFICATION

Shortly after inking my very first book deal, I began to meet them: the dreaded He-Whos (enter demonic, minor-sounding organ chords here).

Yes, the He-Whos. What, exactly, is a He-Who, you might ask? Not to be confused with a yahoo or a nincompoop (although, according to some sources, the definitions overlap somewhat), a He-Who is a very sneaky creature whose natural habitat is a would-be author’s personal life. In most cases, said He-Who has been in a struggling author’s life for quite some time—years, some of them—playing the role of Supportive Confidant. Upon the announcement of an author’s long-awaited book deal, the face of said Supportive Confidant melts into a giant fiery pile of slime, exposing the dreaded, nasty, much-feared He-Who underneath.

A He-Who takes many different forms. The He-Whos I’ve encountered fall into three basic categories:

1). He who shows some initial interest when you announce your book sale, but when you disclose that it’s a YA or MG, he raises his lip off his teeth, lets out an, “Ew,” and explains, “I only read high-quality, serious works of literature. I do not read children’s books.” This statement is expressed rather emphatically, while rolling the “r”s, puffing on an antique scrimshaw pipe, and gesturing wildly to flash the professorly suede elbow patches on his coat. (This He-Who also has the same reaction to any other subcategory of genre fiction: romance, sci-fi, mystery, etc.)

2). He who does not have any interest in your book, but—OMG! He just happens to have a manuscript himself! And it’s awesome! And you should read it—and while you’re at it, rewrite it! And then give it to your publisher! Wouldn’t that rock???

3). He who is just so busy, he does not have the time to read your book—even though the book was released three years ago, and this particular He-Who has also watched every single episode of MY BIG REDNECK WEDDING, sends you emails with links to “hilarious” YouTube vids three times a day, and has repeatedly called to inform you that he has discovered the best way to mow a lawn: with manicure scissors.

Okay, all right, so I’m being a bit flip in my descriptions…But honestly, these people really do exist. These reactions—or some version of them, anyway—really do happen. I can’t say I understand it, two years after my first book hit the shelves, two years after the He-Whos started showing their faces. I might even think I was alone in the whole He-Who thing, had I not run into articles online and in print in which authors described similar experiences. Knowing this is an unfortunate part of the gig, I slowly began to develop a methodology for dealing:

Treat He-Whos the same way you treated early rejections. Okay, so a personal rejection stings worse than a professional one. But the point is, you didn’t let one professional “no”—or, if you’re like me, more than a thousand professional “no”s—derail you. You screamed at times, you shed a few tears, but then you put it away and you went back to work. You didn’t dwell on one response. You also didn’t let it convince you that your pursuits weren’t worthwhile. You didn’t let it convince you that everyone would have the same reaction to your work. You didn’t stop trying, and you didn’t stop sharing. And, most importantly, you didn’t let a few—or hundreds—of rejections dim your own internal gratification. Not the internal gratification you felt for having created a novel you loved. You were proud of yourself then, regardless of the final external response from an editor or agent. You maintained your own internal gratification while letting those rejections push you increasingly closer to your first “yes.”

There’s no predicting how people will react to anything—as authors, we spend so much time with complete control over our characters and our internal worlds, it’s a surprise when our external worlds don’t quite behave like we’d expected or hoped. But the great part is, though, that not everyone is a He-Who. And just as your rejections pushed you closer to finding the right “home” for your work, always allow the He-Whos to push you closer to those who are supportive, are truly happy for you, every step of the way. In my case, unending support and cheering wound up filtering into my life from all sorts of different corners. It came from my mom and brother, who had supported me all along the journey, and it came from some (now infinitely appreciated) old friends, from fellow authors, fantastic local librarians, from bloggers and reviewers—and eventually fans! It even came from some unexpected sources (like old classmates who sent messages through my website to congratulate me).

The ability to maintain your internal gratification is one of the most important skills for any author to master. That internal gratification—that self-pride—will get you through most anything, in your writing career. It will get you through any of the inevitable low points: rejections or less-than-glowing reviews or lower-than-expected sales numbers, etc. That internal gratification will often be your lifeblood, as an author, and is far too precious to ever, ever be handed off to some old He-Who.

WRITING: THE WAITING GAME

Whether you’ve published ten books or are waiting to snag that first publishing deal, if you’ve ever submitted anything, you know writing is a waiting game.

You wait…and often wait…and wait…for response from an agent or editor after you send off that query. You wait for the thumbs-up to announce book deals or glowing reviews. You wait. You wait.

Right now, I’m waiting for the official release of my second novel, PLAYING HURT. The video below allows you a glimpse into my life as I await that release date…

All you writers out there: What are you waiting on? And how are you passing the time?

IN DEFENSE OF THE JERK WHO NEVER WROTE YOU BACK

You know the one. The author you idolized for years—years—the same author you had to actually work up the guts to email…the author who actually responded to your email. The author who maybe even promised to do an interview or write a guest post for your blog.

And then...

And then…

Nothin’.

You were heartbroken—admit it. Felt like somebody had just stood you up. What happened? you wondered. Were some of my interview questions inappropriate or—offensive? Did the author decide they didn’t like my blog? Do they think I’m some giant loser because of where I live or what I said in my last review or what books I’ve got on my wish-list on Goodreads or…

Yeah. None of that.

Here’s the deal—writing is a 24/7 job. I’m not being cute, and I’m not trying to justify bad or rude behavior. But I know cardiologists who don’t keep any longer hours than I do (that’s no hyperbole). And the writers I’ve met this past year are no different. Writing is not leisurely. It’s hard. It’s something you’ve got to work at. Every. Single. Day. And the work load doesn’t get any lighter once you sell a book. It explodes.

(This is just a portion of my stack of yet-to-be-revised manuscripts.)

…So…next time you think a writer’s giving you the cold shoulder, please assume that the writer’s just plain busy. Send them a sweet, funny email reminding them of your previous correspondence. I guarantee they’ll delight in getting a thoughtful and understanding message from one of their biggest fans…

PRUNING

Come on, they’re not weeds. They’re beautiful metaphors. But let’s face it—I am to a manuscript what Miracle-Gro is to a patch of seed-filled ground. I get so many flowers popping open, it’s hard to tell one metaphor from another. Just a blinding sea of crazy color. (Enter sadness-tinged sigh here.) Time to cut some of the blooms from my current revision.


Picture it: freshman year on a Missouri college campus, cluster of sweaters under an oak tree, belly laughter over the results of career aptitude tests. Mine insisted I should become either 1) a florist or 2) a landscape architect. Who woulda thought that crazy test actually had some truth to it???

THE EVER-EXPANDING DEFINITION OF A WRITER

The ink is barely dry on my long-coveted first contract, and already, I’ve learned that Webster got the definition of a writer (“one who writes esp. as an occupation”) totally wrong. Here’s a better description:

writ-er \׳rīt-ər\ n : a tech-guru, photographer, pitch-man, publicist, advertising specialist, short movie producer, public speaker, networking expert, and, oh, yeah, an individual who pens novels.

I’m sure I’ll only be adding to this definition as my publication date draws near…and I absolutely love hearing from fellow authors (what an ambidextrous bunch) about all the odd-ball know-how they’ve acquired during the course of their writing careers. Their stories make me so anxious and excited to find out where this (already) amazing ride will take me next...