Lessons From 2022

 

 

When I started writing fiction a few years ago, I spent about a year learning everything I could, not only about the writing process but about getting published as well. I clicked on the Absolute Write forum every single day and absorbed every tiny bit of advice that made sense.

At the beginning of my process, I honestly didn't even know there was such a thing as a "query letter". Subsequently I learned that not only is one absolutely required, but that it is virtually impossible to compose. Writing a (good) query letter is harder than penning an entire novel.

Nevertheless, after everything I'd learned, I dashed off the best query I could muster, with only a few minor tweaks, and was confident that my debut novel would be snatched up by an agent. I even broke out the virtual champagne. Seriously.

I no longer remember the total number of agents I queried, but my Excel list grew and grew, until, toward the end, I essentially submitted to every single agent that specialized in my genre. Not only did I never get a full request, I didn't even get a partial request. In some cases agents didn't even bother to respond with a "no thanks".

I shelved that novel, disillusioned and frankly, angry.

But as writers do, I didn't stay idle long. I came up with a magnificent idea for a new novel, and now that I had real-life experience under my belt I was able to avoid all the rookie writing pitfalls. Writing this one was fun, although I still chafed under the word-count requirements for my genre (I naturally write short).

My query letter this time went through multiple revisions -- to get it just right. Again I compiled a list of promising agents, and this time I began querying the cream of the crop. After all, I was such an expert now, I could afford to pick and choose.

But again, after over a hundred submissions with no requests, I was ready to throw in the towel. Then I read about independent publishers who accept unagented submissions. I picked out a few, and surprise! I got a full request -- my first ever! The woman had read my sample pages and told me that I was "a lovely writer". I excitedly forwarded my entire novel to her.

Her long-awaited feedback was so devastating I swore I would never write again. The main points I remember are "your main character is unlikable" and "the story became so boring, I found myself skimming through it".  (I would look up her actual response, but I stuffed it in the trash bin.)

And I didn't write again -- for about six months. I still perused the Absolute Write forum though, and I saw a lot of writing samples in which the authors had used the first person narrative. That piqued my interest, so when I inevitably dove into a third novel, I decided to try it. This was much more fun! I could really get into the MC's head, because I immersed myself in her thoughts as I was writing.

And this time, not only had I conquered all those newbie mistakes, but I overcame the dreaded word count conundrum by developing a subplot. This novel was awesome! I buried all my resentments and once again assembled a list of agents to query. I wrote and rewrote, and rewrote again my query letter. I even used different versions of it with different agents.

Zero requests.

Well, screw it. This novel was good. And I was sick and tired of being at the mercy of kids less than half my age holding my publishing fate in their hands.

I knew that self-publishing was a losing game, but this novel needed to be out there, so I did it. I self-published. And then I self-published my first two novels as well. Why not? Nobody was hacking into my computer to read them as Word docs.

My sales were bad. I mean, really bad. I actually stopped looking after a while. But shoot, I could at least still say that I had three novels "published". 

Here's the bottom line: I am a writer. I can't not write. Obviously, blogging fills that hole to an extent. (I'm much more prolific on my main blog than I am here.) The lesson I learned about novel writing is that the word count requirement is too stringent and trying to meet it takes all the fun out of writing. I eventually began a fourth novel, but I decided to simply write the story to the end, and when it was finished it was a little over 20,000 words. But I liked it just the way it was. No stupid subplot; just a story.

That's when I found my niche. I write novellas, not novels. I love the process, it doesn't take a year or more to have a finished product, and it simply fits me. I've now written three novellas and I'm in the midst of my fourth. And my self-published novellas have gotten reams more positive feedback than my novels ever did.

So, my lesson (finally) learned is, please yourself. Stop trying to make people like you who never, ever will. All that does is kill your soul. If you are a writer, write; but on your terms.

Wishing you all a very happy, prolific 2023.