I
get this question a lot lately. My short answer is: “It’s like writing a book.
But three of them.” But I don’t think that’s terribly helpful, so allow me to
expand…
Writing
a book is hard. It’s an endeavor you need to dedicate a lot of time to, as well
as invest money into. If your dream is to see your work published, there are a
lot of steps along the way. The first being education. Now, I don’t mean that
you need to get a full degree, but you should consider getting some kind of
formal education such as taking classes and regularly attending writing
lectures. Classes and lectures not only help you hone your craft, but they also
help you keep in touch with the industry.
On
that note, keeping in touch with the industry is another huge step. Follow
agents and publishers on social media. Attend conventions. Read blogs. It’s
vital to have your finger on the pulse of this industry because it’s always
changing. You may think that your dystopian YA is an easy sell because it’s so
huge in the media right now, but if you aren’t keeping up with the inside of
the industry you wouldn’t know that the market is saturated with that genre
right now. As such, that genre is an incredibly difficult sell these days.
Which leads me to some advice – never write to a trend. Ever. The trends change
month to month. There is no point in anticipating what will be the next hot
genre. Don’t do it. Just write from the heart. Write with sincerity. Don’t
write with dreams of fame and Hollywood blockbuster movies in mind. Write what
inspires you. Write the music in your heart.
Now
we come to the actual writing process itself. Every writer is different – some
(like myself) need to outline extensively and some are “pantsers”, meaning that
they write by the seat of their pants, no outlining they just let they words
flow and the story form organically. Now for a stand-alone story, pantsing works
just fine but I think when it comes to writing a series, outlining is
necessary. There are so many story threads to keep track of that in the
interest of keeping continuity and making sure you are following up on your
subplots, it’s important to think out the complete story. It also helps with
establishing pacing and dissemination of information.
Okay,
so you’ve gotten the first draft of your manuscript written. Now what? Well now
you get together with a critique group and you let your partners hack your
precious words to pieces. I advise not relying on friends outside of the
industry for this. Friends and family are more likely to just pat you on the
head and only provide positive feedback. And if they don’t understand the
industry, they really aren’t going to be able to give you what you need to make
your manuscript shine. Go on to writing forums and seek out other writers. Meet,
connect, work.
After
you’ve gone through another draft or two (or four) with your group, then it’s
time to send it on to agents and editors. Like receiving critiques, you need a
lot of thick skin for this. You will be rejected. Not once, not twice. You will
be rejected over and over again, and it sucks. At this point you have already
invested so much time, money, effort, blood, sweat, and tears into your project
that to face rejection feels like being stabbed in the heart. But you can’t let
it faze you. If you believe in your work, if writing is your passion, and if
it’s a career you are serious about pursuing, you must push past it and
continue on. As my mother often tells me, “Every no is closer to a yes.”
Now
let’s say you finally get that acceptance – well then it’s time to celebrate.
But then you have a whole other host of new tasks to deal with including (but
not limited to) networking, marketing and promoting your project, and making a
presence on social media. But that is really a whole other topic.
No comments:
Post a Comment