You can’t write in a vaccuum

I think the most difficult thing for me over my years of trying to become a writer has been having to deal with people. If I could only just write what’s in my heart and then give it away to all those who need it, life would be so much easier…

My very first meeting with a “real” editor was in a 15-minute appointment at a writing conference in 1979. It was so devastating that if I hadn’t previously booked another appointment with a second editor immediately after, I doubt if I’d have ever found the courage to talk to an editor again.

That first editor ripped into me for not knowing what I was doing, not having a concrete proposal ready, and not making good use of my time with her. I was clueless, true, but it was my first time at a conference, and I don’t think she had any reason to treat me the way she did. Fortunately, the second editor I talked to was Leslie Keylock, and he was wonderful. Restored my faith that there are some nice people out there - some even disguised as editors.

Time went by and I got a book contract. I was sailing. Until I began having problems with my editor over the sequel. I went to a conference where the editor was teaching a workshop on how to write fiction, thinking it would help me understand where he was coming from. In the course of the workshop, someone asked him if a woman could write from a male viewpoint. He said no. (Yes, that’s what I was doing - and doing very well, I might add. And I know many other women who do the same thing.) It was pretty clear to me there was a problem.

Then, in the middle of the workshop, he used an example of something a stupid beginner might do that you should never do. And guess what? It came from a proposal for an adult book that I had sent him. No, he didn’t use my name, so no one else knew it was mine. And he did apologize to me at lunch time after it dawned on him that it was my proposal.

You may be asking what terrible thing I had done? I had written a prologue in first person and then switched to 3rd person for the book. Yeah, I know. It’s done all the time now. I also used overture, first movement, etc. instead of prologue, first part. He implied that that was dumb. I’ve since seen that in several books.

What am I trying to say here? I’m not asking you to feel sorry for me. All this happened quite a few years ago. I’ve been over it for a good long time. I’m telling you about it to make the point that sometimes - okay, often - life isn’t fair. There will be people - editors, other writers, press agents, even family members - who will put you down or belittle you or become road blocks in your path. But that’s no reason to give up.

Writing isn’t a solitary occupation. You need people - to support you, teach you, and read what you write.

If you dream of being a writer, don’t let a few negative people stop you.

The nasty practice of ghost-writing

I just read Linda Hall’ s post at TWGauthors.blogspot.com and dug out this message I’d sent to a listserve I’m on last June. Thought it was relevant.

As a reader, I think work-for-hire or ghosted books or articles that don’t give appropriate credit to the actual writer are morally and ethically wrong. It is lying and when I find out the truth, I feel cheated. I absolutely hate it. As a writer, I feel even more strongly about it.

I’ve mentioned to a few nonwriters that certain well-known people don’t write their own books, and every single one of them has been horrified. They don’t want to know - it really bothers them - as it does me. What would have been the problem in saying “with X”? I just don’t get it.

Ideas are a dime a dozen - everybody has an idea. In one of my writing workshops, I give them all the same idea and they each come up with something totally unique. It’s the writing that matters - that fleshes out the idea and illustrated it and sets the work apart.

I’m not saying it’s wrong for the writer to do it, and I’m certainly hot trying to put down anyone who has done it. And I know how tough the industry is - if you don’t do it someone else will. But just because something has been accepted in the past doesn’t make it right. Or maybe times change.

I think it’s wrong for the publisher to want to take credit away from the worker - and I think it’s wrong for the celebrity to take credit for something he or she didn’t do. I just don’t get it. I won’t lose respect for the well-known person if his book says with so and so. But I will lose respect for him when I find out that someone else wrote the book with his name on the cover. In fact, I have stopped buying a number of people’s books because of this issue.

If they don’t want it on the cover or on the heading, at least put it inside or at the bottom. How hard is it to say “edited by … ” or “with…”?

To me, making it appear that a person wrote something he or she didn’t actually write is simply dishonest. I used to teach high school. I know that having someone else write your essay is not considered a good thing. In fact, it’s quite frowned on. So why is it okay just because you’re an adult and you’ve become famous?

I just wish the Christian publishing industry would take the lead in correcting what I see as an industry problem. I have several books from years ago that say “with John and Elizabeth Sherrill,” and magazines whose bylines say “as told to….” Those work just fine for me. Why can’t they all do it?

I am also saddened by the lack of respect for the newer person who comes eagerly in wanting to use his or her talents to make a difference and is asked to ghost-write. When writing well is no longer the prerequisites for publication, what is left?

Frankly, I think we’ve dug ourselves into a corner and we need to figure a way to tunnel out. I anticipate radical changes in the not-too-distant future, helped by new technology. Words are precious to God. We need to use them with passion, diligence, transparency, and love.

A business plan template for writers

I’ve always been good at coming up with goals and steps to take to achieve those goals. Okay, the truth is, I’m one of those people who can easily go overboard and come up a million intricate little steps - 1, 2, 3… a,b,c… - and then get busy and forget all about half of them. In other words, the planning is more fun for me than the doing.

 

 

But when Linda Wegner posted a blog about how writers and editors need to have a business plan, I had to sit up. I’m a freelance writer; but because I’ve never had to support myself by my writing, I had never really thought of it in quite that way. Plan? Yes. Business? Not really.

 

 

And yet… it made sense. Most of us would like to at least break even, if not earn some income doing this.

 

 

Since I did have goals for 2007, and since I do think of writing as my career path, I decided to do the business plan thing. There were a few difficulties. It was hard to find a template that gave me the categories I needed to use. And it’s hard to say what will happen in something as tentative as writing. You can do all the right things and not make a sale. Or you can do one little thing and come up big.

 

 

But anyway, I forged ahead. And because I have this inborn need to share whatever I learn, I came up with some basic questions a writer could use to begin putting together a business plan.

 

 

1. What is my overall long-term goal (strategic plan)? (Write a book, become a full-time journalist, earn x amount of money per year through writing, develop a ministry using my writing skills…)

 

 

2. What do I need to do this year to move closer to achieving my long-term goals (tactical plan)?

 

 

3. What resources do I already have that will help me learn the skills I need and keep me motivated? (books I’ve bought but need to read; yahoo groups I’m on; organizations I belong to; friendships with other writers, etc.) What can I do to make better use of these resources? (read the books, get more involved with the organization, start/join a critique group, etc.)

 

 

4. How much money can I invest in buying books, getting the equipment I need, taking classes, membership in writers’ organizations, attending conferences, doing research, etc.?

 

 

5. How much time can I invest in writing? (an hour a day, one day a week, two months out of the year?

 

 

 

6. When will I write? (first thing in the morning, from 9 to 12 PM, Saturdays…

 

7. When do I need to begin earning money, and how much do I need to earn to make this viable for me?

 

 

8. Are there any writing-related ways I can earn money that are less open to chance (editing, critiquing, speaking, etc.)

 

I think answering these questions will give you a good start. Please leave a comment or suggestion if I’ve missed something!

 

 

Some suggestions for people just starting out:

 

 

1. Think in terms of five years. Where do I want to be in five years? What do I need to do this year to get myself closer to where I want to be?

 

 

2. Think in terms of building a resume. Start with small tasks, local or denominational markets, and then when you have learned the basics, look for bigger challenges.

 

 

3. Look for things you are good at and leverage the skills you already have before worrying about learning new skills. (eg. if you are a nurse, consider starting by writing articles about nursing and related things rather than jumping into a whole new area you don’t know much about.)

 

 

4. The kinds of writing more likely to earn you income: technical writing, journalism, fillers, business writing

 

 

5. The kinds of writing least likely to earn you income: poetry, fiction, memoir, personal opinion