Wednesday, July 27, 2005
But ...
**Day 3 of "Journey to Publication"**
"This is a solid try, but ..."
"I wish I had better news, but ..."
"I think this has potential, but ..."
You get the picture. No one (understandably) wanted to publish my disastrous first attempt at novel writing. What I haven't shared is the rest of the comments within those rejection letters. In summary, they basically all said the same thing (beside, obviously, "no thanks").
They used words like "potential ... solid try ... you've got good characters ... strong and lively ... a lot of talent ..." Then in the next paragraph they used words like "needs strengthening ... consistency ... made no sense ... too much background ... add emphasis ..."
In short, my writing wasn't the problem, it was my craft. I liken it to an athlete. You can be the most talented athlete around, but if you don't know the rules, you can't play the game. So, after the fourth rejection letter--which said basically the same thing as all the rest of them--I squared my shoulders and decided it would be the last rejection I received do to lack of craft. If they were going to reject my work, next time, it would have to be for some other reason than craft.
Sound simple? Come back tomorrow and you'll see just how simple.
posted by Deeanne at 11:53 AM
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