I’ve talked before about How Do You Know if you are ready for publication. Although it’s related, that’s not exactly
what I want to talk about today.
Instead I want to focus on all the invisible things writers
do in the hopes of bettering their craft, expanding their professional network,
and positioning themselves for success to the best of their ability.
Image courtesy of Penywise of Morgue Files
Objective measures of success in this field are pretty
self-explanatory. You’re either published or you're not (however you choose to
define it). When you’re “not” published, chances are you’re doing a bunch of
things other than writing in the hopes they will pay off in some small way in
the future.
For example, I haven’t sold any short stories since last
fall. If you are looking at my output objectively—well, there isn’t any by that definition. Instead, so much of what I’m doing these days is invisible.
And I’m still trying to figure out what that means.
These invisible activities include:
Reading slush for Masque Books – Beyond occasional mentions here on the blog, it’s something I do to
strengthen my ability to evaluate projects, diagnose writing problems, and gain
insights into the editorial process. I won’t be able to learn these things overnight—this
requires a commitment of months if not years to see the benefit from this type
of activity.
Joining an invitation-only critique group – The meetings are
intense and panic-inducing. I’m learning tons, making good connections, but as
with any critique group, feedback is only as good as the projects I bring to
them. Workshopping novels (and short stories to a lesser extent) can be a long
process outside of development time.
Submitting to higher-tier markets – I have three in rotation
right now that I truly believe in. And I’ve been aiming high. My sales last
year gave me the confidence to target higher-tier markets. Personal rejections?
Check. Second-round bumps? Check. Agonizing ‘You just missed the cut’ notices?
Oh yeah. And the worst part is, all this means longer response times.
When non-writers ask me about my writing these days, it’s
hard to explain how all these invisible activities fill up my time and contribute to my work. But they do mean
something. They are valuable. They just go largely unseen because they don’t conform
to objective measures of success.
I just have to believe they’ll add up to something that
cannot be ignored one day.
3 comments:
Great post! It's so easy to feel like we aren't "doing" if we aren't crafting a first draft. Thanks for the reminder that the invisible moments matter!
Agreed on all counts. Even when it feels like Endless Running, these are important things to do.
Good points that there are many aspects of unseen writing that indicate we're always working and moving forward with our writing. It can look suspicious to non-writers, though, which is annoying for us. But we know the amount of energy and time we put into the entire writing process! Must keep plodding along... :)
Happy reading and writing! from Laura Marcella @ Wavy Lines
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