what i really mean when i say an update is coming soon

Hardest part about a good book is that I want to finish it and see how everything turns out but also take my time because I don’t want it to end

 If you like your story, then that’s a good enough reason to write it. If you like the plot twist, the character, the trope, then that’s more than enough of a reason to write it. It’s your story, your own little world, and what matters most is that it’s a story you love.

We can't just go murdering people without the proper aesthetics, cloak up bitches.

Some Unsolicited Advice for Aspiring Writers: You Are Not an Exception to the Rule

If this sounds way harsh, let me explain what I mean, and where this comes from. As an author who got a book published at a relatively young age, I get a lot of questions from young(er) writers about how that happened, and a lot of those questions seem to be searching for some kind of loophole in the normal publishing process. They want to know the shortcuts, the secrets, the path of least resistance. Here’s the truth: unless you’re a celebrity, there are no loopholes, no shortcuts, no secrets. There’s just the same process everybody else goes through, and a lot mistakes to make along the way. The biggest mistake you can make is tricking yourself into thinking that the publishing industry and the craft of writing are going to be somehow different or easier for you than they are for everyone else. 

Spoiler alert: they’re not. 

I don’t think people fall into this trap because they’re arrogant. I think they fall into this trap because they just want to be published writers so badly and it seems almost impossible when you’re looking at it from the outside. The natural inclination is to hope for a lucky break. But if you’re really serious about writing, the smarter thing to do is accept that you’re going to have to go through the same rigmarole as everybody else. I’ve talked a lot about this under the writing advice tag and the publishing tag (and I encourage you to peruse those if you’re curious about the art and the industry), but I want to answer a lot of the questions I get from aspiring authors in the same place. It probably won’t be what you want to hear, but it will (I hope) improve your odds of success. 

Is it true that many writers don’t publish their first book?

Yes. I don’t have statistics, but I would actually venture a guess that most writers don’t publish their first book, and that’s because first books usually aren’t ready for readers. Writing is an art and a craft and you can’t expect to write something brilliant the first time you pick up a pen. Your first novel will probably be garbage (mine certainly was), and years later you will be so glad you didn’t publish it, because you were simply too young and too new to the publishing game to have any idea how embarrassing it would be five years later. Most published writers I talk to wrote several books before they felt like they had one worth an agent’s/reader’s time. I wrote five. It took ten years. That’s not unusual.

Do I really need to do revisions and get beta readers?

Yes. If there is one thing I could say to all aspiring writers, it would be “Do not underestimate the importance of revision.” A first draft is never perfect (nor is the last, but that’s another conversation), even if it’s your tenth novel. Your job as a writer is not only to put a story down on paper, but to reread that story with a critical eye and rewrite it as many times as you have to until you have the best possible version. My debut novel (not my first novel) went through forty-five drafts, all told, and I did a dozen of those drafts before I even started querying. Revision is not optional. It’s essential, for everyone.

What’s the best way to get an agent’s attention?

Write something worth reading and follow the rules. Nothing makes agents angrier than writers who think the rules of the publishing industry just don’t apply to them. Don’t send letters to agents who aren’t accepting queries or aren’t looking for books in your genre. Don’t sent them pages if they didn’t ask. Don’t ambush them in an elevator at a conference when they’re not on the clock. Agents hate this kind of thing and it is a surefire way to guarantee they will not offer you representation. Don’t be obnoxious. Let your work speak for itself. 

How do I avoid getting rejected?

You can’t. Everyone who wants to publish their writing gets rejected, and you have to learn not to take it personally, because 99% of the time it isn’t personal. Agents offer to represent writers whose work they’re passionate about–and as the writer, you wouldn’t want anything less. Think of it this way: how many books have you read that you liked but wouldn’t want to read over and over again? Agents face the same dilemma when thinking about who they want to represent. Because they’re going to have to work on that book for years, they’re only going to offer to represent things they really love. And what one agent doesn’t love another one might. Variety is the spice of life. (However, if you’ve done hundreds of submissions and gotten nothing but rejections, it might be time to consider revising your query letter or your book or both.) Here’s the other thing to remember: you will continue to get rejected even after you have representation and after you’ve published your first book. Destroy the fantasy that getting an agent or a book deal means instant, uncomplicated success. You’ll still be fighting an uphill battle; you’ll just have someone on your side.

Does it really take years to get a book published? 

Absolutely. Excluding the years it takes to learn to write anything worth publishing in the first place, most books still take years to go from first draft to pub day, and that’s because you’ll be querying agents, doing revisions with your agent, submitting to editors, negotiating contracts, doing more revisions with your editor, doing more revisions with a copy editor, looking at (and often revising) cover art, helping put together a marketing plan, etc. There are also a lot of factors in a book’s release date that the author has no control over. What else is on the publisher’s list for that year, for instance, or what other big books are slated for publication. If you’re a debut author, you don’t want to be competing with Jennifer Egan. There’s no fast track, and trust me, you wouldn’t want one.

Can I make a living writing?

Don’t count on it. Most authors make a lot less than you probably think they do, and even if you get a sizable advance, that money is going to be paid out in installments over literally years, and you don’t make any royalties until your publisher makes back your advance. Many authors never make royalties at all for that reason. I’m certainly not going to see any anytime soon, and that’s on a book that’s been out a year already and even hit the bestseller list in the UK. Let me be clear: I’m not complaining about the size of my advance, because it was incredibly generous. I’m trying to illustrate how money in publishing works. Unless you’re James Patterson, sales are probably going to be disappointing and it’s probably not going to be a steady source of income. Plan on having another job.

What can I do to make this easier?

Educate yourself. There are no shortcuts in publishing, and this is one of those things you, like everybody else, have to do if you want to have any hope of success. You have to learn about the industry and learn what normal is precisely because you’re not an exception to the rule. Take writing classes and workshops and find some beta readers. Follow published writers and agents and editors online and learn the dos and don’ts of query letters, conferences, submissions, etc. Attend a publishing institute if you can. Do the research to find which agents represent the kind of stuff you write. Do the research to find out what else is out there in the world that might be comparable to what you’re writing. Learn about why you might want to hire a publicist and how to put together a decent website. Give yourself every advantage you can, not by trying to beat the system, but by learning how the system works.

There are a dozen other questions I could include here, but I think you probably get the point by now. If you really want to make a career for yourself as a traditionally published writer, it’s going to require a lot of work, a lot of commitment, a lot of disappointment, and probably years of your life before you have anything to show for it. Are there exceptions to every rule? Of course. But odds are you probably aren’t one of them, and your chances of success will be much better if you don’t buy into that fantasy. You have to put the same time and effort in as everybody else. No loopholes, no shortcuts. 

Here’s the last thing I’ll say: Don’t rush yourself. The 21st century has fostered a culture of overachieving which has led people to believe they need to have six college classes under their belt by the time they finish high school and have their whole life figured out by the time they’re old enough to rent a car. Writing simply does not work that way. Writing requires a glacial sort of patience. And yes, it can be devastating to have to wait so long and work so hard to even get a shot at something you want so badly. Believe me, I get it. Writing is hard. But if you’re doing it for the right reason–which is that you have stories you desperately want to share with the world but not until they’re good enough that you can be really proud of them–all that waiting and all that frustration and all that disappointment will be worth it, and you will not want to go looking for loopholes. 

Skill, hard work, and luck. It’s a competitive business, never forget.

Me: *writing*

Me: *reads what I just wrote*

Me: Huh. Well, that’s clearly foreshadowing.

Me, the author: I wonder what of…

 A friendly reminder to please stop using self-depreciating remarks or humor about your writing. When you do so, you train your brain to believe it, to see all of the flaws, ignore all of the good points, and it drains all of the fun out of the writing experience. It also sets people’s expectations of your work when they see you don’t even have faith in your own work, and harms you in the long run.

 So, let’s all say something nice about our writing, or in the very least something neutral. Instead of ‘Sorry, this is probably terrible lol’ try ‘I had fun working on this piece’ or ‘Here it is, hope you enjoy it :)’ and see how doing this over time affects your way of thinking.

 Even if you don’t think it’s the greatest, you Wrote an Entire story By Your Self. Like, you popped it into being from your brain. HOW COOL IS THAT?! Really, super cool =D You did that, and you should be proud. Is it like your favorite author’s writing? No, but that makes it even more special because it’s a unique snowflake and no one else could have written that concept exactly like you just did. Give yourself a high five or a pat on the back, you writer you =)

The speed at which you write has no bearing on your skill as a writer.

Can you hammer out 100k in a few weeks? That's awesome!

Did you take 10 years to finish your first draft? Great job!

Writing is not a race. It doesn't matter how quickly or slowly you make progress; making the progress itself is what is important.

So take a deep breath, and don't compare yourself to others. You're doing a fantastic job, and I'm so proud of you!

when a character coughs or clutches their side after a fight and their hand comes away bloody but when someone else notices them staring at it and asks if they’re okay they quickly hide it and insist they’re fine

when they start to falter and wince when making sudden movements but still continue to stubbornly insist there’s nothing at all wrong with them before suddenly collapsing without warning

when their love interest catches them before they hit the floor and starts anxiously scolding them for being an idiot and not telling anyone

Imagine your novel.

Not in prestine condition, not on a bookshelf at the store.

The copy with tattered pages and an abused spine. The one with bookmarks and highlights and tear stains. The version of your book that’s lived under pillows and in bookbags and at the houses of friends that are trusted enough to borrow books.

Imagine your novel being the most beloved book on someone’s bookshelf.

God, I would pay good money for a 25k fanfiction about my original work.

writing problems: writing

sexual tension is out, platonic tension is in. I need enemies who have fought each other so many times that they've developed a mutual fondness, realized they have a lot in common, and have to stop themselves from slipping into friendly conversation when they're supposed to be kicking each other's asses.

Don’t you just hate when you’ve had a line of dialogue stewing in your head for months but by the time you actually get to the scene you wanted to put it in…it doesn’t freaking fit

it’s even better when it’s like..

Oh.

Oh.

That’s the best shit and you can pry it out of my cold, dead hands

Bonus points if that’s followed by Oh no.

Oh no. Oh fuck.