WHY I BOTHER
STATUS: Super excited to be taking off Friday and Monday to write.
FAVE LINKEY-POO RIGHT THIS SECOND: This one came from Jess, and it’s all about stuff white people like.
When I started this blog, my goal was to document the journey of going from an unpublished, little-known writer to a published, little-known writer. I had no guarantees that would happen, but I knew I could at least write about the process and be honest about what I was experiencing.
The part about where I’ve been honest is the part that makes this blog a little problematic. At least to some people. In the beginning, I talked about the agents I was sending manuscripts to and, if I got a rejection from them (which, for a while there, happened a lot), I wrote about it and I usually mentioned the agent by name. I know this made some readers — most of them other writers — cringe for a number of reasons. First, what if the agent saw it and read what I was writing about them? Secondly, if I revised the manuscript and wanted re-send it to them, they might be disinclined to take a look because they could go to my website and see my list of rejections. And let me tell you, there were lots there.
I understand those arguments, but they don’t fly — at least for me. I never, ever said anything bad about an agent on my blog, and I would have no reason to. It wasn’t their fault if my writing sucked. And yes, it did suck for a bit. That’s why writers re-write. Or, at least the ones who get published do. And the other thing is that rejections happen all the time, even to really good books.
The point of this whole blog (or at least a majority of the entries) is to be totally, brutally honest about what I’m going through as a first-time writer. Now, instead of writing about agents who have said “thanks but no thanks,” I’m writing about how my editor is saying “close but no cigar.” I’m writing about delays, contracts, and whether or not having a MySpace page is a good use of my time. I don’t know of another writer who is putting it all out there like I am, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop. This is how it is. This is what’s happening for real. I’m not sugar coating it. And in the end, maybe it will help someone who is thinking that because the process is hard sometimes, they shouldn’t stick with it. But everything that’s worthwhile is hard at times. That’s why you burst into tears when someone finally says “I want to represent you” or “I’m excited about your book” — and then you close your office door and sob like a five-year-old kid until you can lift your head long enough to wipe the snot off your face. And that is the total truth, no holds barred.
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