Why Do I Need to Polish When I Already Shine?
In my never-ending quest to understand the human species, the ego never ceases to amaze. Part of why I write these blogs is to educate and inform other aspiring authors, based on my experience of course, and prevent them from making unnecessary mistakes. Sounds reasonable? Check. Logical? Sure. Will anyone listen to my advice? Uh… we’ll get back to you on that. Yeah. Right.
With so much information available on the business of getting published, how is it that so many hopefuls truly believe that by informing an agent or editor that because their mother/dentist/sanitation engineer loved the story, it is obviously salable and should be snapped up immediately? It sounds ridiculous, but it’s absolutely true- I just read something like this in a blog today. The author wanted to know why his queries weren’t getting a response and the sad thing is that he honestly didn’t understand how he was being perceived. This should be a lesson in compassion for all of us authors in limbo- if you were an agent/editor inundated with such queries on a daily basis, how motivated would you be to launch into your email? Remember that when you’re breaking out the voodoo dolls: agents and editors are people too.
Speaking of perceptions… why, oh why do so many people choose to communicate by beating their heads against the doors of agents and publishers instead of knocking politely as requested? Assertion can be a fine thing, but aggression is downright scary. I don’t care how good your manuscript is, if you’re trying to tear down my door while shouting about what I’m missing there is no freaking way you’re getting anywhere near me! Get a clue. And stay away from my porch.
In any profession there will always be a contingency of the clueless, those whose hands you can hold only so long before pushing them into oncoming traffic, you know, for the sake of the species, but for those who are serious about becoming successful authors you really can’t afford to be this ignorant. This is why I bring up the polishing concept. Your image is everything and the sooner you prepare for it, the smoother your path will be.
Your image as an author becomes significant the moment you complete your manuscript: this is your entrée to a new world. Of course it’s been checked over for spelling and grammar because even your high school English teacher wouldn’t let you get away with that, but what else? What about word choice, did the importance of that occur to you? Did Marcus jump or leap across the crevasse, and does it matter? Are your verbs active or passive? Does your story engage the reader with the first paragraph or does it take a chapter or two to warm up? Depending on how anal you are this process could go on for years, but let’s not go there.
The question I’m really asking is, did you say everything that you meant to say and in a way that people will be likely to hear? This may seem obvious, but think about your writing in a vacuum. You can’t defend your work once it’s been set free to face the world; at that point it’s in the audience’s hands to do with what they will. You can’t explain to the audience what went on and why after the fact because your words have already been immortalized: there are no do-overs, there is no going back. With this in mind, think about it again: did you say what you meant to say in a way that people will likely hear it?
Many of the topics I discuss are pretty much steeped in common sense, but remarkable things happen to decent people once the ego gets involved. Enthusiasm turns into delusion… paranoia into contempt… reality somehow shifts when we lose focus of the wonder that is writing and let our baser instincts run wild. “A little fibbing in non-fiction adds color.” “Borrowing a few words here and there from another author isn’t so bad; I could write circles around that guy if I had the time.” Did we learn nothing from James Frey or Kaavya Viswanathan?
Your words are your legacy. Regardless of how many books you author over the span of your career, each and every one is a reflection of you. Okay, so maybe you do shine, but can you sparkle?
