Sunday, February 18, 2007
Part of the journey of being a new author is learning tips, techniques and methods to help you produce a manuscript and the associated thing that are needed to sell it - a pitch, a query letter, a synopsis, etc.
Being new to this, I was initially very eager to try whatever was most recently suggested and see how much easier it made the whole process. I must have tried 10 or 15 methods for plotting, another half dozen for writing a synopsis and maybe 3 or 4 for query letters.
The hardest part was that all the methods were presented as the Best Way to accomplish the task and the presenter was sure it would make life so much easier. And each one required a basic redo of how I was already making things happen. Very few agreed on how to do anything. Heck, trying to get an agreement on how long a synopsis should be was like pulling teeth!
Now, mind you, I strongly believe that these methods work really well for the people who present them and they really do want to share the things that make their life easier. There is no intent to deceive, there is no malice. It's honest and heartfelt.
But I discovered I spent so long trying to implement one or the other of these that I spent more time looking for ways to make the task easier than I did actually DOING the task! I really do get lost in the search for perfect process to the hinderance of the goal.
There are certain things that work for me, for my writing process and for my own quirky mind. Those I need to hang onto. Things like
So I'm sticking with what works for me so far and using some advice of close friends for the rest until I find my own process that works for the rest. Is it hard - yes! But the more I write, the more I believe in my realization.
Writing and Selling books is hard and there is no "easy" way. If there was, everyone would be a published author and raking in the money!
Being new to this, I was initially very eager to try whatever was most recently suggested and see how much easier it made the whole process. I must have tried 10 or 15 methods for plotting, another half dozen for writing a synopsis and maybe 3 or 4 for query letters.
The hardest part was that all the methods were presented as the Best Way to accomplish the task and the presenter was sure it would make life so much easier. And each one required a basic redo of how I was already making things happen. Very few agreed on how to do anything. Heck, trying to get an agreement on how long a synopsis should be was like pulling teeth!
Now, mind you, I strongly believe that these methods work really well for the people who present them and they really do want to share the things that make their life easier. There is no intent to deceive, there is no malice. It's honest and heartfelt.
But I discovered I spent so long trying to implement one or the other of these that I spent more time looking for ways to make the task easier than I did actually DOING the task! I really do get lost in the search for perfect process to the hinderance of the goal.
There are certain things that work for me, for my writing process and for my own quirky mind. Those I need to hang onto. Things like
- The Idea Book
- Scene Plotting on 3x5 cards
- Writing in sequence
So I'm sticking with what works for me so far and using some advice of close friends for the rest until I find my own process that works for the rest. Is it hard - yes! But the more I write, the more I believe in my realization.
Writing and Selling books is hard and there is no "easy" way. If there was, everyone would be a published author and raking in the money!
posted by Maura Anderson at 11:25 PM
Maura, that's a hard realization to come to. Especially because you're right...they are all presented as the 'best' way to write. Good for you for recognizing what is working and running with it.
byExactly. There is no one true way. There's only what works for you.
by