So I started blogging “as a real writer” at the very beginning of 2008 in order to share a draft of my novel, The Aldersgate, with the world at large. I had already written two drafts, and then decided to start again and record the new chapters and launch them out into the world for feedback. It’s a steampunk western sort of fantasy story, with low magic and high politics and many point of views. You know; as you will.

While I commenced blogging in that first year or so, I had pretty immediate success with my short story writing and network building, and I felt like I was on top of the world. I was writing very unfettered, gamboling around in precious little Snowflake land (though I’d never have admitted it).

I was simply sharing my story. And I honestly believed that everything would fall into place. Having listened to a bit of Cory Doctorow I felt that, as long as what I was putting out there was good (which I was convinced it was) someone would find it, and I’d ride that golden pegasus out into the sunset and become a True Published Author.

People did come, it turns out. Wonderful readers, writer friends. And wouldn’t you know, but a year and a half later after I’d just about finished the entire podcast of the novel (and attracted quite a few positive responses which made me feel Truly Awesome) I was approached by an editor at Ace/Roc who wanted to listen to my story and read the manuscript. At first, I was entirely sure that the whole thing was a hoax and that someone was trying to mess with me. But no, she was totally legit. So in a state of utter glee and terror, I sent the manuscript to her, expecting to hear back in a few months. I knew that publishing was slow, so I didn’t expect a fast turnaround from a very busy editor. I was willing to wait for glory… or rejection. Either way, I prepared to wait.

No, I didn’t commit the first sin of writing. I didn’t stop writing. In fact, I wrote a few more novels: Pilgrim of the Sky, Peter of Windbourne, Indigo & Ink, and Queen of None. But the entire time I waited, I froze as a writer in many ways. To be honest with you (and me!) I don’t think I thought I had much room for improvement. After all, my book was with a Big Publisher. While I was realistic with myself, even preparing for rejection, I got lazy. Everything seemed to live in the shadow of that hope.

It’s been two years, now. And since you haven’t heard me jumping up and down and shrieking about a contract with a big publisher, you can imagine the result. Actually, I never heard back at all. I pinged the editor a few times, but never heard so much as a peep. Just… silence.

It takes a long time for hope to die. I can still tell you that I sent that manuscript out on June 23, 2009. For the first year, every 23rd was like a new mile-marker bringing me ever closer to the possible answer: yes or no. But by the 18th month, I was starting to doubt that it was ever going to happen at all. (I don’t even think about the editor and that hope these days, albeit in a passing, wistful sort of way.)

The thing is, well, life went on. Life got hard. And as life got hard, writing got harder. And it got harder to look at my own writing and be absolutely honest with myself, even after I stopped believing in the muse!

It’s funny how much something like this can impact one’s entire writing approach. Writing The Aldersgate was a mighty powerful experience. I was smitten with words, high on storytelling. And I think that comes through in the draft that’s out there on the internets (I’m not ashamed; the story has a lot going for it). People seemed to love the characters*, but the nuts and bolts of the story really need work. Work that for the last two years I haven’t given it. (Even though, on occasion, I tried.)

But I’ve always been someone who worked best with tough love. I was smart, but lazy, during school. I never pushed myself until teachers pushed back. “Any other student would have gotten an A on this project, but this isn’t your best work.” Even a resounding rejection of the manuscript would have most likely lit a fire under me.

But nothing? NOTHING? Nothing left too much room for hope.

Hey, I have lots of excuses why things have not gone as well as they did in the magical year of 2008, writing-wise. I have enough excuses to fill a damned book. But the only real reason that I didn’t grow as a writer is because I wasn’t honest with myself. I let hope cloud my better judgement.

Sure, I spent a lot of time editing and rewriting. But rewriting isn’t editing. Rewriting isn’t taking a cold, hard look at the way you write, which is the only route toward improvement and, well, success by extention. (Thankfully I’ve had the pleasure of working with some fantastic editors in preparation for Pilgrim of the Sky’s publication that really wonderfully helped in that respect, as well as advice from a seasoned pro writer friend that helps toward this rather jarring realization on my part, but that’s another post…) Rewriting is simply making another draft. Granted, it’s practice, and practice is part of the improving part, but editing is essential. You know, those fancy book editors don’t rewrite your book. They tweak it.

And that’s not to say that being a taskmaster is the only way to go. It’s got to be a combination. The successful, holistic approach to writing, revising, and editing, is a balance of fact and fancy. The fancy drives it, but the fact improves it. To use a martial simile: Your arm is the fancy, the creative drive, the raw excitement and energy and thought–but fact is your sword, cutting and shaping and ultimately turning your strength into something more. They work together, y’see? (It takes practice, but soon you’re carving through like a Braavosi.)

There is no easy path, it turns out. Would I trade early success for early struggle? I don’t know. But the thing is that early success can be maddening and counter-productive in its own right. (I’m admittedly  still a baby about rejections, probably because I didn’t get enough early on!).

My only hope for myself is that I achieve balance, and, more than anything that I find fancy again. Since I started work in December, fancy has been hard to come by; the muscles have gone weak. Fancy has to come first, before fact, otherwise progress can never be made. But it doesn’t always linger in familiar places. Sometimes you have to summon it up.

We all know that writing books is hard. Finishing books is harder. But the hardest part of all comes after all that. It’s being honest about the draft. And that honesty will usher in growth. For without growth, in any career or creative endeavor, nothing magic can happen.

* Much of this post was inspired by finding a trove of “pending” comments in the Aldersgate blog. For all my lack of growth, the experience of reaching readers who really felt a connection my story is not something I take lightly. I will finish the story.

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Comments

  1. Thanks for sharing your experience, Natania. It has gotten me thinking about many things. I’m at an earlier writing stage than that you describe for yourself. I’m finishing a memoir at the moment, and though I had a serious interest in writing through my early twenties, I let it die for a long time, and have only gotten back to it in the past year. If I had to categorize myself, I’d say I’m newer than a newbie, if that’s even possible. I love the process, though, particularly when I manage to capture some elusive feeling with words. It often feels as though I’m chasing something, though, and I have a long ways to go before I’ll be able to consistently capture it. I just sent my memoir to an editor friend of mine to get the first professional opinion about my story, so I also understand the hope and waiting you describe. On many days, I have to admit I feel more dread than hope. 🙂 Anyway, writing certainly is a process and a journey, and I just hope my passion for words and language will sustain me, rejection or not. Again, thanks for the post!

    1. And that enthusiasm goes a long way! I would even venture to say that some highly successful writers lose track of that in the long run. Flights of fancy are important.

      Good luck in your journey!

  2. […] delight, don’t they? Sure, this is just an update post and nowhere near as exciting as the last post. But yay! […]

  3. “Actually, I never heard back at all. I pinged the editor a few times, but never heard so much as a peep. Just… silence.”

    Since I’ve read you post the day you posted it, I may be missing something. Is there a reason why you are not sending this manuscript to a dozen other publishers?

    Warmest regards

    1. A bit paralyzed on the subject of the book, I suppose. Sometimes it’s easier to work on something else for a while.

  4. […] Its cousin, The Ward of the Rose is the sequel to The Aldersgate. But this is problematic twofold. I want to revise The Aldersgate, and I can’t finish Ward until it’s revised and fixed. I wouldn’t even be considering revising The Aldersgate if it hadn’t been for a bunch of folks stumbling upon my podcast and demanding the sequel (nicely). I should have written the second book a long time ago, but well, you’ve already heard that saga. […]

  5. […] guilty myself of this, I will freely admit (while social media wasn’t the only culprit in my progress paralysis, it certainly didn’t help!). A false-sense of your own skill leads to nothing but heartbreak. […]

  6. […] I finally did publish that book, but it took six years of trying. In the intervening years I feel I’ve improved or at least grown significantly as a writer, and I’ve learned more about how to approach publishers. The wait time was a killer, though; I stopped writing fiction and concentrated on political writing instead. I decided that no publisher would ever want to get anywhere near my stories, and even looked into self-publishing just to get the book out of the house. I’m glad I didn’t, now. I’m glad I waited. But it surely wasn’t easy. Rejection never is, and every writer struggles with it. […]

  7. […] I finally did publish that book, but it took six years of trying. In the intervening years I feel I’ve improved or at least grown significantly as a writer, and I’ve learned more about how to approach publishers. The wait time was a killer, though; I stopped writing fiction and concentrated on political writing instead. I decided that no publisher would ever want to get anywhere near my stories, and even looked into self-publishing just to get the book out of the house. I’m glad I didn’t, now. I’m glad I waited. But it surely wasn’t easy. Rejection never is, and every writer struggles with it. […]

  8. […] I did. I won’t say it was unsuccessful, because after the book lived (and died) in slush piles at Ace/Roc (I mean, it’s been five years and I never heard one way or another, so I’m assuming it […]

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