Purpleaster’s frustrations
May 3, 2008 Book work
(Purpleaster has been reading me for like a zillion years, I think. Right BJ?)
Some of what she said (much edited):
I often feel like as a reader, the commercial process of book publishing is sucking out the personality of the writer, and making the books into a common mold, that sucks the individuality out of the books (i.e. the ick-factor of the whole word “momoir” ugh.). I like the story of Dawn, not the story “Two moms: a mother comes to term with the meaning of open adoption” (or whatever gibberish your real story gets transformed into in the publishing world). .. They become stuffed into some niche. … But, as a reader, I fear that authenticity is being sucked out of books by the publishing process, and they’re slowly killing themselves off. …
I definitely think the publishing world is changing because of the internet and I think it’ll be interesting to see what it changes into. I think writers who can stay on top of that will do better than writers who are firm luddites.
Trying to figure out how to make my writing life work professionally can get pretty challenging but the more I learn about it (stuff like this or this or this) the more prepared I feel to tackle it.
There are lots of good reasons to write a book but none of them is “to earn a living.” From what I can tell, most authors make money doing other things, too. They get grants and fellowships; they teach; they promote themselves; they give workshops; they freelance. These are the ones who make a living from their writing — the rest of ‘em have dayjobs. That is the nature of the beast. It’s hard to make money on a book.
A book does other things for you — it gives you an air of authority about the topic or as a writer; it opens other avenues of opportunity; it lets you (hopefully) nail bigger assignments in your target markets; it sometimes brings those target markets to you.
I want those things and I want to write a book I can be proud of. There are obstacles, obviously, and not all of them are in my control. I can’t help it if an agent dislikes the topic of open adoption or if another one doesn’t want to represent books that end up parenting shelves. I can’t help it that the booksellers will put the book there even if I think it ought to go someplace else. (For the record, I feel absolutely neutral about it being shelved in parenting.) But. I can know these things and plan accordingly. I can know and accept that the publishing world has these limitations and figure out how to work around them or work with them.
Frankly, that part of interests me, too.
At an interview for one of my clients they asked why I liked marketing communications. I told him, “Well, I like manipulating people.” Then I blushed and he laughed. I don’t mean manipulating people with lies but I do mean manipulating people with words to give them my insight, my feelings, my world view. (Or in the case of marketing communications the insight, feelings and world view of my clients.) This is fun wordplay. By the same token, once you know the rules of the publishing world you can either rail against ‘em or knuckle down knowing the rules. Me, I’d rather knuckle down.
Yes, the publishing world is too steeped in stereotypes and too worried about the bottom line and too hung up on genres and elevator speeches and the quick and easy sell. Yes, they manufacture bestsellers (read this fascinating article for more on that) leaving the rest of the booklist out shivering in the cold. Yes, yes, yes. So what? It’s a business.
I want to write a book anyway. If not this book, some other book. (But I really want to write this book.)
I’ve been working on my “what’s next” plan re., marketing this book idea and now what I really need to do is write. (I’m at the fleshing out notes stage.) So that’s what I’ll do but I’ll keep casting here and there as the mood hits.
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Tags: agent, book business, book proposal, book proposals, book publishing, getting an agent, literary agent, literary agents, open adoption, Writing
On the plus side of the equation
May 2, 2008 Book work
Got my fifth agent rejection (nice and personal) and the good thing is that I figure the agents who say no are saying no for the same reason a publisher would say no. So it gives me a chance to consider that feedback and use it as I figure out what to do next. I do think I need to focus on getting more of it written since the best feedback I’ve had is from the agent who was most interested (and who said I need to do this).
This last agent said she’d recently been shopping another adoption “momoir” (argh! that term!) and it didn’t sell. I wish I knew who that writer was so we could commiserate! But hearing that term? Makes me think I need to write more to show this isn’t pure memoir. (Like — “here is my story.”) I need to work on some of the more investigative parts of the book to show this. And also because doing that really scares me. Just thinking about it scares me! So it must be done.
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Tags: agent, agents, book proposal, book proposals, literary agents
Monday list to start us off
Apr 28, 2008 Adoption, Blogging, The Story of My Life
1. I’ve been downloading old videos with dancing in ‘em to show Noah on our Tivo and one that I grabbed was “We’ll Be Together Tonight,” which has Sting and his doppelganger. There’s a scene where Trudy smacks Sting across the face and Madison said, “Why did she hit him? What would you do, Mommy? You know what I would do? I would KISS him!” Then she hid her face in the couch pillow.
2. I haven’t even looked at my chapter outline again since the agent took a pass and really need to get on it. But I also have a ton of regular work to do and I’m trying to get myself all set up to be out of my office for the next two weeks. I fully expect to come home from writing all day to write some more. I’m ok with that.
3. Someone asked me to speak at a gathering that may be contentious. It’s not even on anything actually controversial (like, say, adoption ethics). That’s all I can say about it. It’s one of three upcoming speaking engagements I have (two fairly soon and one in the fall). I should really join Toastmasters so that I can actually get good at this but then again I have no time for Toastmasters.
4. Did I mention that my cousin’s band is going to be on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson? Well, they are. On April 30th. Thank god for TIVO because I haven’t stayed up that late since Hector was a pup. (Who is Hector anyway? Oh, here he is.)
5. I’m sad that I can’t get to the last hearing for HB 7. If you are in Columbus and you feel strongly (as you should) that EVERY Ohio adoptee has the right to his or her birth certificate please please please go and show your support!!! Contact Marley to learn more. You don’t have to be connected to adoption to help!!!
6. I’m also not going to get to go to this:
Just a reminder about tomorrow’s press conference at Capital Law School, where we’ll launch the improved adoption and child-welfare law Web site. The site contains plain English summaries of case law, statutes, and regulations from all 50 states, as well as answers to frequently asked questions, giving people who are interested in adoption, as well as child welfare professionals, free access to the most up-to-date and comprehensive adoption and child welfare law and policy in the country.
The National Center for Adoption Law & Policy at Capital University Law School (NCALP) will unveil its new Adoption and Child Welfare LawSite (www.adoptionchildwelfarelaw.org) at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, April 29, 2008.
Life takes up so much of my attention!!! There are so many things that I miss!!!
7. I wrote to my old social worker about the hearing and they are getting in touch with women who placed through their agency and have since contacted them about reunion to ask them to testify. My feelings about our adoption may have changed and my feelings about certain details of our agency experience may have changed but I still adore our social worker who is one nifty woman.
8. Speaking of adoption (and aren’t I always? more or less?) I was remembering last night that one of the nurses cut a lock of Madison’s hair for Pennie to take home the day before she signed the papers. I used to look at the place in Madison’s hair where they cut it (right in the back where babies sometimes develop little mullets) and think about Pennie. It took a long time to grow back. I’d say almost through her second year I could still see where her hair was a little shorter.
9. There were other little reminders that would sometimes shake me up those first days. I’ve tried to write an essay about this one and can’t but Madison didn’t lose her umbilical cord for a long long long time. I’d have to look it up to see when but it was far longer than Noah did. Read into that what you will (I sure did. I still do.)
10. Someone who is blogging but not really publicly (so I will not link) asked, “How did you make the decision to blog so publicly?” And the short answer is, “By accident.” That’s not totally true because I knew I wanted to blog openly to see what came of it. The journals I first read and that inspired me to try it were all very confessional and bold. What I didn’t realize is that blogging would catch on the way it has. I didn’t realize that there’d be so many of us blogging and reading each other’s blogs. I used to blog into a faceless void but then so many of you moved into focus and some of you became in real life friends and other real life friends found my blog, etc. I try never to write about something that I’d be unhappy being confronted about. What I tell my blogging clients is this: Don’t write about anything that you’d rather not have someone bring up in the grocery store check-out. Because they will. The thing about blogging is that a lot of strangers end up knowing you rather well even if you don’t know them at all. If that idea makes you uncomfortable, blog anonymously.
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Tags: Adoption, adoption ethics, adoption law, agent, Blogging, blogs, Craig Ferguson, essay, Friends, HB 7, Madison, Noah, Ohio, our agency, privacy, Toastmasters, work
Agent news
Apr 17, 2008 Book work
I’ve been on the hunt for an agent but not talking about it here because I didn’t think any agent would appreciate being live-blogged but I’m going to go ahead and talk about it now.
I got the names of several agents through editor/writer friends and decided to just run through the list. I’ve made it through four now and think I’ll stop. This was the feedback:
- First agent had no comment about the proposal but said a couple of snide things about open adoption. Obviously she passed on the project.
- Second agent LOVED the project, thought it was terrific but also thought it would end up on parenting shelves and this is not really what he represents. He was very encouraging and gave me the names of four other agents who have represented complementary projects. Note: these weren’t referrals but still, his response made me happy.
- Third agent sent a form rejection.
- Fourth agent wrote me several times over the course of the last month or so expressing excitement over the project and letting me know that it’d gotten over each hurdle. Last response came on Monday: they really love the proposal and think it has legs. BUT. It’s a memoir. They think I need to write the whole book before they can pitch it. If I’m willing to do that, I should get back to them. (In other words, there’s no guarantee that writing the whole book will get them as my agent but it will help.)
And this is probably true. I probably do need to write the whole book. Yes, people get book deals on a narrative, memoir-ish book without writing the whole book first but it’s a harder sell.
I’m processing this need to write the whole book. I was wringing my hands about it when I got the letter. (Ok, actually I was crying.) I don’t exactly have a lot of spare time to write a book because of this whole need to pay the bills thing but then who does? I know a lot of writers and most of them are writing books they don’t have time to write. I mean, it’s not impossible. And it might be fun. So I’m feeling better about it.
I figure I’ll work on the book and maybe look for markets to place some of the chapters as I go. I’m thinking smaller lit magazines to cement a stronger creative nonfiction reputation. I want a respectable career that lasts. I can always make money writing about socks for fashion purveyors so I’m less worried about trying to make money in my creative writing life. Yes, it’d be nice but for the kind of career I want, it’s not really about money.
I thought about going to the next name on the list of agents I’ve still got sitting here but I’m going to try this on now. I’m going to try writing some more. It makes me alternately excited and exhausted to think about it. I’ll let you know how it goes.
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Tags: agent, agents, career, creative, creative nonfiction, memoir, open adoption, proposal, rejection, Writing, writing books, writing life