Hello my friends. So…you’re still waiting on that book contract, eh?
By now you probably have received several rejections from agents stating your manuscript “doesn’t fit their list” or they weren’t taken in or wowed by your work. That’s okay. Don’t give up. Remember, you will get a mountain of rejections and it only takes one acceptance to not only put you ‘over the top’ in happy, gleeful mode but also to publish that book you worked so hard on. Don’t give up my friends. As a recent friend told me about my own two manuscripts I am waiting for contracts (it’s been 2 months going on 3)- “Be patient. It will come.” Sound advice. Still hard to be patient but sound advice, regardless.
So, what else can you do besides twiddling your thumbs, waiting for your life to begin? Well… have you considered…
— Reading a good book —-
Now, I didn’t mean taking one of your ‘oldies but goodies’ off the shelf, that you personally wrote, to re-read it. No. I meant to read one by an author you like, in the same genre you write. They say the more you read, the better your writing style because you learn from others’. Each person is different and approaches writing from different backgrounds, different angles and therefore each author’s writing approach and style is varied too. So, why not take this time to catch up on that reading list you never got to because you were too busy crafting your masterpiece. It’s in the hands of those who would publish your book. Let them take their time reviewing your work and battling it out as to who is best to publish your book while you forge ahead and work on increasing your skills for your future success.
During this ‘down-time’ do something fun and helpful to add to your knowledge- read and study how authors describe different scenes, portray different actions, like facial expressions, for instance, or what words/descriptors do they use to show (not tell): hunger, need, and even desire. There are certain expressions that we do every day with our face that are very hard to put into words to describe to our readers. I still have great difficulty doing so and, most of the time, have to stop and think about what I am actually doing when I am re-enacting the facial gesture or tic I am trying to describe.
Writing is definitely a creative process- it is art in written form- but it won’t be if we can’t come up with the basics (paint, brush, canvas) in order to create that awesome, vivid, oil painting we have in our heads. So, read more than one author, determine which authors you like and why. What is it about that author’s writing that you like? What are they doing differently than you? Is it something you can incorporate into your own work?
Till next time, take care my friends and read…read…read. Reading others’ work will help you hone in on your own style and carve out a better writer in you.
TK Lawyer 