Greetings;
Sorry for no recent blogs. I’m just home from Ireland. While there, friends invited me to play golf in Dublin. Getting older isn’t for sissies, but when health is maintained, life is an adventure. I won two bottles of wine in the tournament. (The wine was made in Chile! What a hoot.)
When an editor rejects what a writer has written, there can be and usually is more than one reason for doing so. Some manuscripts come through with so many misspellings and grammar errors that an editor must wonder if the author has even heard of writing guide books like Strunk & White’s THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE.
I recently received a note from a well-educated woman, who had written her first book. She was so excited about finishing the manuscript and was making preparations to send it to a publisher. Seasoned writers will recall that exhilaration when we were SURE our work was done. (God bless the uninformed.) One also remembers the crushing of spirit when the manuscript was returned after months of waiting that had included the time when we sure-to-be-authors were dreaming about our first book signing. (I had excitedly told everyone who asked—and some who hadn’t– my book was with a publisher, as if the simple statement insured publication. Wrong.)
Thank goodness Sally asked if I’d “…take a quick look at it.” As is often noted in how-to books, within the first five pages, it was evident there was much work needed BEFORE it went to a publisher. Her spelling and grammar was great, but it was a memoir and there soon appeared an obstacle so many writers fall into—the over-use of the word, “I.”
It was also apparent the writer had written at separate times for there were redundancies of events and in explaining her feelings. (A huge reason for setting a specific writing time each day to keep the writing fresh in one’s mind.) Because the manuscript had been written at different periods, it read choppy, as if I were reading singular essays all strung together. They were good essays, but not the writer’s purpose. Now the tough part. How does one explain to a new (fragile) writer, what needs to be done to make it better without breaking a spirit?
Years ago, I wrote a young child’s story. I’d grown up on a farm and often wrote about animals, so with great expectations, my precious manuscript (Yikes, the original!) was sent out. Months later, I received a rejection from the editor noting, “I expected more. It began well, but trailed off. In truth, I must admit, I don’t like stories about talking animals.” Crushed in spirit, I almost threw story and rejection away, fuming that if rejections were part of writing, forget it. Instead, I tossed the story into a drawer for a week. When returning to it, it was apparent there hadn’t been enough research. It had gone to the wrong editor. I bought my first edition of BOOK MARKETS FOR CHILDREN’S WRITERS, signed on for writing classes, and joined a writing group. Toughening one’s spirit and accepting rejections took time, but with friendly critiquing from kind writing peers, and keeping up with what editors wanted proved fruitful. Stories took on a professional appearance with concise wording, and thanks to how-to books, articles, and classes, dialogue brought life, plot evolved into a beginning, a middle, and an end, and the word-count and age-appropriate language became important considerations. Such facts needed to be conveyed to my aspiring writer.
When we met again, Sally’s first question was,” Do you think it’s publishable?” I answered, “It’s possible, but there’s much work needed.” It wasn’t what she wanted to hear, but she took it well. It’s difficult for a person, well qualified in one field, to accept that in a new field, elementary classes must be taken. Had she considered joining a writers’ group? No. Had she taken any writing classes? No. She hadn’t known of such groups. I suggested she call her librarian and visit a book store to locate a writing group centering on her specific writing forte. While detailing what was needed, I praised her spelling and grammar use. When shown repeated redundancies, she was amazed noting, “I never caught that.” When we were through, she understood what was needed. Her first reaction was normal with a new writer. “Should I throw it away and start over?” I assured her she needed it as a work sheet because of the good material in it.
The next time I saw her, she grinned saying, “I was so sure my work was done. Thankfully, I sent it to you instead of a publisher. I’ve joined an area writing group. What fun to be able to discuss my thoughts with like-minded people. I’m also looking into a fall class for writers at the college. My writing group friends agree, if we value our manuscript, it should be critiqued by someone, who’s capable. One woman sent hers to a book doctor. I’d never heard of them, but now I know better.”
Until next time, take what knowledge you possess and share it with someone, who wants to know what you know. Then watch and feel the warm satisfaction of helping a person become what they want to be. Be well. Linda