People familiar with the Myers-Briggs Personality test know that the writer is the INFJ. This person is introverted, intuitive, feelings-oriented and judgmental.
So, what happens when an extroverted, intuitive, thinking and perceptive (ENTP) inventor tries to write a novel? For one thing, it takes more than 35 years to finish. The story is never quite right; it always needs tweaking. And, lo and behold, when the ENTP finally does complete a manuscript, he/she will come up with another idea, brilliant of course, which requires scrapping and rewriting three chapters. Unfortunately, once scrapped and rewritten, left-over references to long-gone characters or events somehow live on in the word processor's memory and mysteriously reappear somewhere in the manuscript. It drives all readers, editors and wives especially, mad.
Even if the ghosts are exorcised from the page, the spouse or whoever else is doing the editing won't necessarily forget them. Their memories are harder to erase. Only the truest of friends will be willing to read your twentieth revision, and only the most intelligent will be able to assimilate the newest additions at will.
But somehow it finally is finished. Then it turns out that finishing the novel was the easy part. Trying to get it published is another story entirely. What you hope to be an easy jaunt to the local mailbox to find an agent turns into a Homeric voyage, with hundreds of rejection letters floating in its wake. As every writer knows, authors are uniquely at the mercy of others to bring our work to public attention. A painter or sculptor can usually find a coffee shop or gallery to exhibit their work. The diligent composer will eventually find a local quartet or civic orchestra to play his or her work. But the author alone must rely on the judgment of the publishing professionals, gatekeepers who want to know what makes this manuscript worthy to be included in the approximately 100,000 new books that will be published in the coming year. Quality doesn't even matter. Even if it is better than 95% of the books in print, the question an agent must face is why should a publisher add this particular manuscript to his list? Who will buy it? After all, this writer is unknown. Then comes the cruelest question of all. Why should I even bother to read it? Most of the time they don't. According to Curtis Brown, on average, a known agent will get 50 to 100 queries a day. Of this number the agent will read as few as one percent of the total number of proposed manuscripts they receive in an average year. Only one manuscript in three will be accepted.
The sad fact is that there are more writers seeking publishers than the total number of books ever published. Jay Leno's All Stars could have written many of them, but even if you have talent, the numbers are still staggering. Potential novice writers can find a writing class somewhere in the country nearly every day of the year. If they don't want to attend one in person, they can always find one on the Web. Legitimate writing professionals lead most of these classes, but far too many are only meant to separate prospective authors from their cash. Either way they will sooner or later be looking for a publisher.
So, knowing all this, why did I persist? Because I could not do otherwise. The urge to write is as deep in my being as a smoker's desire for the next cigarette or an alcoholic's for the next drink. I love words and I love thoughts. The idea that someone 100 years from now might read and like the book outweighs any negative criticism or public indifference that I may run into in my lifetime. My advice to anyone who has such the same urge is simply: write. Forget the odds and don't be discouraged. When you have a product that you know is your best work, try to get it published. Finally, don't feel like a failure if you have to publish it yourself. Quality will tell, even if only your friends are aware of it. Believe me, it's worth it.
John Anderson wrote The Cellini Masterpiece under the pen name of Raymond John. He is a historian who has sold stamps and other collectibles and a former Military Intelligence Specialist with the US Army Reserves. He is now working on his sequel to The Cellini Masterpiece, entitled Language School. The first chapter of The Cellini Masterpiece is available for available at http://www.cmasterpiece.com. Mr. Anderson can be contacted at the website.
house refresh service Lincolnshire ..Working on my first humorous novel, I started with a... Read More
Remember the days when we wrote with pen and paper?... Read More
1. What Is A Premise?A premise is the point you... Read More
The Big IdeaOkay. So youve figured out that you would... Read More
Right off the bat, I want to say that there... Read More
Nike's ad has taken on new meaning for me of... Read More
I call it cheap therapy. That gushing, near-religious, poured-from-the-body stress... Read More
A friend and I were talking the other day about... Read More
Creative Writing Tips ?Writing is a creative process and how... Read More
There is a lot of confusion about recommendation letters.Recommendation letters... Read More
Rejection. This scary word plagues virtually every writer this side... Read More
Sailors had it for years. Great explorers had it as... Read More
Charles Dickens was born in Portsea, England, in1812. His father... Read More
What do you mean, you don't have a website yet?... Read More
9 out of 10 professionals and small business owners have... Read More
Take out a white piece of paper and place it... Read More
Persisting With Bulldog Determination [Book excerpt from Successercising} by Rick... Read More
Most books aren't rejected because the stories are "bad." They're... Read More
The Scanning ReaderWriting for the Web is different than writing... Read More
You can make a lot of money by writing and... Read More
Story Structure Templates are the fastest way to write screenplays.... Read More
A certified proofreader is one that has taken a few... Read More
Creative Writing Tips ?You are plotting the story. You write... Read More
Since the headline is the first contact your readers have... Read More
Have you ever wondered why certain writers are able to... Read More
licensed cleaning services Lake Forest ..What a lack of research could do to you.When creating... Read More
Summer's here and the time is write for dancing in... Read More
In the business of freelance writing, it's not enough to... Read More
These 8 tips on using characters in your stories will... Read More
Productivity begins by recognizing and valuing your brilliance, time, and... Read More
One day in the mid-1970's a young man stumbled into... Read More
One Saturday afternoon, I sat in a packed conference room... Read More
You've finished your story, and you're pretty happy with it.... Read More
We've all seen those ads that grab our attention and... Read More
Writing technical articles is a challenge. There you sit, surrounded... Read More
Set your journal or diary where you will see it... Read More
Compiling a list of the history's ten best writers is... Read More
Q and A.Best choice when subject is very verbal or... Read More
Typically when falling asleep in bed at night great thoughts... Read More
Before you even begin writing your novel, you need to... Read More
DEFINITIONSRetail margin is basically the difference between your book's wholesale... Read More
A frequent conversation I have with my writing clients is... Read More
If you are a serious writer who wants to publish... Read More
1) Convince yourself you want to do something else. If... Read More
There's nothing that kills a scene like hackneyed dialogue. Just... Read More
Readers often send me interesting and exciting e-mails about the... Read More
The self-indulgent writer listens only to the mumblings of sycophants,... Read More
Have you ever started a creative writing project with great... Read More
Have you ever wondered why certain writers are able to... Read More
Ever wonder why we refer to convincing an editor a... Read More
Writing |