The Business of Writing
I don’t do a lot of surfing around the Internet. It’s a time sink and let’s face it, there aren’t enough hours in the day the way it is! One of the sites I do check regularly, though, is called Ravelry. If you’re a knitter, a crocheter, a spinner or a weaver, there are endless diversions on Ravelry, from reviews of yarns, to patterns and tips.
Last week, one of the patterns attracted me (I don’t remember what it was, but I suspect it was for socks; I love to knit socks). The way the site works, you can click on the picture of the design and from there, go to the homepage of the designer.
I did just that, and discovered that the designer in question (I don’t remember her name) has a Master’s in Fine Arts in creative writing, and is hoping to be a published author someday. She had just posted a blog about her work in progress and how it’s been rejected again and again by publishers.
The blog was well written and interesting and from that, I can only assume that the woman’s fiction writing might be, too (I know, that’s a leap of faith). Be that as it may, she’s received lots of rejections, done revisions, and gotten more rejections still.
I feel her pain. It’s not easy hearing that a book you love isn’t anything a publisher wants to put into print. Fortunately, the woman’s attitude is good. She realizes it’s time to put that book away and start on something new. She’s hoping that this time, it’s something publishers are interested in. She understands that markets are tight and she’s had that reinforced by numerous publishers who’ve told her that they simply don’t have a spot for her book.
But here’s the kicker . . .
Scrolling around her blog (no doubt looking for more sock patterns) I ran across a post from a few weeks ago. In it, this same writer talks about how thrilled she is; she’s just been out book shopping and has come back with a huge bag of books to read.
And since you’re all smart, you know the punch line, right?
She did all her book shopping at the used book store.
I know, I know . . . it makes me grit my teeth, too, and wonder why a woman who’s goal in life is to be published doesn’t understand how buying used books undermines that goal by further limiting sales (and thus the fiction market). Of course, it also hurts all of us who are publishing and not earning royalties on the books she buys.
I wonder what they teach in those MFA programs. Something tells me that though they may spend a lot of time talking about symbolism and alliteration, they never say a word about the business of writing.
