Update – Pretty much more of the same. I worked on a paid assignment, wrote daily flash while letting the books languish, and far too often ended up wasting time playing computer games. But there’s been a change. The writer’s block may be over. Yesterday I went back to the detective novel and it’s flowing again. Once I get through the current scene, it should be smooth sailing—or, in my case, typing. I may actually have a finished, polished novel ready when/if I hear back from the open call. And I’m doing it all while tackling yardwork and putting out a blog on a weekly basis. Yay, multitasking!
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That’s the good news. But there’s a lot more to it if your goal is to sell the book you’ve written. There’s rewriting, polishing, editing, and getting the word out/promotion so people are clamoring to buy the thing when you’re finally ready to publish. And one other thing that’s just as vital as any of those and maybe more important than even the writing itself, and that’s luck. You can write a brilliant book, but if you can’t get it in front of an editor who agrees with you, it’ll end up back in the drawer. Or you can write a crappy book but it hits a chord with the reading audience and word of mouth does your PR for you. Or you can write a so-so book that has so-so sales but at least you made it onto bookstore shelves, but only because it landed on the right desk in front of the right person at the right time. Countless stories told by countless successful, unsuccessful and semi-successful writers down through the decades have led me to the conclusion that talent, hard work and persistence in submitting don’t mean diddly without a nudge from that fickle bitch, Dame Fortune. Like it or not, more often than not it’s all pretty much just a crapshoot.
Which really scares the crap out of me, because my luck has never been the best.
Here’s the most recent example: Saturday. The Preakness. I hadn’t been planning to watch, but I was between putting off writing and putting off yardwork so I decided to tune in. The horses were just heading into the gate. I picked one at random, the aptly-named-for-writers Imagination. Didn’t know a thing about him. He had good odds, and the announcers said he’d never placed lower than second in any of his previous runs.
The race begins. My horse and another horse shoot out of the gate and surge to the front of the pack. There they stayed, right up until they hit the top of the stretch. The one who’d been in the lead the whole race stayed there and ended up winning. My horse did a fade and ended up finishing seventh in a field of eight. Wouldn’t be the first time Imagination wound up letting me down.
Nor was this whole scenario anything new. Back in ancient times, when I was a kid, the fam used to tune in for the Kentucky Derby and sometimes the Preakness and the Belmont. We’d pony up (yes, that’s a pun) a quarter apiece; the money would go to whoever’s pick did best. Picks were made at random so no one could claim the favorite. I never won. Ever. Each time my chosen horse would make a great showing and then run out of gas at the stretch, coming in behind everyone else’s. Such is luck.
One time, by chance, I did pick the favorite. Finally, the money would be mine! Guess again. At the finish line my pick was nowhere in sight. During the run the favorite pulled up and never finished the race. We got a post-race shot of him being led back to the stables. I think that was the last time I ever bet on a horse race. Experience taught me when it comes to money I do have luck, and it’s bad.
Imagine how I feel about getting my work before a name publisher, let alone scoring decent sales.
And yet…hope springs eternal. I keep writing, and I keep sending things off to market. Because you never know. Things could turn around. Because as bad as it can be, it’s not going to get any better if I stop sending stuff out.
That’s the secret to success. You write and write and work your ass off to improve. Make that sucker the best sparking manuscript it can be. Luck’s good and all, but it never hurts to give your work a fighting chance. Sooner or later it’s going to land on the right desk at the right time, and you’ll be on your way.
Stellar luck to everyone, and may the odds be ever in your favor. See y’all next week.
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