On Writing Craft, Creativity & Inspiration
Alexander Slagg
Finding a Guide to
Paradise
While the creative process of getting a piece of writing
from shimmering spark inside your head to polished diamond on the page is often
considered mysterious and magical, it’s the next step. Getting your work into
print—that is the truly inexplicable process for most creative writers.
Publication is that Edenic realm where only truly successful
writers reside. And any reader of the Bible will recall that there’s a
muscle-bound cherub with an enormous flaming sword blocking the entrance into
this paradise. Of course, I’m referring to THE EDITOR.
I’ve listened to countless conversations between writers
that in one way or another ask the question: How do I get an editor to publish
my work? But this is the wrong question to be asking. The better question to
ask is: How do I get the right editor to publish my work? What’s the
difference? Allow me to explain.
During my time as an editor at a book publisher, I worked
very closely with the acquisitions editors. They were a friendly group—we had
potlucks, shared gardening tips and talked about books and literature a lot
(same as what writers do together). What I observed over and over was that
certain editors had topics that interested them, and that they rarely strayed
from these topics when acquiring titles they wanted to publish.
One editor wanted to see any book proposal that touched on
health and beauty topics. Another editor was all about pet-themed books. The
health and beauty editor wouldn’t bother to review a pet-themed pitch, and vice
versa for the pet editor. Each editor also had his or her own views on the kind
of writing they liked.
Some loved T. C. Boyle, one thought Carl Hiassen was
brilliant, and another swore by Margaret Atwood. Those tastes also tended to
determine the types of writers they were interested in working with. For
example, a story with an animal or pet theme in the style of Carl Hiassen
likely wouldn’t work for the pet editor. His tastes were more along the lines
of T. C. Boyle’s writing style. This is how most editors operate. No matter how
extraordinary your work is, if it doesn’t suite their personal tastes, they
won’t consider it.
Even putting aside personal preferences, there’s sound
business sense behind these nuanced acquisitions too. Publishing is a business.
Editors like publishing work that’s successful, obviously. And once they have
some success with a certain market, they will go back to the well over and over
again. They have sold books there; they understand what sells to that
particular niche market.
For the writer seeking an editor (or an agent, for that
matter), what’s my point? If you’ve done your homework, I’m probably not
offering any big reveal here. But it’s something to keep in mind as those
rejection slips pile up on the corner of your desk.
More than anything else, publication comes down to matching
the right writing with the right editor. Constant rejection leads many writers
to throwing in the towel—an understandable response. But having your writing
rejected doesn’t mean that it’s no good.
It could mean that you haven’t yet placed it in the right
editor’s hands. You haven’t found that editor who shares similar tastes to your
own and can see the value in your writing. And that, I think, is a healthy
perspective as you consume that steady diet of rejection pie, rejection kebobs,
and rejection étouffée that comes your way when sharing your creative writing
with the world.
Another understandable response to publication is to view
the process as a numbers game. If I send out my work to enough editors, I’m
liable to randomly find the right editor for my work. This is mathematically
true. Much like randomly bumping into the love of your life or randomly finding
that dream job. How well does a scattershot approach work when looking for love
or employment? If you have the time, by all means, try this approach.
But for those who don’t have endless amounts of spare time,
finding the right publishing outlet for your work comes down to your personal
interactions with others—networking. There’s no good way around it. A targeted
approach is your best bet for finding the right editor. This includes doing
research in one of the publishing guidebooks, utilizing online publication
resources, directly contacting editors and publications for guidance on what
they publish, and contacting a writer that you admire to see if they have any
suggestions. It’s not fun work, but it’s the work that will most likely get you
through those pearly publication gates.
Touching on
various aspects of the writing process, Reflections from the Well is more than
a rote column, it’s a literary lounge where writers and other creators are
invited to share their own experiences. Share your comments with Alex for
possible inclusion on the LWN blog or in his next reflection at
aslagg@literarywritersnetwork.org.
