Comments on Comments from Prior Blogs

I actually had another post for today but thought I would bring this up instead.

I have had several writers wondering about a comment I made earlier about 'the stories just not being out there." For many writers, this comment really was perplexing. They had a ton of stories. They had friends with a ton of stories, and certainly they were aware of other writers on the loops. How could it be that there aren't stories out there.

What I meant by that is that as agents, we are really struggling to find stories that are of the caliber that we are looking for. In the end, the stories are simply lacking that special something that we want. One writer did make a reference to this by stating that all editors and agents are only looking for that next great book like Twilight and Harry Potter. This is far from the truth.

Sure we would love to have a story like that and finding a great story would be a dream of all of us. As an agent, I am really looking for authors that will be around for the long haul.

What I am finding, and I am sure other agents will also agree with this, are stories that are really lacking in some areas. Some have great premises but the voice isn't right. Some have great characters but the plot goes no where. We really need it all.

There are also many times that stories are simply not marketable. In other words, the stories may have a great voice, or an interesting premise, but if we can't sell it (due to the topic, size or so forth) then we pass on it.

Another writer commented that they believed it was due to the "restrictive rules" publishers put out there. This also isn't true. We do have guidelines, but all of the editors I talk to really do tend to be pretty open about story ideas. Again, the premise might be great, but if the writing isn't strong enough, we are going to pass on these. Don't confuse guidelines with rules. These are completely different.

Hopefully that cleared a few things up.

Scott

Just Some Observations - E-Publishing

I don't know if you have noticed this lately, but in the last several editions of the RWR the newly published authors are showing us a little interesting tidbit. Almost every new author has gone to a e-publisher. Very few have been published with the print publishers that everyone (or at least the ones that come across my desk) seem to want to publish with.

Does this mean that e-publishing is the new wave of the future?

No.

As I see it, this simply means that these writers are not submitting projects to the print publishers that are what they want to see. It isn't that print publishers aren't signing new contracts. Just follow Twitter for any of your favorite agents out there and you see them constantly working through new contracts. For many writers, they are assuming these are for new authors. My bet, they are for the writers already established in the business.

Many of the editors I talk to openly tell me they want to see some great new projects. They are desperately searching for that golden gem. They want that great author. Agents are doing the same thing. The problem is that the stories just aren't there.

I said this a couple of weeks ago, but you can't blame the editors for not buying. The real issue is that the stories just aren't coming in.

You Can't Take Your Name For Granted

I honestly do believe that many professional writers out there have become weaker writers over time. In other words, the quality of their writing in the early stages of their careers was infinitely better than what they are producing today. Why is this? They simply are taking for granted their position in the writing community.

As a beginning writer, they had to fight to get what they wanted. They had to work extra hard on that manuscript and did everything they could to make sure THEY were the ones on the top of the editors radar. Proposals were turned in early. Revisions were done with extra care and certainly, finding the best dang story out there was always the highest priority.

And then their name gets out there.

Just putting something out there to wrap up a contract was fine. Revisions were no longer something to produce the best project but just to "get it done." It even gets to the point that the networking they tried so hard to do early on to make a connection with the readers disappears. Those mailing lists and email contacts they created. The chance to answer a few emails from readers was no longer something that was worthy. They were better than that.

I am working on a book project right now and want to include some comments and ideas from writers that I believe have some great things to share. Do I get a response from them? No. I get an automated response simply saying, "I get so many messages it may take a while to get back to you." Oh la, dee da. Do you really get all of these messages or is this just a way to make yourself sound popular?

I even saw on a writing loop some comments about judging comments. There were professional writers saying that they simply don't assist with contests anymore. They don't have the time. This is a wrong attitude. They need to remember when they were a beginning writer and the help they received.

The deal is this. When you move further up that professional writing hierarchy, you have more and more responibilities. Each story has to be better. The networking you do has to be more. Simply being AUTHOR XYZ is not enough.

Scott

Separating the Men From The Boys - The Psychology of Winners

My wife and I were talking about this over dinner this weekend. We both noticed that the world today seems to be filled with many people who are lacking the "winner gene." In other words, they seem to be missing that drive necessary to be amazing in the world. We felt that many seemed to be happy with mediocrity. Sure a lot of people talk that they want more, but when push comes to shove, seeing that played out never comes up.

For both of us, we participated in collegiate speech and debate. We knew what it was to be the best and the desire to strive for the best within us. We didn't just write a speech and just go out on weekends to say it to a group, we went out to win and there was nothing that was going to stand in our way to be the best. If we had a bad weekend, we now had a drive to fix those problems and the time before the next meet was spent working extra hard.

I was listening to a piece on NPR recently and they were talking about the professional baseball player Barry Bonds. What everyone who met him said was that Barry wanted to be the best. Being just a baseball player wasn't enough. He had that drive which motivated everything he did. Granted, some of that led to doing things that might not have been all that right, but the drive is what motivated him.

I bring this up because I honestly believe that many of the writers I come across say they want to be a fantastic writer, but in the end, they just don't have that drive to achieve it. Quitting is too easy. Finding an excuse for why their latest book wasn't good is also too easy. Instead of finding a way to fix the problem, they come up with an excuse.

When I hear the "winner-authors" they have a completely different tone. If they get a bad review from some critic out there, they don't say, "There is no way I will send my story back to that person again, they're just an idiot." They make a full attempt to make that person have to like their next book. These winners are not satisfied with a story that is simply OK, they push to make each book, and each character the best.

Which person are you? If you want to be successful at this business, you can't just be satisfied with average. You have to push for more.

Scott

Alien Vampire Bunnies

Here is the link to this year's ALIEN VAMPIRE BUNNY contest in honor of Kate Duffy!

It begins today! There are changes this year! I'll have the stories up on the website shortly!


http://greyhausagency.com/Alien-Vampire-Bunny-Contest.html


Scott