#MSWL - Wanted: Writers Who Know How To Write

Sorry, this might be a bit of a rant.

I honestly have to say, there are days when I simply do not want to open up my email and look at submissions. It is often depressing. My kids will often ask me on a weekend, what my plans are and I sometimes joke, "It is time to read manuscripts and reject authors." Please note, this IS meant as a joke. When I sit down to read manuscripts, I seriously want to find great writers.

Instead, I often find mediocre to "Your really think this is the best you can do?"

Yes, I know this sounds harsh, but the reality of the situation is that we have a lot of people out there just writing without having one idea of A) what a great story is; B) thinking that writing about a social issue makes their stories great; or C) having no clue how the business of publishing works.

I know some of you have read my blog in the past and have heard me say the same thing before, but it really is becoming a sad reality.

I had sat down to write something positive today (that will be for tomorrow) but when I read submissions over the weekend and then, read a post on social media of some writer complaining that her amazing story about some random social issue (with get this, an racial AND LGBTQ issue inserted into it) and how that story did not get published until she did it herself, it got me screaming. I read the blurb on this book in her bio and I have to say, the plot is not unique other than the fact it was all over the place.

My daughter went to a middle school and high school writers conference this weekend. It was a chance to learn about the craft of writing from authors. What was scary is that the ONLY thing she could tell us about this one author is that he was gay and he made that a focus of his writing. I asked what the stories were about, and she had no clue. I asked her what made the stories good, and all she could tell me is that he kept talking on and on about how his stories focused on gay issues. This alone does not make a story great.

I did say I was ranting, right?

In any case, if you want to enter into the business of publishing, or for that matter, any other business out there, you need to take the time to learn not just the craft, but how the entire industry works. Have you watched Kitchen Impossible on the Food Network. How many times has Robert Irvine ask these people, "What training have you ever had in the restaurant industry?" and then often followed up with "And yet you thought it was a great idea to open a restaurant?"

This is how I feel with many of the writers today.

Reading just blogs like mine here, or taking a random workshop at a writer's conference (at least that would be a step in the right direction), or simply writing something and slapping it on the internet IS NOT education. Becoming a writer takes the effort of reading and analyzing quality writers. It takes the time necessary to practice, to get feedback to practice some more, to study some more, to read some more and to practice.

I will tell you, when I review projects I am not looking for only those stories that would I can retire on. Would it be great if I found one? Sure. I am looking for authors who know the business, and who know how to create truly quality stories. And those of you who seem to think agents are nothing more than "gatekeepers" filtering out only certain types of stories, I want you to take the time to ask yourself how much training you have personally had in the craft of writing. This might be the reason you have not moved ahead in your writing career.