A Thought From The Video Game Community

I was listening to an article on NPR a couple of days ago about the inventor of the Atari Flop - The ET Game. He mentioned something that I think is worth considering.

He noted that in the video game creator community, the use the phrase "Greed Kills." As he describes it, think of when you kill off your characters in video games. It is when you start playing for those bonus points and when you start taking risks that are really not worth it.

I do believe this is something more and more authors need to consider in the publishing world. You will be risking your career if you start playing for those dangerous "bonus points" and "bonus targets." In other words, when you start focusing on the contracts, on the money, on the reviews, on the bonuses and raises, you are forgetting the one true thing that got you that first contract - your writing.

My wife's grandfather used to play blackjack. According to the family, he was good! But he also operated with a similar rule. The moment he started thinking, "If I can win this next hand, I can make back those loses" he would get up from the table. The reasoning was clear. He was thinking about the money and not the game.

I teach as an adjunct, English at the community college level. I tell my students the exact same thing. If you start into writing a paper only thinking about the word count, the page count, or what it will take to "get an A", the paper will end up being a flop. But, those students who concentrate on writing a great paper will find that the grades will follow. Why? Again the focus is on the writing.

So, as you work on your story, or if you are heading out to pitch to an agent at a conference, or if you are writing that query letter, quit thinking about what needs to be done to get the contract. Focus instead on what it takes to just tell a damn good story!

Keep On Submitting But Learn From Those Rejections

I think every agent has heard this question before. "If I get a rejecion from an agent or editor, do I consider that a complete dead end or can I submit again."

I understand your frustration as a writer. A rejection letter is a tough thing to deal with, however, unless one of three things happen, I would say it is OK. What are those three things?

1. The editor or agent tells you to stay away and never submit again.
2. You learn something about the editor or agent that tells you it isn't the right match.
3. You change your direction in writing and your story no longer would go to that person.

Now, before you go out and start firing off all of those past projects to those people who rejected to you, please listen for a second. A second or third project will get the same results as that first one unless you made a change. You had to learn from your mistakes. You have to show the editor or agent that you can learn.

When someone submits a project to me, I log in what I thought about it in my database. When a writer turns around and submits a new project, their name pops up in the database so I go back and look. Part of this is to make sure it isn't the same story, but the bigger reason is to see what the problem was on the last project. I want to see if they made changes to their writing and style to over-come those barriers.

I will say, most of the time, there has never been a change. The writer continues to write the same way over and over again. There is not growth and, of course, they are still not a part of the Greyhaus Literary Agency. Only one time in the past did a writer, with a second project fix this problem and I signed the writer. I should also add that we are now going back and working on that first project that received the rejection.

The goal is to demonstrate to those editors and agents you take criticism and you can revise.

Before you go crazy with one thing, let me put a clarifier on all of this. I understand there are many of you who only receive a form letter. In those cases, the best you can do is to go back, read more of what the agent or editor represents, and dissect their styles. You will likely find what you have been doing wrong.

Have a great week!

Scott

Agents walk on water...NOT!

This has really been bugging me for some time and I finally found the right words that I need to say this with.

Do agents walk on water? Is what they say really the golden words we all want to hear? How about those editors?
No, I don't think so. Unfortunately, I think there is this perception that when an editor or agent says something, especially on their blogs, that their thoughts are the end all be all of the writing world. Think about it, how many times have you seen something show up on a loop and it is eventually passed around to the other loops. Something like, "Well, you know, according to Agent A____ this is the way you should do it."

We need to stop immediately and remember the other thing that most editors and agents say. This business is purely subjective. What works for one editor may not work for another. The same for agents. We all see things differently and certainly approach the writing business from different angles. Is one better than the other. Personally, I would have to say no. How many times have you heard me make the comment about agents that you have to find the right fit for you as a writer when signing an agent. The same with the comments.

So, when you get out there to surf your favorite blogs and see what the latest golden words of wisdom they come up with, remember, that is all that you are seeing. WORDS. Words from one person in this very huge business of publishing.

Scott