Writing: A Sport?

Today author Lynne Hinkey graciously said she would guest post on her journey as a writer. Thank you Lynne!

Writing is an Endurance Sport

By

Lynne Hinkey

www.lynnehinkey.com

Writing is an endurance sport. That’s been my mantra for the past few weeks. Two months ago, I received a request from an agent for the full manuscript of my current novel, Chupacabra and I’ve been patiently waiting to hear back. You know patience may be a virtue but it isn’t one of mine. I refrained from sending daily emails, but just barely. I did send a friendly note after six weeks and got a prompt reply that I was next in the pile.

This week, I received the “thanks, but no thanks” letter. The agent took the time to tell me what she liked and what wasn’t working for her. Enough worked that she read the entire ms, but overall, something missed the mark. [Insert the sound you associate with a crumpling ego and dashed dreams here.]

What’s a poor author to do when, after spending months, even years writing and editing and polishing, an agent says “no” to their masterpiece? Not so long ago, the options were to persevere or give up.

But this is a new age in publishing; the options have expanded. Authors who have put in the thankless hours of finishing a novel (that itself is an accomplishment) no longer need to face the demoralizing anguish of being told, “It’s just not good enough.” Instead, they can rail against the agents for “not getting it,” rant about “the gatekeepers,” and justify their own work with, “I’ve read books that are worse than mine.” Then they can run their ms through spell-checker and immediately proceed to the self-publishing option of their choice to get their book out into the world, ready or not.

I have that option, but I’m not going to take it. A marathon runner can’t take a short cut and still win the race. Just ask Rosie Ruiz.

I also have the option to look for small publishers, as I did with my first novel, Marina Melee. For new writers, small publishers offer a great way to break into the publishing world. My publisher, Casperian Books, is easy to work with, provides valuable services like layout, cover art, press releases, and help with marketing that I wouldn’t have had I self-pubbed. With their help, I’ve learned a lot about selling books and now feel better prepared to approach agents. My experience gives me something more to offer them than just another manuscript in the slush pile: appreciation for what they do.

It took one of my favorite authors, Christopher Moore, eight years between deciding to become a writer and selling his first book, Practical Demon Keeping.  He spent a year writing it, and almost another whole year polishing and editing before it sold. His persistence paid off. True, that was before the advent of easy, cheap self-publishing, but, would he have chosen that path? “I can’t imagine marketing a book without an agent. I’m doing this to write, not to be a salesman. I left being a salesman to write books, so I’m happy to have someone to do the selling (http://www.undergroundbookreviews.com/3/post/2012/05/may-25th-2012.html). Sounds like a no to me.

Moore‘s Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove sat on the desk next to me for inspiration while I wrote Chupacabra. His writing inspires me and his words in this interview even more so. I’m in this to write and I’m in for the long haul. As tempting as it might be to self-publish the current, pretty good version of Chupacabra, I’ll get back to polishing, I’ll work on the areas the agent suggested, and the story will be even better. When I do find an agent, it’ll get better still.

Am I missing an opportunity by not considering self-publishing? Maybe. But I think it’s for an even better one somewhere down the road. Being a novelist isn’t a sprint, it’s an endurance sport. That takes patience and persistence. While I’m not known for the former, I have the latter in spades. The finish line, a writing career, is important enough to me that I’m even willing to work on the former.