The Writer’s Real Enemies
By Jael McHenry | August 6, 2018 |
image by Balazs Szabo
Talking with a group of aspiring writers recently, I was struck by how many of them felt like everyone in the publishing world was against them. “Why are agents so narrow-minded about what they want?” one asked. The frustration was nothing new — anyone who’s spent time talking to writers in person or on the internet knows frustration is the meat we feed on — but I was particularly uncomfortable with how much of the frustration was directed against individual people, rather than a system that can’t give all of us what we want all of the time.
So I thought I’d do a handy list of who and who isn’t your enemy in the publishing world. (Keeping a list of enemies isn’t something I generally recommend, for all sorts of reasons, but I think you’ll see how this one can be useful.)
- Not your enemy: agents. Believe me, I know how painful the query process can be. Yet over the years I’ve gotten to know dozens of agents, and not a single one has ever mentioned getting any joy whatsoever out of rejecting a writer’s work. Most of them got into the business because they love books, not because they hate writers. When you get your 38th rejection of a full manuscript with a note that says “I just didn’t love this,” you will want to scream TELL ME WHY NOT TELL ME TELL ME PLEEEEEASE. But if they don’t love your work, you don’t want them representing you anyway.
- Not your enemy: other authors. It’s easy to see the attention other books are getting and be so jealous your stomach aches. But the vast majority of authors have not personally set out to thwart you. In fact, most of them are downright friendly. Gathering other writers around you, both pre- and post-publication, is one of the best ways to keep your sanity and achieve some level of satisfaction in the maddening publishing world. Find your friends. They’re out there.
- Not your enemy: readers who review your book online. Yes, reading reviews of your own work on Goodreads or Amazon can drive you to drink. Go ahead and think How dare you. Go ahead and think I’d like to see you write a coherent book-length work of fiction and persist against all odds to get it published, RadBookLad88. Then once those thoughts have crossed your mind, move on. Readers are reviewing for readers. Obviously I don’t agree that my book deserves a one-star review because it’s “interesting, but the f-bomb was used about 6 times,” as one Goodreads reviewer does, but you know what? There are readers who would benefit from that review. Bless them.
OK, you’re asking, so if none of those people are arrayed against me, why am I so miserable? What’s keeping me down? Indeed, I have some thoughts on that front as well.
Your enemy: time. You may never have time to write all the things you want to write to the standard to which you’d like to write them. You almost certainly won’t have time to personally promote the book to every single reader who might want to buy it. Your writing career will have tradeoffs, choices, opportunity costs. There’s no way around but through.
Your enemy: timing. Almost as bad, you can write a brilliant book and find that someone else has happened to write a similar book on a similar topic, or that your book has something else in common with another book that is already out in the world. Sometimes this works in your favor; often, it doesn’t. It’s no one’s fault. But the part luck plays in the publishing world is absolutely immense, and if luck doesn’t swing your way, it can be crushing.
Your enemy: an infinite world of entertainment possibilities. Part of the reason authors feel like their books are in competition with other authors’ books is because they are. But in reality, books in general have a lot more competition out there from other media. For under $10 a month you can have tens of thousands of hours of televised programming at your fingertips. It isn’t just that you want people to read your book vs. reading other books, but vs. TV, movies, family time, work, and a whole bunch of other demands. It kind of feels like a small miracle we read at all.
The good news is, these enemies aren’t undefeatable. And we start fresh against them every day. In the end, the only one who can really keep you down is you — you’re the one who decides whether or not you keep writing.
Q: Who and what else would you add to these lists?
Jael McHenry is the debut author of The Kitchen Daughter (Simon & Schuster/Gallery Books, April 12, 2011). Her work has appeared in publications such as the North American Review, Indiana Review, and the Graduate Review at American University, where she earned her MFA in Creative Writing. You can read more about Jael and her book at jaelmchenry.com or follow her on Twitter at @jaelmchenry.
Wonderful reminders, Jael, thanks. And, for me, the #1 enemy–the one that fosters all of the envy and resentment that you rightly point out as false? Doubt.
I have to routinely set my doubt aside. It can be a sneaky little devil, too, but it’s usually there, at the root of most other forms of Resistance (not just envy and resentment, but imposter syndrome, why-bother-ism, feelings of unworthiness, etc.). Here’s to banishing our false foes! “Give them nothing. But take from them everything!”
Yes! Oh so much doubt. Worth thinking about our internal enemies as well as our external ones.
Excellent post! And thank you so much for dispelling the myth that agents, editors, and other authors are enemies. Have they all frustrated and hindered me at one time or another? Sure. But ultimately, they have not just helped me become all I can be as a writer, but sometimes saved me from myself. And that’s who I think should be added to the list of enemies: me, myself, and I. I am my own worst critique, worst time-stealer, worst discourager, and worst thwarter of success. Once I get ME in line and have an open mind toward those who sometimes frustrate me, it’s amazing how much I learn from my “enemies.”
I love how you think about this, Deborah. An open mind is a gift not just to other people but to yourself.
The greatest challenge is the publishing industry as a whole. C’mon! The worn out process of retailers returning unsold books to publishers continues to plague writers decades after its creation. It has destroyed more than a few authors. Our best friend, these days, is the many possibilities to self publish. Period.
We deserve a decent wage for our work. Yes, we must pay for a good editor. Too many self publish long before they’re ready, which has thrown a bad light on writers. But we all know the industry has taken advantage of writers since the beginning. We need roundtable discussions. Changes. Otherwise, the industry (including those money-making writing conferences) will see a decline in writers going after that carrot they dangle at our nose. We can make a salad without you. Thank you very much.
Pamela–Although I appreciate and to some extent share your point of view toward “the publishing industry as a whole,” I have to disagree with a couple of your points.
1. “Our best friend, these days, is the many possibilities to self publish. Period.”
There’s nothing wrong with taking comfort in the option to publish one’s own work. I have done it. But in real-world terms of return on investment (both sweat equity and cold hard cash), very few manage to recover their costs. Especially if they care enough about what they do to find and hire a good editor before publishing. And a good cover designer, and a good book designer. Aside from the tiny handful of out-of-the-blue success stories, the writers who do well as self-publishers are the ones who have already enjoyed some success in commercial publishing. They have readers who will follow them, and such writers are positioned to reap a big advantage in terms of royalties.
But the vast majority who self-publish face an almost laughably difficult path to gaining what the industry calls “visibility.” Without it, the best editing and book-cover design won’t much matter.
2. “We deserve a decent wage for our work.”
Actually, Pamela, we deserve no such thing. All we deserve is to make free choices, and to do our best to make them prove good ones. Anyone who thinks otherwise is someone I would like to interest in a piece of real estate in central Florida that is often above the waterline.
3. Writers’ conferences. They vary widely in quality and purpose. As with how-to-write books, software, online courses and the like, the number of conferences has increased exponentially with the rise of self-publishing. Beyond the beginning stages of craft development, I think the only conferences that matter are those that occasion real (as opposed to fake) opportunities to pitch yourself and your work to people of influence. Especially to editors.
Lastly, a point of my own.
“People of influence” don’t usually include newbie agents. Like the newbie writer, these agents are still learning the trade. They have little or no clout, and few real contacts among editors. They have learned some terminology, and bits of conventional wisdom, but they are probably the ultimate version danglers of carrots. With this caveat: if they work in successful agencies, their more seasoned colleagues can, sometimes, make a difference.
Barry, you know I love you, but I have to completely disagree with you on this point:
“I think the only conferences that matter are those that occasion real (as opposed to fake) opportunities to pitch yourself and your work to people of influence.”
For one thing, I’d submit that there isn’t any writer who can’t still learn something about craft. But more importantly, you can forge relationships at these events – with agents and authors alike – that can later be massively helpful to you when it’s time to pitch your work.
Bottom line: I think people who look at conferencess only from the angle of a pitching opportunity are missing out on a MUCH bigger picture.
“In the beaten way of [online] friendship,” Keith, I am sorry you dropped the opening phrase from the sentence of mine you quote, namely, “Beyond the beginning stages of craft development.” Of course it’s true to say that “there isn’t any writer who can’t still learn something about craft.” But beyond a certain point, writers have learned how to read as writers, and thereby teach themselves, or they haven’t.
In defending conferences in general, you say that writers “can forge relationships… that can later be massively helpful….” This is also true. But I am trying to caution writers. Conferences have mushroomed, from a cottage industry that thirty or forty years ago gave summer jobs to writers and academics, into an actual industry. I think this is because technology has greatly enabled self-publishing. I’ll call it “conference bloat,” and I believe it means “let the buyer beware” is more applicable today than in the past.
You’re not hearing me. There are many ways to self-publish, of which there is not enough space or time to address here. Some writers can and will indeed fork out the money needed to do it right. Some can not. The point is there are ways to self-publish that do not cost the writer an arm and a leg. No, your work may not hit any “popular best-selling lists” but the object is to get your work into the laps of your readers. Plenty of self-published writers have a proven track record. A writer who is not interested in jumping through the hoops the industry forces on us to look at our work will seek out ways to shorten this time by self-publishing or pay-for-publishing. It’s not as difficult as you would like to make it out. Many self-pub writers are laughing all the way to the bank, my friend. I know of very few “traditionally published” writers who do the same.
To your comment, “Actually, Pamela, we deserve no such thing. All we deserve is to make free choices, and to do our best to make them prove good ones. Anyone who thinks otherwise is someone I would like to interest in a piece of real estate in central Florida …” OH PLEASE. Give me a break. I’ve heard your comment so many times it’s become cliche. Any writer who doesn’t want paid well for their work is flat-out lying. If a painter gets paid for their masterpiece, if a landscape architect demands a good wage for their expertise, if a person who bakes cakes for a living expects to be paid for their time, then a writer should EXPECT TO GET PAID FOR THE YEARS OF WORK and the blood, sweat, and tears invested in their books. To say otherwise, is pure bullshit.
I’ve been in this business, full-time, for over twenty years. I’m three times traditionally published. I’ve spent a lot of money on writing conferences up and down the east coast. From New York City to Orlando, Florida. I’ve met a LOT of influential people. Made MANY connections and friends in the business. I’ve learned a great deal, but I’ve also learned that for my remaining years, I will continue to love my editor and publisher friends while forging my own path. I’m done jumping through their hoops, as well intentional as they may be. You can kiss all the butt you want in this business, but very little of that ass-kissing gets you anywhere. Writers need to be aware of that absolute fact.
“Our best friend, these days, is the many possibilities to self publish. Period.” We’ll have to agree to disagree on this. Self publishing is the best fit for some writers, just like traditional publishing is the best fit for others, and there are also writers who benefit from doing both at different times. I think it all depends on who you are and what you want. Rigid thinking can be an enemy too.
Yes, we will agree to disagree. The biggest enemy I’ve encountered is the publishing industry at large and the bullshit they’ve put us all through. It’s unconscionable, if you ask me.
Jael, you’re giving me sore neck from nodding my head so much in agreement.
These are ALL powerful and important points for us to keep in mind. Thank you!
I appreciate the support! Even if it comes with a little neck pain, heh.
Your enemies: Advertisers, telemarketers, junk mailers, anyone trying to distract you from writing with irrelevant BS.
Anyone using a lawnmower, leaf blower or fireworks that are louder than 45 dBA.
As hip-hop artist Andy Mineo has said, “My biggest enemy is me, and even I can’t stop me.”
Give it a listen when you’re feeling put upon by any kind of enemy:
https://youtu.be/WopyrETP-CU
Great post! Shared and tweeted!