September 27, 2009
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Cutting…
Writing calls for all kinds of discipline and trying to sell/market something is part of the discipline… which means sometimes you have to do things that hurt- like cut 75+ pages from a work so that it fits within the contest guidelines. Of course, I could chose NOT to cut some of my favorite parts, but then I know that I shouldn’t submit it to the contest either. I could self-publish it, but this is a major YA publishing company and the prize is a contract for the book… so slash goes the pen… or actually… delete goes the button. I have 25 more pages to go. I could reduce the font size to 10 but that doesn’t save me much spacewise and makes it hard to read and I don’t want that. Reject the book on it’s own merit, not on how hard it is to read, judges… so I start looking to tighten up my phrasing, less description in parts, and take out a minor story line. I just have to sell one… and then I can write longer books! YA books are no longer supposed to be only 200 pages (thank you Harry Potter and Twilight!) but if the publisher is looking for one that runs that long, then I need to give them a book that fits their criteria- right? A xanga friend is editing it before I submit it so another pair of eyes will help with the cutting! I really hate the marketing piece of writing for publishing. How about I do what I know best- which is to write… and someone else does what they know best- which is to market. Asking writers to market their stuff seems awkward- at least when movie stars pitch their movies on talk shows they are still performing- which is in their talent niche! But writing tends to be a solitary endeavor and marketing is a people thing…
BRB… still have more to cut… where’s my Terry Tye Lee tracks to make the pain more bearable??
Comments (20)
Breathe deep. Been there, done that. Save the complete works and know that less is more for the average attention span.
You can do this.
Really.
@Jaynebug -
I completely agree.
Mostly, it’s because markets have to appeal to the crowd.
Writing itself is an art, but you don’t have book museums… if you think about it, it’s really easy to stare at a painting… you know what it’s about, for the most part, and if you don’t, you just don’t have to talk about it. So, it’s pretty simple to sound knowledgeable when it comes to paintings and sculptures… you know what you like… an ex of mine would talk relentlessly about Chest of Drawers (I can’t spell his name, so don’t laugh when I get it wrong) by Dali. But she couldn’t really explain it to me…
It was simple really, it was like looking at a pun. Something Piers Anthony might have come up with… but… the fact that she knew the painting when she saw it… I mean, she liked it.
You don’t have to have an incredibly long attention span for paintings…
But in order for you to talk about something you’ve read… you actually have to read it. And how many people out there are true connoisseurs of books?
So the market is gonna sell what appeals most to a crowd, and the crowd won’t read long books by people they’ve never heard of.
More well known authors get away with it, though. Even the poorly written ones.
Of course, you’re right about actors selling their movies… it also wouldn’t be hard for a celebrity to write a book and sell it. But if Tom Cruise can get a job as an actor… it shouldn’t be hard for me to sell a book… ***sigh***
**edit** ^^^like this comment, for instance… who would want to read all of that, knowing it was written by me.
Agreed
Having a writer go out and pound the pavement to sell a book is like giving a beat cop a desk job. It’s why I don’t go into writing./ You’re almost there! Good luck.
re: the long comment, I read it! I just stopped by to see if Rufus was counting words…
@travelerblue - rufus’ only contribution is to chew the corners and to sit where i need to put the mss… right now he’s outside, waiting for the neighbor cat to show up so they can have the alpha cat fight again since they can’t decide who’s boss yet!
@Jaynebug - did that first! i’ve learned the hard way when i cut a third of a book and threw it away! you can’t rewrite that much! O.o
@k8tthelate - thanks!
@GuybrushDaPirate - my writing doesn’t tend to be hard reads- for that very point… plus i know my audience doesn’t usually read- so while they might be long, they are easy reads! i try to keep it at 4th- 5th grade readability… but long- like a real book and one that doesn’t dummy down the content. i want kids who don’t read to pick up my books and never put them down- to see a bit of themselves in my characters and find a lot of hope… if a book could do that, i’d be happy!
@PeaceSearcher - doesn’t make the cutting any easier tho, does it?
@POETIC_ISIS - thanks! this last 24 pages is harder bc it’s the pretty phrasing at points… sigh!
Dear Jeri,
Thank you for introducing me to yet another Asian personality below in Terry Tye Lee.
If memory serves, Van Ness never got to perform in L.A. last year. He was scheduled for either the Staples Center or L.A. Live, and the performance was cancelled. I can’t remember the particulars now.
You know, even a great such as Nat King Cole gained fame in foreign countries (and even went so far as to rerecord his hits phonetically in other languages, which I always found rather neat) but he was also a giant in the U.S. (and also the first black performer with his own T.V. show, which I remember watching as a child.)
Re: This entry. I never participate in contests. I’m pretty much satisfied that my writing will probably never be read by anyone other than those who stumble upon my website. I remember when I had interest in poetry contests, but I couldn’t and wouldn’t “conform” my writing to a format. Even prose. Of course it might be beneficial for me to edit more often. (Nyuk Nyuk.) Most of my “comments” on Xanga are longer than the average blogpost.
Michael F. Nyiri, poet, philosopher, fool
@baldmike2004 - next time Van Ness performs in LA let me know in time to sell a kidney and buy tickets- concert and airfare!
/jk/… i don’t think i’ll ever see him perform live in this lifetime. performers such as Nat King Cole broke thru the color barrier at a time when ppl thought it would be impossible, but i don’t think an Asian American has done that yet- could be wrong- just can’t think of one. I know a lot are trying, but a lot more are going to Asia where they become super-stars. contests are kind of the last resort b4 self-publishing. i need to say that i’ve tried everything first- for my own self! and i love your long comments!
Sometimes, cutting out pieces of your writing must feel like you’re amputating a finger, or giving away your firstborn.
While all of your experiences are special and should be shared, you’ll have to decide which ones will jump out most at readers to whet their appetite for more. This is just the beginning. My feeling is that you’ll have other books as well. Mix some of your favorite parts with some of the others — dramatic with the boring, sad and happy outcomes, parent focus, student focus, etc., and you’ll be fine.
As a former teacher and alternative education advocate, I always shared my classroom experiences with my children at home. They never tired of hearing about other kids and learning from their experiences.
Thanks for sharing these with us!!
Sounds like a lot of whacking out of a book if it’s a 200 limit and you need to lose 75 pages… yikes I’m sure you’ll get it to the place you want… without to much pain
driving a race car is on you bucket list? wow, you just get cooler and cooler the more i know you!
To write, you need to do a lot of research and you can get guidelines or tips from other published writers about. Check them out and join writers’ club or something.
Anyway, good luck in the writing.
@reckless_eagle - i’ve done a lot of that networking in the past and am currently reading my way thru all the last years winners… the research part is the hardest part for me bc it doesn’t directly affect my writing— just the selling and i’ve done a horrible job of that in the past! feel a bit like dorie singing… just keep writing… just keep writing!!!
thanks for the concern. i appreciate it!
Lots of great reflection here. (Me, I hate cutting out any of my precious brilliant words, and I KNOW you know the feeling.)