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I'm just a link in the chain. My link is all about metaphorical writing snails. The previous link is Anything That Pays by Dawn Allcot. Part of my chainly duties is to write a blog based around something in Dawn's blog. The something I have chosen is:
"Success requires discipline, persistence, tenacity, and a healthy dose of self-esteem to keep you going during those down times. You have to realize that your work has value and you're worth every dollar you're making."
Value tends to be discussed in terms of self-esteem. It's assumed writers aren't sending things off because they lack self-esteem. My trouble has always been a little different and it's a problem I share with my pet snails.
I've heard it said that people with low self-esteem have 'the self-esteem of a snail'. Someone who keeps snails wouldn't say that, because snails have great self-esteem. They do their snaily stuff (mostly eating) and they don't have a care in the world. Snails also tend to wonder if that bird flying toward them wants to be friends, just before the bird eats them. Snails are not good at predicting what other people will do. My snails don't know why I sit and watch them. They're funny little guys, but they'll never know it.
My issue is that I'm too much of a snail. I don't have a problem in knowing what I do has value to me. I have good self-esteem from knowing I've done my best. I don't mind other people seeing it and I don't worry that they'll hate me. The problem comes in predicting what will be liked and what won't be. It is difficult to judge the value other people will place in your writing. An example would be my surprise when strangers started reading my blog.
I think at times, experienced writers take prediction for granted. Dawn makes a living as a freelance writer, so she's making reasonable guesses about what to sell where and how to write for different audiences. A new writer doesn't have much to go on. A list of fiction magazines will tell you the genres, but it won't tell you what kind of story they like. There's a big difference between a surreal arty piece of fantasy and a sword and sorcery adventure. You aren't going to get hard sci fi published by a magazine that only prints bizarre stuff.
The main advice given is to read what has been published, but this doesn't tell you everything. Fantasy Magazine has a lot of dark stories, but they point out in their guidelines that they don't get as many light stories as they'd like. The only way to know is to send a story and wait for the result. 
My current way around this involves a little floral notebook I got for Christmas. I'm recording where my short stories go and what adventures they have. My stories are also a bit like snails, due to the time it takes for them to come back after I send them.
I'll be surprised if anything's accepted, but the great thing about being a snail is I won't be worrying when I'm rejected.
You shouldn't underestimate what snails can do either. We've had wild ones climb up to the windows on the second floor. Persistence and tenacity are things they have in abundance, much to the disappointment of fruit farmers.
How are other new writers handling the process of figuring out the markets? Do experienced writers have any adviceful tales about their journey through it all? Perhaps once my floral book is full, I could turn it into an epic tale in honour of Myrtle the Manuscript.
The next link in the chain is wfg thinks out loud. Want to meet the other chainy links? Here's the full list of blogs taking part, depicted lovingly as an ASCII necklace. I considered an ASCII slime trail, but it wouldn't have been that easy to draw.
o-- living my life all over again -O- Spontaneous Derivation -O- Jenn Hollowell: Working Writer -O- Peregrinas -O- Techtainment -O- Anything That Pays -O- Polenth's Quill -O- wfg thinks out loud -O- Twisted Fantasy -O- Spittin' (out words) Like a Llama -O- A Thoughtful Life -O- The Speakeasy -O- Virtual Wordsmith -O- The Writer's Round-About -O- My Copious Notes Blog -O- Tennessee Text Wrestling -O- Writings --G
Previous chains are here: awchain
17 ink splashes:
Polenth,
You hit the nail on the head with what I meant when I was talking about choosing the best beginning or angle for an article! How does the writer *know* which is the "right" angle or, in fiction, the right story to tell?
I think non-fiction is vastly different from fiction in the level of difficulty in determining what the market place wants.
I dabbled in fiction, and never quite got the hang of it. A few stories published, and one check for $17. LOL
What was worse is I never knew if my work was "not what the editor was looking for" or if it just sucked. LOL
It's hard to tell in fiction if "not right for us" is a polite way for an editor to say "don't quit your day job" or if they really mean it's quite publishable--just not in their magazine.
In non-fiction (at least, articles) it really *is* just a matter of reading lots and lots of back issues, adopting that publication's voice, and writing something similar to topics they've covered in the past, with a unique angle or some "newsworthy" facts. It's as "easy" (sarcasm) as that. I don't always get it right, at least, not in the query stage, but good editors help, too!
Which is to say, anyone can learn how to do it--it just requires persistence, tenacity, self-esteem, etc. ;)
Then again, a successful fiction writer may come on here and say writing a story for a specific fiction market is "easy." LOL
I love your notebook, by the way, and wish you lots and lots of success with it. It's very pretty and I am sure you will fill it with wonderful content!
I'm not sure I would ever have made a connection between snail personality traits and a person's. That's interesting. I wish I had more of your self esteem!
Thanks for giving me a new way to look at the writing world, today.
The Dragon Stone is a very nice website. It was interesting to see that this website gets visitors from different countries of the world.
Dawn, I hope in time I can figure out what is and isn't publishable in fiction. Or maybe I won't, but as long as something gets accepted I'll know I'm not doing it all wrong.
Beth, odd connections are what my brain does. I have a short story inspired by my kettle. You shouldn't underestimate little crawly things though. They have more personality than people think.
Razib Ahmed, I'm glad you liked the Dragon Stone. I've had visitors from places I didn't expect (generally due to those places having poor internet access). It was a nice surprise.
Nonfiction is easier for me to write because I've had so much practice. And I also write on only one topic...careers.
Fiction is a different animal for me and as much as I cry about the process on my blog, I know my book will find its way to the market place.
Oh, I love this post! On reading it, I am seeing traits in myself that are decidedly snail-like. :)
I've thought a lot about the issue of audience -- who will like my stories, who will want to publish them? In writing fiction, there's often a balance needed between writing for oneself ("I wrote the book I wanted to read") and writing to appeal to an audience -- if you veer too far in either direction, chances are you won't fare too well, but if you find the balance, your chances of success seem better.
I'm still figuring out what the balance is -- I don't want to "write for the market" and try to jump on what's supposedly "hot", nor do I want my writing to be so insular that it loses potential for audience appeal.
I guess the best thing is to write the best story you can the best way you know how, and keep in mind that you aren't just telling it to / for yourself.
It is definitely hard to peg down what is/isn't marketable in fiction. It's so subjective that what one loves, another hates. So, I am like you, I try to just know I've done my best work and then send it out into the world and hope to find one of those who will love it.
And I love your snail analogy; it reminds me a bit of my pet turtle that everyone assumes is slow. But take him out of his aquarium and he can outrun you!
I keep a notebook as well! Though instead of fiction, I keep track of my blogging articles in it---mostly non-fiction---as well as a little editorial schedule. Unlike you, I don't have any submissions to keep track of, but I do keep track of what seems to work in terms of blogging (# of views, # of comments/trackbacks, # search hits) and what doesn't.
(Ah, the silence of no comments is like unto the silence of editors.... but at least editors eventually say "not for us", whereas I am left wondering.)
My notebook: http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff13/ArachneJericho/Blog%20Images/badtz-maru-org-siliver.jpg
Good on yer for your self-esteem! I personally have a problem with it, though I think I'm getting better.
You touched on some great points.
I hate it when people equate hesitation or downright lack of interest in marketing as a self esteem issue. People who make that judgment have no idea how fractured and confusing the market can be and how time-consuming it is to do the necessary research to market oneself appropriately. There's also an assumption among non-writers that the only reason to do it is for publication and payola.
Not so! Some of us write for our sanity, and anything else is extra.
Yay for people liking the snails!
auria cortes: I've written more non-fiction, but I've never tried to sell it. So to me, the whole process of trying to sell anything is the scary new thing.
Thomma Lyn: I've found reading around the online markets is a good thing to do just before I start writing. It puts me in the right frame of mind for being understandable. I know this wouldn't work for everyone, as some might feel too influenced by the other stories. But I'm more of a "Wow, a story about rabbits eating carrots... hey, that gives me an idea for mutant toasters invading a Mars colony in the year 3021".
colbymarshall: There are some pretty speedy snails too, especially among the ones that hunt. Fortunately not fast enough to stop you outrunning them, so when giant mutant killer snails invade the Earth, you'll be able to run. You won't be able to hide, but that's another story.
Arachne Jericho: Yay for your notebook! My blog is more of a bit of fun on the side, so I don't see much of a need to track it. I do track my main website (The Dragon Stone). Mostly I keep a record of number of incoming links, which I keep in a text file. As well as a general eye on visitor stats.
bunnygirl: People are strange, but as long as you know why you're doing it, that's the main thing.
"My current way around this involves a little floral notebook I got for Christmas. I'm recording where my short stories go and what adventures they have. My stories are also a bit like snails, due to the time it takes for them to come back after I send them."
I'm in LOVE with this metaphor! I also love how you value yourself and how well-developed your self-esteem is. I wish I possessed those qualities! :)
Great post!
I think we many of us come to the point where we feel like making the jump from "just writing" to "looking to sell". It is a huge hurdle and the only way I found myself able to get over it is to leap blindly. Like those snails going for the second story, they don't think about it, they just do it.
There is no key to knowing what will reach which markets. It is all trial and error. Yes, reading helps, but in the end, no story (fiction or non-fiction) is alike and it is impossible to know if this one or that one will find the right home. All we can do is write, submit, get rejected, resubmit, get rejected, etc. until it finds a place or we shove it into an archive and move on with another story.
Also, just because a story worked with one market one time doesn't mean a similar one will work with them too. You have to take it story by story and be prepared to accept the snail's pace. They'll forget about what is "out there" and get back to munching more leaves. So should you, write it in your notebook then forget about it while you write a new story and submit it. When the rejections come in don't wallow, make notes, resubmit elsewhere, write more stories.
Eventually a few of them will get accepted and meanwhile you're honing your craft every time you put fingers to keys or pen to page.
Yes.. figuring out what will sell is the trick! LOL. I'm thinking that only experience will answer that question for us.
Kind of like the old adage of throwing everything against the wall and seeing what sticks. Try to write every article you come up with and see what ends up selling. I doubt it would take long to see the common theme of what sells and what doesn't.
This was a very interesting post!
Hey, I've had snails - and I mean huge ones that were 1 1/2 to 2" in diameter - make it into the house and over to my kitchen sink. How? No idea. I do know that there's no way it could have crawled through the very small holes in the drain, but beyond that? *shrugs*
Okay, now I'm thinking about writing a science fiction story on mutant killer snails. Thanks! :D
Jenn Hollowell: It wasn't something I naturally possessed. I just worked on the whole self-esteem thing while I was a teenager. It was that or become a hermit, because it was clear I wasn't going to miraculously start fitting in. You can't worry about every opinion and stay happy, and there's a lot of bad opinion when you're a tad eccentric.
Rebecca: I'm not known for sadness and dejection. I have other stuff in the works while I wait for replies to slime their way back to be.
katfrass: I couldn't help but think of throwing snails against the wall to see if they stick, and that'd be cruel. It's early days, but maybe by the end of the year I'll have some idea what sells.
Laurie: My pet snails are large ones. Snails are very strong for their size. They can push open grills, windows and doors. That's why I made the comment about being able to run from the killer snails but not hide. A great sense of smell and strength makes them scary. And let me know if you write that story!
Maybe you could think of your stories as boomerangs? :)
I tend to think of boomerangs as fast, which submission replies tend not to be. Plus, I think of them as knocking me out when they come back.
Then again, acceptance responses might possibly knock me out, so perhaps successful submissions are boomerangs.
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