7 Things I’ve Learned So Far, by Alan Orloff
Outside of personal experience, the best way to learn is to get advice from people who’ve been there and done that. Discover the seven things learned so far by author Alan Orloff.
This is a recurring column called “7 Things I’ve Learned So Far,”where writers (this installment written by Alan Orloff, author of DIAMONDS OF THE DEAD) at any stage of their career can talk about writing advice and instruction as well as how they possibly got their book agent -- by sharing seven things they’ve learned along their writing journey that they wish they knew at the beginning.
1. Things move slowly in the publishing world. Be prepared to wait. A lot. For your critique group to get through your manuscript. For your queries to be answered (if you're lucky). For your partials and fulls to be read. For editors to weigh your submissions. For your book to wend its way through the production process as it heads toward the bookstore shelf. Best advice: Have some other projects to work on while you wait!
2. Getting help really helps. Critique groups can help you with your writing. An agent can help polish your submission and will know where to send it. An editor can help massage your manuscript into its optimal form. Ignore these "helpers" at your own peril. Getting published really is a village effort (so make sure you have plenty of food on hand).
3. You need a thick skin. Rejections are the norm—don't let them "spin you out." Otherwise, you'll never get any writing done. Persistence and perseverance are key.
Order Alan Orloff's Diamonds for the Dead.
4. Your book doesn't "belong" to only you anymore. While you were writing your manuscript, it was your baby. You could feed it what you wanted, dress it how you wanted, play with it whenever you wanted. Now, you have to share and listen to other people's "baby-raising" advice. Once you sign a contract, your book gets slotted into a release date and tossed onto the production conveyor belt. Flap copy, cover design, titles, internal and external sales pitches, copyediting, publicity, sales. It all gets done on schedule, without emotion and (mostly) without you. Get used to it.
5. Online promotion takes a lot more time than you think. Website, blog, Google Reader, Facebook, Twitter, listservs, Yahoo groups, nings, and a kajillion other social sites lure you in and won't let go. These connections are valuable, but you need to exercise discipline or you'll look up and four hours will have elapsed with nothing to show for your "writing" time except a few Mafia War hits.
6. Other writers are extremely generous. I've found other writers (published, unpublished, bloggers, Twitterers, etc.) to be very helpful with their advice, comments, and time. The sense of community among writers is unbelievably amazing!
7. Take time to enjoy every bumpy, thrilling, uncertain, joyous, nail-biting, wonderful, anxious minute. No sense getting stressed about stuff you can't control (and that encompasses a lot!). Getting your first book published is a very exciting time—be sure to stop and smell the ARCs!
Alan Orloff's debut mystery, Diamonds for the Dead, was published in April 2010 by Midnight Ink. He also has a new mystery series coming in 2011. Visit his website here or see his blog here.
