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On Becoming A Writer

  • Feb. 20th, 2009 at 2:29 PM
Book Four
I'm seeing lots of posts, and essays, and articles about the boundary between being an amateur and being a professional writer. The not-an-urban-legend complaint among many unpublished wannabes is that they are being held back by the Cabal Of Pro Writers/Agents/Editors what have you. The truth is a lot simpler: if you're good at it, and keep working at it, eventually, your ability will catch the attention of the right person.

There's also a running joke about a secret word or phrase that, when invoked, can confer an aura of professionalism on a writer.

The thing about that is that it isn't a joke - it's real. The catch is that it can't be invoked by the aspiring writer. It has to be conferred.

"You're not a writer until a writer tells you you're a writer," Harlan Ellison once told me over dinner with a mutual friend. I nodded in agreement. "Okay, hotshot," said Harlan, "who told you that you were a writer?"

"Paul Chadwick," I replied. (Creator of Harlan's favorite comic, CONCRETE).

"There you go," said Harlan, nodding.

There are some published authors who aren't very good, and might never be. And there are unpublished writers who are professional calibre, and will remain so, hopefully to their desired goal of publication. We work in isolation, but it is not an isolated profession. When one of our own comes to the table, we recognize them, and pull out a chair. That's how I got started - and that's how many of you will get started, even if it takes a long while to get the deals you want.

If you have the ability, then you just need to add a good work ethic - and eventually, someone will notice.

Comments

( 34 comments — Leave a comment )
[info]theferrett wrote:
Feb. 20th, 2009 09:54 pm (UTC)
The not-an-urban-legend complaint among many unpublished wannabes is that they are being held back by the Cabal Of Pro Writers/Agents/Editors what have you. The truth is a lot simpler: if you're good at it, and keep working at it, eventually, your ability will catch the attention of the right person.

The one thing that Clarion changed for me is that going in, I was convinced that the editors were staunch gatekeepers, more willing to publish a known quantity than to take a chance on someone new and awesome like me.

Coming out, I was convinced that the editors were hungry for new talent, and that I just needed to actually be good enough to be that talent.

It's been a surprisingly healthy adjustment. Even if I'm not quite there yet.
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[info]coppervale wrote:
Feb. 20th, 2009 09:55 pm (UTC)
You're on the right track, man. Just keep going!
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[info]roninspoon wrote:
Feb. 20th, 2009 10:03 pm (UTC)
After years of struggling with it, I finally figured out what conditions worked for me to get any productive writing done. It's made a huge difference, and had a noticeable impact. I also think starting the webcomic, regardless of how little attention it gets, helped me push past my confidence barrier.
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[info]coppervale wrote:
Feb. 20th, 2009 10:28 pm (UTC)
Starting anything helps, man. Keep it up.
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[info]gregvaneekhout wrote:
Feb. 20th, 2009 10:18 pm (UTC)
Personally I think if you write, you're a writer. If you write diligently, you're a diligent writer. If you write well, you're a good writer. But I think the designation "writer" can only come from the act of doing it, and while external validation from other writers is wonderful, they can neither grant you the designation of "writer," nor take it away.
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[info]coppervale wrote:
Feb. 20th, 2009 10:24 pm (UTC)
You're right, Greg (and I like your distinctions). I wasn't really thinking of it as an external validation though, as much as a sort of screening by those who know of what they speak. I mean, somebody has to determine if you are a 'good' writer - and a lot of lousy writers do it themselves.
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[info]sarah_prineas wrote:
Feb. 20th, 2009 10:31 pm (UTC)
I totally agree with Greg on this one. Writers write. I don't think any "screening" is necessary.
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[info]coppervale wrote:
Feb. 20th, 2009 10:34 pm (UTC)
My post was in part a response to some of the queries I'm seeing agent friends getting, and some mail from aspiring writers I've been getting. They may write, and may be writers, but they aren't professionals yet - and I won't be vouching for them (as writers) with my editor, or agent, or Harlan, or Greg, or yourself. Not yet.
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[info]sarah_prineas wrote:
Feb. 20th, 2009 10:37 pm (UTC)
So you're a gatekeeper?
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[info]coppervale wrote:
Feb. 20th, 2009 10:45 pm (UTC)
Eeesh, I sure hope not.

I mean, I've had a lot of people approach me about passing along their novels and screenplays and whatnot to my agent, or manager, or editor. And in MOST of the cases, they see the act of their having written as sufficient reason for me to do it.

I'm not a gatekeeper - but if I didn't make a distinction between 'writers' and 'good writers', and passed along EVERYTHING I was asked to, it would tick off my editor/agent/manager, and diminish their view of my own judgment.

On the other hand, I had a friend who had written a handful of stories, and started a novel, who had approached an agent. He asked me about her at a book festival, and I told him with no hesitation, that he should represent her, and that she was already a formidable talent. And he did, and he ended up getting her a great deal with a stellar publisher.
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[info]coppervale wrote:
Feb. 20th, 2009 10:56 pm (UTC)
Let me add a distinction that (maybe) will clarify my point of view:

The way I intended the Harlan anecdote is regarding professional vs. amateur. If you write, you're a writer; if you write diligently, you're a diligent writer; if you write well, you're a good writer. I agree on all of those. But I'd say if a professional writer says you're a professional writer, then you are - published or not. That's the distinction I was making - not 'writer' alone.
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[info]gregvaneekhout wrote:
Feb. 20th, 2009 11:05 pm (UTC)
I appreciate the distinction you're making. I think each of us has to decide for him or herself what will make us feel like a professional, and I can see how acceptance from other professionals can factor into that decision.
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[info]coppervale wrote:
Feb. 20th, 2009 11:23 pm (UTC)
I apologize to you (and Sarah) I'm I'm not explaining very well. I'm one of the first out of the gate to tell new writers (as I do at schools) that it's largely up to them to decide to BE professional - even in the face of opposition or obstacles. I don't think external validation is necessary (although some days, it certainly helps). But there's been a slew of posts (lots via Colleen Lindsay) about writers who don't even follow query or submission guidelines, and hope to be treated as pros even when they weren't paying enough attention to act like pros.

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[info]gregvaneekhout wrote:
Feb. 20th, 2009 11:37 pm (UTC)
Aw, hey, you certainly don't owe me an apology.

I'd make a distinction between deciding whether or not someone is going to get my respect, based on their professionalism, and deciding whether or not they're a writer. Is that a distinction you'd make?

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[info]gregvaneekhout wrote:
Feb. 20th, 2009 11:44 pm (UTC)
I should say that I heard Harlan and others make the "not a writer until another writer says so" claim when I was just starting to write stories, and it irked me then. So, the Harlan anecdote pushed my buttons. Apologies if I was intemperate here.
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[info]coppervale wrote:
Feb. 21st, 2009 12:14 am (UTC)
LOL... well, you convinced me that 'writer' is a designation made by oneself; but yes.

I have a good friend who is a very professional lousy writer. I respect him. I support him as much as I can. But there are limitations he's never going to get past - as a writer, not as a professional. Does that make sense?
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[info]gregvaneekhout wrote:
Feb. 21st, 2009 12:22 am (UTC)
Yeah, that does make sense. I know people who work hard, follow submission guidelines, treat others with respect and courtesy, keep their nails clean, and I respect them and I respect their work ethic, but I think their writing stinks. I always hope I'm wrong about their ability. I mean, I really want to be wrong.
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[info]corvidophile wrote:
Feb. 20th, 2009 11:16 pm (UTC)
not that i'm a writer or anything hehe... but i so agree with the comment: "There are some published authors who aren't very good, and might never be."

just because someone is published, doesn't mean they should be. there are a few authors i've come across that it boggles my mind how they got as far as they did.

and on the flip side - a few newcomers out there who need to write faster so i can read more, sooner! ;D
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[info]calimac wrote:
Feb. 20th, 2009 11:40 pm (UTC)
I'm not a "writer" in the particular sense you're using here, and have no calling to be one. What I am is a scholar (which of course also involves writing, but of a different kind), and I went through the same process of being validated by those whose work I respected.
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[info]bluestockingbb wrote:
Feb. 21st, 2009 01:20 am (UTC)
That's very interesting. I'd never heard of that. No I'm not a writer. I'm a book blogger. I guess you can say that I've been validated by other book bloggers and authors for my reviews. Speaking of which, I've reviewed two of your books on my blog. I need to get cracking on the third. I'm happy to hear about the fourth. I can't wait to post it on my blog! I think the third book was my favorite.

Here, There Be Dragons

The Search for the Red Dragon
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[info]thunderchikin wrote:
Feb. 21st, 2009 01:33 am (UTC)
Eventually can be a very long time. Sometimes, it can be never.
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[info]coppervale wrote:
Feb. 21st, 2009 02:21 am (UTC)
I went to go sell a screenplay in Hollywood, and after two months of meetings and no deals, some of my friends declared that it would 'never' happen. I disagreed, and kept at it after they stopped pursuing it at all.

Two years later I sold my screenplay. Through that whole period, I had been mocked for my ever-increasing delusion that I'd make the sale.

From one side, two months equaled forever to them.

From this side, it was no time at all.

The difference was I was willing to work my way through 'forever' to get to 'no time at all'.
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[info]byronical wrote:
Feb. 21st, 2009 01:53 am (UTC)
I find this all very encouraging! It gives me a good goal to shoot for, sure the goal is as high as the stars but you might as well aim high.

I'm willing to work as hard as I can to get that affirmation, as long as it takes to get it I'll get it.
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[info]klwilliams wrote:
Feb. 21st, 2009 02:10 am (UTC)
I was visiting my mother and stepfather in Rwanda, and one evening at a dinner party an English man referred to his Pakistani/Kenyan partner as a girl. I pointed out that she was actually a woman, not a girl, and this lead to a spirited discussion of when does a girl become a woman and a boy become a man. My favorite response was from one of the Hutu men, who said that a boy becomes a man when the other men let him "smoke the pipe and pass the gourd*." In other words, when the other men let him join them around the circle as they hang out being men together.

*The homemade alcoholic banana "beer" is passed around in gourds.
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[info]coppervale wrote:
Feb. 21st, 2009 02:13 am (UTC)
That's a much better metaphor than my table and chairs!
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[info]klwilliams wrote:
Feb. 21st, 2009 02:18 am (UTC)
Thanks. I still feel like an imposter, though I've had chairs pulled out for me.
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[info]mordraeth wrote:
Feb. 21st, 2009 03:57 am (UTC)
thanks for posting this.
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[info]dragonladych wrote:
Feb. 21st, 2009 09:31 am (UTC)
You know this applies to a lot of thing, to illustration for instance. And I know exactly what you mean. I like the Hutu view posted above also.

Of course you are an illustrator the minute you start to draw stories, of course you can be good at it or not, published or not. Some published illustrators are really bad, it's just that they managed to catch that attention you talk about.

In my mind I considered myself a storyteller all my life, an illustrator ever since I published my first book, but there is a feeling of achievement when other illustrators consider you as one of them, kind of like a honorary diploma?

Anyway I'm not good with words, but I know what you mean.
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[info]christymarx wrote:
Feb. 22nd, 2009 02:23 am (UTC)
What that other friend Dan Simmons? He did a signing here on Thurs. and I was able to chat with him for a few minutes. He also mentioned that Harlan anecdote.

Although I've been a pro writer for 30 years now, I don't think I ever had that moment where some other pro told me I was a writer. For me, that moment was seeing my first work in print and my first credit on the TV screen.
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[info]scribblerworks wrote:
Feb. 22nd, 2009 05:55 pm (UTC)
"First work in print and first credit on the TV screen" -- I think that would qualify as "some other pro" telling you that you were a writer!

:D

They just didn't say it to your face. Heh.
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[info]christymarx wrote:
Feb. 22nd, 2009 08:40 pm (UTC)
Good point. ;)
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[info]mordraeth wrote:
Feb. 22nd, 2009 02:18 pm (UTC)
I didn't have time to elaborate the other day.

This is a well timed reminder for me. The story I'm working on is floundering and I'm thinking who would possibly want to read this. I guess that's not much more elaboration, but thanks for the post. Back to writing.
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[info]yuki_onna wrote:
Feb. 22nd, 2009 05:41 pm (UTC)
I was living alone in Japan without a friend in the world when my first novel came out. I don't think anyone ever told me I was a writer. But then, because of that timing and geography, it took me a lot longer to know or meet any other writers than most.

But I'm living proof that even the weirdest stuff can get into the big publishers if you're persistent. Whether you can stay there? Is a whole other issue.
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[info]ebess wrote:
Mar. 3rd, 2009 07:08 pm (UTC)
Catching up on my blogs, darling. Hi.

This October, a certain writer and editor whom we both know looked me square in the face and said, "Your apprenticeship is over. Decide."

Changed everything.
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( 34 comments — Leave a comment )