The cold hard truth is that passion alone will not sell a
book to a publisher or agent. Nor will simply having what you believe is a great
story. Even if you DO have a great story. You need to understand all the
various mechanics and elements of writing.
No, it’s not exciting stuff. And no, don’t expect your editor to fix all
your errors for you. That’s assuming you’re fortunate enough to even get your
work in front of an editor.
This blog, as “romantic” as the graphics may look, is all
about what I fear many think of as the unromantic task of helping writers to
improve their craft skills. In reality, though, learning should be and can be
fun and exciting, and that’s my goal.
I sometimes see the sample chapters and queries that
writers send in to the publisher I work for. Some are frankly so unprofessional
that it’s easy to reject them. The submissions that are hard for us are those
that clearly demonstrate that the author is intelligent and has put a great
deal of effort, time and thought into their manuscript, but lacks skills. By
skills I mean punctuation, grammar, sentence structure, and elements such as
point of view, characterization, conflict, use of description, and voice. Rejection is hard for authors, but, believe
it or not, it’s hard for editors as well. But the hard fact is that somewhere
along the line the author neglected to take the time to hone their skills. In
many cases, writers are missing basic skills.
If you’re serious about getting your work published, take
the time to learn your craft. Do research. Take a class or workshop. Find a
critique partner, and I don’t mean your sister, your neighbor, or a newbie writer.
Sign up to receive my newsletter if you’d like to hear
more about my workshops – what the topics are, when they are, and how to
register. I’ve done a lot of workshops over the years, and I’ve received lots
of positive feedback, so I know the process works.
~~Jaye Roycraft
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