Your First Novel Read online

  As your manuscript becomes more refined as the result of each of these exercises—because after each one, you'll go to work revising—you're going to get closer to thinking about submitting your work for publication. Before you do:

  8. Hire a proofreader to read your manuscript and correct typos and other errors. Does your town have a local newspaper? Does that newspaper employ a proofreader? Chances are that person takes freelance work. Don't ask a relative to do this work unless that relative has actually worked as a proofreader or is the best speller you have ever met.

  One don't:

  9. Don't hire a professional editor. I know many good editors who, having been downsized by big publishing houses, work as freelance editors or ghostwriters. I recommend them for works of nonfiction, but I've never signed on a novelist who has come to me after working with a professional editor. Why? Because you have to grow to learn what your novel needs, and learn to do the work of revising and editing yourself. Someone who has worked with a professional editor displays an uncertainty in his abilities. Agents and editors need to see someone who has a great deal of belief not only in his work but in his ability, and a great deal of commitment to the work. Once we see that, we know we can work with the person. If we see someone who has written a novel and then, despairing of its ever being published, hires an editor to get it into shape, we are looking at someone whose goal is simply publication, not creation. As Gertrude Stein said, "You will write if you will write without thinking of the result in terms of a result, but think of the writing in terms of discovery."

  Last but not least...

  10. After you've done some or all of the above, put your novel away for another six weeks or more. Work on something else. Write another short story or essay if that's what you did before, or go back to the other novel you started or, if you haven't started one, start one now. Then take the first manuscript out and read it through again. Don't read it with the expectation that it will now be in perfect shape to send out. Read it with the expectation that you might have to go through steps four through eight all over again, and read it with William Butler Yeats and Truman Capote looking over your shoulder: Yeats said, "Cast a cold eye," and Capote, "Good writing is rewriting."

  This quote from Ursula K. Le Guin will inspire you to keep going in the face of uncertainty and loneliness, common places—like the mirrored fun house—for a writer to find himself.

  Writers have to get used to launching something beautiful and watching it crash and bum. They also have to learn when to let go of control, when the work takes off on its own and flies, farther than they ever planned or imagined, to places they didn't know they knew. All makers must leave room for the acts of the spirit. But they have to work hard and carefully, and wait patiently, to deserve them.

  RECOMMENDED READING

  The Hand of the Poet, by Rodney Phillips. This marvelous illustrated book shows the manuscript pages of well-known poets, from John Donne to Julia Alvarez, with their handwritten revisions.

  The Calling, by Sterling Watson. Dennis Lehane calls this novel the best depiction of a writing workshop ever written.

  The Happiness of Getting It Down Right: Letters of Frank O 'Connor and William Maxwell, edited by Michael Steinman. This correspondence between the great Irish short story master and his editor at the New Yorker brings us into the minds of two artists and the process of writing, editing, revising and, well, getting it down right. Stanley Kauffmann's blurb on the back of the jacket says it perfectly: "Here is a marriage of true minds, between a superb author and a perfectly attuned editor (himself a fine writer). Anyone curious about the making of literature will be fascinated—and moved."

  Poets & Writers. P&Wis the dream publication for every aspiring writer. With regular features like "The Practical Writer" and "The Literary Life" as well as brilliant profiles of well-known and emerging writers, it's essential for inspiration, knowledge of the craft, and a sense of community in a lonely profession.

  RECOMMENDED WEB SITES

  ShawGuides to Writers Conferences & Workshops (http://writing.shaw/ guides.com). Hands down the best and most comprehensive listing of writers conferences throughout the world, not just the U.S. You can search by place, date, and genre. It's amazingly well organized and easy to use.

  Poets & Writers, Inc. (http://www.pw.org/). The Web site is every bit as good as the seminal magazine that launched it. In addition to access to the magazine's contents, it offers a message forum, links to resources for writers, an admirably brief and useful page called "Top Six Questions Writers Ask," and best of all, a directory of writers that you can access to form your own writing group.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN:

  the first steps on the path to publication

  I hope that you experience that day when, as Ursula K. Le Guin wrote, "the work takes off on its own and flies." But it won't do that until, as she also wrote, you've worked "hard and carefully, and wait[ed] patiently." As you can see from the previous chapters, you do have to alternate periods of hard, careful work with patient waiting—writing the book is one thing, but putting it away and waiting until it's ready to take you back is quite another. Another time you'll need to exercise patience is while waiting until you're ready to find the right agent or publisher for your work.

  You're not going to sit down and wait for anyone to find you once your book is done, of course. If you were that kind of person, you wouldn't be reading this book. But now you're ready to start meeting people—other writers, good readers, people who know other people who might put out a helping hand on your journey to publication. And you're going to start regarding some of the writers and readers you already know in a different way. Whereas to this point you've needed support and feedback for your writing, now you need support for your belief that you are not only ready to be published but that you will be published.

  MEETING OTHER WRITERS

  When you're starting out as a writer of fiction, it's essential to find other writers who really like what you're doing in your writing. Those writers are your audience, in many cases they'll be your friends, and they're the people you should stay in touch with. If you've workshopped your novel, attended a writers conference, or gotten an M.F.A. in creative writing, you've met other writers. And they've met you and know something of your work.

  WRITING GROUPS

  Let's start with your writing group—you do have one, don't you? If you do, you've already begun to spend time with other writers. You might now need to assess the kinds of writers in your group. Have any been, published at all? Have any had fiction published, whether short stories or novels? Have any landed an agent? If your answer to all these questions is no, you're going to need to widen your circle of writers.

  There are almost certainly better or more successful or more well-connected writers in your town or community. If you've been immersing yourself in the writing life, you've undoubtedly heard of them and may even have met them. Now is the time to get to know them better.

  How do you approach them? I don't need to tell you that you're not going to be pushy, arrogant, or rude. If you're quietly confident in your work, and believe that the writer you'd like to get to know better will truly respond to the kind of work you're doing, you'll find it easier to make the first contact. Be aware that if the writer you have in mind is quite successful and well known, he undoubtedly receives many requests for help of all kinds: Will you blurb this novel? Will, you speak at our library ? Will you attend our conference ? Will you write an article for my magazine? Will you give me some advice? So until you, too, have achieved some level of success and recognition, that very successful writer may not be able to give you the attention you need right now.

  Instead, look for another just-starting-out writer who may still have the time and inclination to form connections with other local writers. Tell him something of yourself in an e-mail or a note—something about you as a writer—how you've been in a writing group, you're sending out stories, you think your novel is ready—and invite h
im for coffee, a meal, or a drink. Ask if he would be available to meet for lunch on a particular day two or three weeks away, and put in your telephone number and e-mail address for reply.

  It's helpful if you can reference a mutual friend or contact. For instance, you can telephone if you keep the conversation to "[Name] suggested we meet because we're both novelists, so I'm calling to see if you would be free for [lunch/coffee/a drink] on [a date two or more weeks away]." Be definite with the invitation. Don't say, "Maybe we could have coffee sometime," because those kinds of suggestions rarely result in anything. And while we're in the Emily Post portion of our program, may I also remind you that when you do meet, you must pick up the check. Don't sit there with a vacant look in your eyes when it comes. If you're deep in conversation, put your hand on it as soon as it arrives and slide it to your side of the table, keep talking, take your wallet out, and put your credit card or cash down. If the other person puts up an argument, just say "next time" and change the subject.

  What you get from this meeting is up to you. If this writer, like you, feels ready to find a way to get his work published, or perhaps has already begun, I hope the two of you hit it off and travel some of the journey together. Maybe you'll join the other's writing group or he'll join yours. Perhaps you'll agree to get together once a month or so to read each other's writing. Maybe you'll become regular e-mail correspondents and share leads on editors and agents looking for fiction like yours. The point of this relationship is less writing support than networking, because by now you are both at the point where you need more of the latter than the former—even though you will never stop needing the former.

  WRITERS CONFERENCES

  Conferences are a terrific way to meet like-minded writers. A good conference is one that's organized into intensive workshop sessions or seminars by category of writing: popular fiction, literary nonfiction, memoir, literary fiction, poetry, etc. It will feature well-known writers who will conduct sessions during the day and give readings of their work in the evenings. You'll be given time to write, and to read portions of others' work, and there are generally a couple of evenings set aside for student readings. In addition, you will often be given the option of signing up for a one-on-one consultation about your work with a member of the writing faculty. Conferences are frequently held at colleges that are out of session, so the attendees can stay in the dorms. It's a Spartan existence that helps you concentrate exclusively on your writing. And it's the rare conference attendee who doesn't find another writer with whom to share work and ideas.

  ONLINE WORKSHOPS

  These are proliferating, and most people I've talked to who have participated in those offered by reputable entities like The New School (http://www.online/. newschool.edu), Gotham Writers' Workshop (http://www.writingclasses.com/), and Zoetrope Writing Workshops (http://zoetrope.writingclasses.com/) have had very positive experiences. You'll read weekly lectures and receive weekly assignments. In addition, there will be a separate forum where students can meet and talk. From one of these online workshops, you might form a virtual friendship with another writer with whom you can swap ideas and leads or share your writing.

  LOCAL HANGOUTS

  I've said it before and I'll say it again: There are writers everywhere you look. If your town or neighborhood is lucky enough to have a good independent bookstore, the owner or manager probably knows just about every writer around. Get to know the plugged-in bookstore staff and see if they can lead you to other writers who might be good contacts. Attend readings by visiting writers and see who comes out of the woodwork. If the writer who's reading is someone whose work you admire, or someone who writes in the same genre, you will certainly find other writers like you in the audience. See if you can meet one at the reception or signing after the reading.

  MAKING A NAME FOR YOURSELF

  With your novel done, and with the idea of getting published ahead of you, what are you going to offer editors and agents besides your unpublished novel? Have you written any short stories or essays? Could a chapter of your novel stand alone as a story, or could it be adapted to stand alone? Now is the time to make a concerted effort to publish your short pieces. You will get more attention from agents and editors if you have some sort of publication history. Not only will they pay more attention to your query letter if you can cite publication or readings at reputable venues, it is possible that you'll be discovered this way. Many agents and editors read literary magazines in the hope of discovering new talent. I represent several writers whose work I first read in journals or magazines, and there are some famous examples: The authors of both Under the Tuscan Sun (Frances Mayes) and Million Dollar Baby (F.X. Toole) were discovered by agents after publishing work in little magazines.

  LITERARY MAGAZINES

  If you have a full-time job and you've been writing and rewriting your novel in a happy haze of hobbyism, now is the time to take a second job whose paycheck might not come in for a while. Your new job is basically to be your own secretary. Here's what you'll be expected to do:

  • Ensure that all your stories or essays are in printable form: polished to perfection, free of errors and typos, and arranged in double-spaced type.

  • Spend time at a library or good bookstore developing a list of journals or magazines that publish the kind of work you've done. Take a look at annual directories like Writer's Market and Novel & Short Story Writer's Market. Make sure the names of editors and the addresses of the publications are up-to-date. You might have to call them or look in several sources to accomplish this.

  • Note as exactly as possible the submission guidelines for each and every journal. If one journal's guidelines state its editors only read in September and October, do not send them a story in May. If another's state they only publish epic poetry, do not send them an essay on the birth of your first child after reasoning that a seventy-two-hour labor could be considered "epic."

  • Write a brief cover letter that can be easily adapted for each submission. The letter should have no more than one line about the piece you're submitting; two or three lines about who you are, who you've studied with, whether you have any publication credits or have received any recognition for your work by winning awards or contests; and no more than a line or two about "looking forward to hearing from you." Try to determine what the editor wants to hear by reading the journal's guidelines. Many editors of journals and "little magazines" have told me they believe authors who wish to be published in their journals should read an issue or more, and if you desire publication in literary magazines, you should support their shoestring efforts by subscribing to several each year, either the same ones or new ones with each subscription cycle.

  • Assemble envelopes, stamps, labels, and stationery. Take your stories to the post office and determine what the postage will be when one is in an envelope with a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) and what it will be when it is in the SASE alone on its return journey. Write these rates down and don't put too little postage on the envelopes you send out or on the envelopes you enclose for the return of your material. Make sure, too, that the return envelopes are big enough to hold the material you want back; if you don't want it returned, make that clear in your cover letter. Journal editors have told me of the feats of origami they've performed in an attempt to return material in too-small SASEs.

  • Start submitting your material. It's permissible (unless one journal's guidelines forbid it) to send a piece to several editors at once, but you must say that's what you're doing in your cover letter.

  • When you get a story back, send it out to the next editor on your list immediately. No detours through the Slough of Despond allowed. However, if you're lucky enough to receive a letter with some remarks about the story's strengths and weaknesses or even some suggestions for revision, consider this information very carefully before submitting the piece elsewhere.

  Don't be discouraged by the number of rejections you receive. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote in his journal that he had 1
22 rejection slips pinned up on the wall of his apartment, yet he went on to publish many short stories and, of course, the brilliant novels for which he is still known.

  Do be encouraged by the slightest sign of life in the responses, even if it is a lightly penciled "Try us again" on the form letter. Many, many writers regard a rejection as just a rejection. But very few of the form rejection letters sent out by journals and magazines bear those little penciled notations, so you should take them to heart if you get them.

  OTHER FORMS OF PUBLICATION

  Why not try to publish something in your local newspaper? You could approach the editor with an idea for a column, or get your foot in the door by writing an op-ed piece. A poet I know called me when Allen Ginsberg died and asked if I knew anyone who would publish his own brief poetic ode to Ginsberg. While he had in mind Parade magazine or the New York Times, I suggested he think locally. Sure enough, his hometown newspaper in Santa Cruz ran the piece the next day.

  Do you read current fiction? Submit some reviews. Writing reviews of new books has several advantages: It keeps you abreast of what's being published, it forces you to examine the tools of craft employed by published writers and, by virtue of your byline, it might circulate your name in some small fashion among publishers, editors, agents, and other writers.