April 17, 2008
DOA: The Book Of Your Heart
You’ve shopped it around since time began. It’s been here, it’s been there … hell, it’s been everywhere–and I mean EVERYWHERE. Still, no takers. Even though you consider it the greatest thing you’ve ever written, and you’ve poured your heart, your soul and maybe even a few drops of blood into it, your baby has officially become A DEAD BOOK.
As writers, we’ve all been to this horrible place. Something you’ve loved and nurtured will never see the light of day. How do you pick yourself up? Where do you draw your comfort from? How do you re-energize your muse and start believing again? What steps do you take to begin anew?
I was fortunate in that my first novel was bought by Kunati Books and releases in September. But an observation I have made is that many people who have poured their hearts into a novel (and don’t we all do that?- pour our hearts into our writing?)– they self-publish their books. I recently attended an Author’s Forum in which a representative from Author’s House (I think that was it) was with an elderly couple. The woman had written her autobiography; I don’t know if she ever pursued the traditonal publication route; however, I could not help but feel, (as I could not help but eavesdrop on the Author’s House rep as he gave his sales pitch to a woman who had compiled a book of her poetry, and was inquiring of him about the publishing process), that he preyed on the hopes and dreams of people who are desperate to be published and will do absolutely anything to make it happen. One example is, he acted as if paying for reviews was the norm- and told the questioner that 250.00 was “very reasonable” to pay for a review. I found myself, as I sat behind them and the questioning woman kept glancing at me, that I was moving my eyes from side to side; subtly shaking my head “NO”– and hoping that she would meander back to my table so that I could try to warn her against what she was thinking about getting in to. Unfortunately, she took her notes and left. I know some people do find success with self-publishing, and I’m not making a blanket generalization– it’s just that there are vultures out there just waiting to prey on people who are hurting and not willing to accept that their book is “dead.” And maybe it shouldn’t be “dead.” There’s just no easy answers to this one.
Beth Fehlbaum, author
Courage in Patience, a story of hope for those who have endured abuse
http://courageinpatience.blogspot.com
Chapter One is online!
Beth that’s so sad!!!!! But at the same time, there’s the internet and it’s a valuable resource and it’s not that hard to do your homework. If a self-published book (ie poetry for your friends or a family history) is all you want then fine. but a career…a real career….well nothing is free. NOTHING. It takes blood, sweat, tears, writing and more writing and even more writing.
Tanya I dont know what to tell you (and I hope you’re not referring to the BB book). I do beleive that you can file a book away and move on and then maybe someday pull that book out as a second book on a contract or a way to make a move later on in your career. It’s not dead, it’s just….resting.
That’s actually what I”m HOPING to do with the Bluebonnet books. I’ve got a woman’s fiction I want to work on after I finish up Screwed and IF I can sell it, I’d like to pitch the first BB book as a second book in the contract. It’s been a long time coming but I’m finally getting (I HOPE) where I want to be. It’ll happen for you too.
PS Beth…. I owe you an email (we would love to have you guest blog) and I will try to email you this afternoon/evening and set up a date so you can guest blog! I know we have some dates left in the fall (I’m sorry it’s deadline hell (and I do mean HELL) right now).
I supposed worst caser scenerio you set it aside for some time (months years, whatever it takes) then look over it again w/ fresh eyes and maybe you can see it differently and tweak the hell outta it. I am almost to that point with one of my fave book–it’s has been rejected and againa and again, but not before each house has asked for changes then still don’t like it. I have one more shot for it then it will go under the bed for a bit… and I can foucs on new works and FINISH something!
boy spelling’s not my thing today . .. sheesh!
I’ve found that the book of my heart is either the one I’m working on, or the one I plan to write (yeah, call me fickle). But I like how Amie phrased it. It’s not dead, it’s just resting. (((take heart)))
It was hard for me to accept that the book of my heart wasn’t going to find a NY publisher, but there are usually other avenues, whether it be epubbing or self-pubbing. Still, whether one chooses those routes or not, once it’s written. it’s time to move on to writing something else. Writers write.
Rose *is* the first book of my heart (I’ve come to believe each book worth writing will be a “book of my heart” because I want to love the stories I write that much!). After over a year of RWA contests, close calls (a full request from one of the finalist judges), I did believe it was dead. I filed it and moved on but oh, how I mourned for that book. I dreamed about it. When I felt particularly down about writing in general, I pulled it out and skimmed my favorite parts. Then back it went.
I kept writing other things, but I was dissastified. I’d received tons of advice, both good and conflicted and even misguided, and I finally got sick of it. I couldn’t finish anything. I felt crippled. Everything I wrote was crap.
But finally, I got pissed. It was my dream. If I didn’t fight for MY DREAM, then who would?
First, I finished Beautiful Death, the new book I’d started. Then I went back and tore Rose apart completely. I killed the heroine and re-created her from the ground up. I axed scenes and characters, made some new ones, basically using everything I’d learned in the last 2+ years. When I finally got it right, I knew. I felt it. Once I knew it in my heart that this was the best book I could write right now, I started subbing it again.
Truly, I’ve come to believe there is no such thing as a DEAD BOOK. There are books that are dead for NOW. Maybe you’re ahead of your time. Maybe you’re not quite writing at the level you want and you’re dissastisfied. Maybe you need to write other things for awhile, get a few different stories under your belt. But if you love the story, never give up on it. NEVER. Or I may have to send Gregar after you with his ivory rahke.
