So, after a hiatus of several years, I put out another book
this year, and was reminded of the following… so for the newbie, here are my
lessons, I hope they save you some pain.
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| My universally acclaimed book - oh, wait... |
You won’t get the support you think you’ll get: getting published
– or, indeed, self-publishing – is a huge deal for any writer. It’s likely one
of the most exciting things that ever happens to you, and you expect all of your
friends to be swept away on the same tide of excitement as you, and you console
yourself that, hey, whatever the reaction of the wider world, you have rock
solid support from your nearest and dearest, right? Um, not quite. While
hopefully at least some of your friends will be excited/pleased/supportive, the
most common reaction is an initial ‘well done, you’ followed by a crashing wave
of apathy. This can be disappointing, dismaying and downright hurtful, but
really, it’s natural: just like every new parent thinks their baby is the
centre of the universe, to almost everyone else it’s a piece of good news to
slot into an already hectic life (I can already hear certain writers thinking ‘bah!
A baby only takes 9 months, my book took years!’). People have their own stuff
going on, and there’s a whole list of reasons hy they may not be (or be able to be) the cheerleaders you hoped
they’d be: they’re busy, they’re stressed, they're skint, it’s not professionally appropriate
for them to publically endorse you, or, and this is a tough one, they actually
think your efforts are shockingly poor and you are not to be encouraged to continue
in any way, and they won’t be hypocritical. The thing is, you’ll never
know which of these reasons applies, because the only acceptable response to
this apathy is to accept it and move on (OK, you get to rant to a supportive
friend – but only in person, never online, and only once or twice. That’s your
lot).
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| Everybody I know bought this book! No, wait... |
Not everyone will like you: to re-use the baby analogy, you
might think your precious is the cutest thing in the world, everyone else might
think it looks like Gollum. Nobody gets published to universal acclaim and
there are a whole load of people out there who will mightily detest whatever
you have done, no matter how good you believe it to be. Agents, publishers, reviewers, readers – lots of them will think
you suck. Again, the best thing to do is to rant to a sympathetic friend (never
online!) and move on: though it is worth trying to be at least partially
objective, as if a theme is repeated throughout the criticism it might be
something you need to work on and improve (if you are left feeling the whole
world doesn’t understand you, then you have to face the fact that you might be
incomprehensible). But bear in mind that if you created a perfect, flawless and
beautiful piece of work, someone, somewhere on the internet will still hate it.
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| EVERYONE likes Christmas, right? No, wait... |
Ask – and you will be dazzled by the support you do receive:
see, you thought I was going to be all negative, didn’t you? But honestly, put
yourself and your work out there and ask for feedback and support and you will
be amazed by what comes back to you. People will astonish you with their
generosity and enthusiasm and acts of kindness and assistance, even if often these are not the people from where you
would expect such support. Be grateful, and open, and you’ll be pleasantly
surprised.
And remember – enjoy the journey…
Now for the shameless plug: if you fancy being one of those
people who are surprisingly supportive, please consider downloading my new
short story, A Vampire Christmas. Yup, it’s as trashy as it sounds. I'm expecting everyone I know to buy it. No, wait...
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