The Single Greatest Reason for Failure
- A letter to writers...
By Anthony Lanza,
Editor & Program Director of The Writers' Retreat
Editor's
note: Here's advice from a seasoned writer, editor and teacher. I personally
recommend The Writer's Retreat. It's worth it. Take note.
Dear Fellow Writers,
How does a dream differ from a goal? One wag puts it this way: A goal
is a dream with a deadline. Pretty simple. And for us writers, world
masters of procrastination, it’s an important consideration. So
set a date, one that’s reasonably achievable, and shoot for it.
Even if you don’t meet it, setting a concrete time for completion
will spur you on.
Conventional wisdom tells us the greatest reason for failure is rejection.
But, like most conventional wisdom, it’s not true.
Writers expend vast amounts of energy researching for the right agent
or the most likely publisher or the hottest genre. Writers worry about
getting read and they worry about rejection. Writers even worry about
their book’s placement in the bookstore, for crissake .
What writers mostly don’t do is write. And they always –
and I mean always – ask two questions: 1) How do I get an agent
and 2) how do I get published / produced? In short, writers tend to
put the cart before – way before – the horse. This preoccupation
with marketing and sales erodes the process of writing. One might even
argue it’s the death of writing (but that can wait for another
time).
A truism: Nobody gets an agent or gets published or gets produced –
or even gets a phone call returned - until they have a completed work
ready for submission.
A “completed work ready for submission” does not mean an
outline, synopsis, rough draft, first draft or even an ‘okay’
draft. It means a draft free of all obvious reasons for rejection, a
draft that is refined, that actually reads like a book (or screenplay).
Another truism: Only a minute percentage of writers, or those calling
themselves writers, ever reach this point.
I’m occasionally asked to name my greatest source frustration
– is it talentless writers, poorly realized stories, ill-conceived
plots? But it is none of those things. Having read hundreds of manuscripts,
I remain continuously enraptured by the pure raw talent, the vivid imaginings,
of so many writers. All the great stories and characters that flit through
my mind, haunt me at the strangest times. Stories I read years ago that
still live in my brain.
My greatest frustration? That these terrific writers will never get
their due, that these wonderful stories are forever lost to the world.
But are they lost because the writer couldn’t find an agent? Couldn’t
find a publisher or producer? Because they were rejected by umpteen
publishers and finally gave up?
No.
They are lost because the writer never finished the work. So make your
dream your goal and finish your work. At the risk of sounding like a
broken record, every good book will find a publisher. But you gotta
finish it. And you can take that to the bank.
Signed,
Anthony Lanza,
Editor & Program Director, The Writers' Retreat
(819) 876-2065
info@writersretreat.com
www.writersretreat.com
Upcoming
2005 workshops will focus on: first novels, dramatic structure, and
screenwriting. Take a look at our 2005 workshop series at: http://www.writersretreat.com/workshops.htm
“Self-Editing
for Publication” workshop set for February 19-23, an intensive
5-day session to maximize your manuscript's potential and to eliminate
the flaws commonly leading to rejection. For a full description, go
to: http://www.writersretreat.com/workshop/SelfEditing.htm
Tuition is $495 payable at time of reservation; lodging at the retreat
for 6 nights in a private studio, breakfast included: $450 payable on
site. Early arrival and extended stay available.
ISSN 1710-6788
Published by: be smith designs
Copyright © 2005 remains with contributors
