Update 1: Baby Steps

I’m new to this writing stuff, so any progress I make feels like a pretty big deal. All the little baby steps still feel significant, and that’s including the things that haven’t quite worked out. I keep telling myself it’s all a part of being diligent and mindful of the process, that I’ll end up learning the most from a slow and steady approach to all the minor details. And I think it’s an outlook that’s already paid off in small ways, some of which are gradually building upon each other.

But first, the stuff that hasn’t gone anywhere: querying agents. I’ve sent out a grand total of ten queries and have been rejected (Supportively! Encouragingly!) by all of them. Some were form letters sent by assistants, others were a little more personalized but ultimately found my thing not a good fit for what they were looking for.

It’s been a relief to discover that rejection at this point is no big deal. I already know I’m working in “acquired taste” territory and haven’t taken any of the passes personally. It helps that everyone has been super-professional and respectful, and that ten queries does not a sample size make. We’ll see how I feel when I have one hundred closed doors staring back at me. For now, though, I haven’t shed a single tear.

In the meantime, I caught a mention via twitter of a free workshop for promoting self-published work and decided to look into it. It was the only free part of a small-scale sci-fi conference held here a few months ago. Not being much of a sci-fi guy and also not quite in a place to act on any tips for promoting a finished work, I initially debated on whether I should bother going. Even on the day of the event, I wasn’t sure it would be worth it; the weather was kinda shitty that weekend and it would’ve been easy to just stay at home. But I finally decided it was the kind of low-impact first step I should be making, if only to see who else would show up to such a thing.

As it turned out, about seven people were there, all of them published authors just checking in to see if there were any new tricks to learn about platforms and e-pportunities (har har). I was the only person who identified as a horror writer, which the workshop presenter made a note of. The presentation itself was informative but (as I’d suspected) a little too advanced for my project to benefit from. Nonetheless, I made sure to send the presenter a quick note that evening, thanking them for making it free for non-conference schmoes like me to attend.

To my surprise, the presenter got in touch with me through Facebook. We exchanged a number of e-mails discussing where I was at and what I might need to consider doing next. They eventually asked to see my manuscript to get a better sense of its quality and for how they might be able to help. After reading it, they suggested I not go directly to self-publishing before I’d really pursued at least some of the options available for small press publishing. A vote of confidence! From someone in the industry! I won’t lie – it felt pretty good.

Another small-ish event was coming up. I made plans to meet up with the presenter at the event to talk a little more about next steps. We had a great chat, after which they introduced me to a highly-regarded freelance editor that had been mentioned in a prior e-mail. This editor and I later connected via Facebook and they asked to look over my first chapter to see if it was something they’d be willing to work on.

Fortunately for me, they were amenable, and we quickly entered into a working relationship (ie, a formal relationship in which I pay them to edit my book). The editor felt confident that about 20,000 words could be cut from the manuscript so that it was more in line with standard lengths for genre fiction.

Of course, I had to think pretty hard about whether this was a necessary cost for what I was trying to do with my first writing effort. I was afraid that I’d only get feedback based on what typically sells better, or that I’d be told certain annoying conventions cannot be flouted by upstarts such as myself.

But I looked further into this editor’s body of work (including some of their own writing – both in fiction and in literary criticism), and came to realize that I’d lucked into connecting with someone who had tastes and sensibilities that are similar to my own. It became clear that working with them on this project was definitely the right call to make. I feel like I can trust their judgment of my work and how to possibly fix the rookie mistakes I’ve no doubt made.

Two weeks ago I sent my manuscript to this editor and paid half of the requisite fee. By tomorrow (TOMORROW!), the editor has promised to deliver their final assessment along with a complete structural edit of my novel. I’ve never worked with anyone on something like this before, so I have no idea what to expect. Will I be told it’s all wrong? Will I be told I need to rethink everything? Will the cuts be too deep? Will all my darlings be dead?

It’s all very exciting, and even if no one shows an interest in the finished product and it ends up languishing on my hard drive, I’ll at least know that I did everything as conscientiously as possible. Not only that, but I’ll be able to see what a professional editing job can do for my work.

I’ll be sure to post another update once I’m on the other side of the editor’s feedback.