State of the Industry - A Publishing Whirlwind

The publishing industry has been taking some flak over the past few months for a variety of different controversies. From American Dirt to the Romance Writer’s Guild, there seems to be a problem around every corner.

However, how bad are these issues and can they be avoided? I was listening to a podcast on NPR about the American Dirt controversy and it was quite insightful on how the participants looked at the issues of publishing, authorship, and censorship. If you would like to listen in, I have the podcast embedded below.

Listening to the different perspectives, it creates a clearer picture on how to handle different cultures in stories and how online criticism is not the same as censorship. I wish they would’ve spent more time on the idea of censorship and dive a little deeper into what that would look like today. That topic I found the most interesting and can heard around the 25-minute mark.

It’s obvious that the issues being raised need to be addressed, but I don’t think the controversies are inherently bad. Why? Because it means we have more to learn. To improve. Take the criticism, use it, and be better. That’s what most people want. Criticism is a spotlight on our mistakes and we can use the light to find our way out of the dark. We can also use it to avoid the issues completely.

The podcast really boils down to a simple statement by David Bowles, a Mexican American author, mentioned at the beginning of the podcast:

“It’s just about doing the homework that has to be done.” - David Bowles

So, for those writers out there that want to write unique characters outside of their culture or life experience: Do your homework.

If you would like more short podcast related posts on the website, please let me know in the comments or send me a message.

Until next time,

J.J.

Why I’m No Longer Part of the Romance Writers of America

*Reads title again* You were a romance writer? For many, this may seem a little out of left field. Maybe a bit unexpected.

Not many would guess that I used to write romance stories. There isn’t much that would give anyone that sort of takeaway.

I write about comic books and sci-fi/fantasy on the blog, I have no romance stories on the free story selection, and, to top it off, my bio photo is terrifying on the front page.

The question remains, “What made you want to write romance?”

I don’t know. I used to read quite a few Nicolas Sparks books. I liked the way the stories moved and the emotion of the characters. After some feedback on some creative short stories I wrote in college, I thought I would give it a shot.

I was a member of the Romance Writer’s of America (RWA) for about a year. I set out a plan to have a novel completed (which I did) and start querying agents (I did that too). The story was supposed to be a romance story about a nerdy teenage girl, who is also a member of the school’s cheer-leading team and the school’s most popular group of teens.

I went to a writer’s conference, got it critiqued, and met some great writers and agents. The critique went awesome and my spirits went through the roof when I started querying. I even had my work recommended to an agent at the conference. All wins in my book!

However, once I got my feedback, I was discouraged. Every query came back with a rejection, some more detailed than others. At that point, I just slowed down. Passion for writing those types of stories waned. My efforts to edit my story, a story I used to love, slowly became more and more disinterested.

Writing became harder.

I was pushing to improve in all areas, but it felt like the more I tried, the farther back I went.

Once it came time to renew the romance writer’s guild membership fee, I didn’t want to keep the membership up, especially if I wasn’t going to have anything to show for it. Plus, $100 dollars was a lot for me.

I was lost, weakened by rejection that every writer faces. I knew it was coming, but you can’t prepare for it without facing it. In hindsight, it was for the best. It gave me time to rethink what I wanted to write and what to do moving forward.

Where I am now…

I don’t think I will be returning to writing romance stories for awhile as I have a stronger passion for science fiction and fantasy. Stories with adventure in far away, fictional lands. It was part of the reason I made the website.

Comic books mix the genres, blend themes and styles seamlessly, without being tied down to traditional expectations. Science fiction and fantasy, I feel, go hand in hand. They complement each other.

That is where I’m heading now. I am almost finished with my “draft zero” of my science fiction/fantasy story. For this story, once I get it in a comfortable place, I will seek out some beta readers to help me fine tune the story.

In the meantime, I would like to add more stories to the site. I have one I’ve been sitting on for far too long that was a runner up in the Writer’s Digest competition a few years ago. It’s a romance story, but I think it’s a fun one.

Believe it or not, I was going to post another nerdy romance story on the free short story section back when Comic Con was in full swing. In the end, I didn’t.

I was a bit self-conscious about the short story. I tried cleaning it up, but the more I worked on it, the less confident I was on the piece.

And it probably steams back to my rejection letter. Inside, I felt like I worked months on a project that I was happy with, just to be told it isn’t good enough. Not to say the critique was unhelpful. It was concise and clear with just enough explanation to help me get control of the story. It was what I needed to hear, even if I didn’t like it.

So, I want to second-guess myself a little less. I plan on posting that story as well…next month.

Also, I don’t want to knock the RWA. I think it’s a great organization, but you need to be fully invested to get the most out of it. If you have an interest in writing romance or want to learn more about it, visit their website.

I hope everyone learned a little bit about my writing journey and maybe take away something for yourself. Don’t let rejection tear you down and steal away your joy of writing. If something does work out right away or the way you planned, take a step back and don’t be afraid to take it slow.

In the end, we get where we want to go by moving forward, not by stopping. I say to all of you, “Don’t stop.”

-J.J.