Reflections on Writing

I gave up creative writing in seventh grade when my teacher, Miss Ely, made me feel as if I lacked, and would always lack, any talent.  She was my teacher in a short story writing class and the only good thing she could ever say about my stories was that they were “pithy.”  I had to look up the word “pithy” and I discovered it was not the description you would want for drama, romance, or mystery.

I plodded along writing material that valued pithiness – academic research, university bureaucratic memoranda, State Department cables.  My pithy style earned me recognition but not satisfaction.  I never really enjoyed writing.

So, after I left my careers as a university professor, administrator and diplomat, I decided once again to try my hand at creative writing.  I was in my late fifties and ready for something new and challenging, although Miss Ely’s past critique of my style was always in the back of my mind.

How do you launch a career in creative writing?  How do you even get started?  I had no idea except to just do it.  That was a mistake.  There were many things I needed to learn, there was feedback I needed, there was a support system I should have had to get me through the lonely times of being a writer.  Eventually I learned all that, so here is what I would say to other aspiring writers or to those who are curious about my experience.

Find a Teacher

I would strongly recommend that aspiring writers start with writing classes – at a junior college or university extended education, in private workshops, at mini-conferences not on publishing but writing.  Because I was regularly traveling in those days between Hawaii and Greece, I didn’t have the time to attend a class.

Instead, I was lucky to find a fiction editor, Lesley Kellas Payne, who was a brilliant teacher.  In addition to providing invaluable feedback on my own work, Lesley guided me to articles about writing and samples of good and bad work.  She also gave me a love of the art.

Recently, I have worked with writer Joyce Maynard who offers extraordinary workshops on memoir writing.  These too have made learning a joyful process.

Find or Start a Writing Group

A writing group can provide both feedback and support.  I have been in several groups.  The first group became more of a “grouse” session about the conditions in our lives that kept us from writing, but we all needed that.  The second group was too large and my best experience was working individually with some of its members, but it did keep me writing on a regular basis in order to have something to share with the group.  My present group is a small collection of
devoted writers who pay tremendous attention to detail and are serious about publishing.

 
All of my writing groups have been exclusively women.  I prefer women’s company to men’s because, in my experience, women tend to be better listeners.  They can also be quite supportive.  None of my writing “sisters” has ever called my work “pithy.”

I also share my work with good friends who are willing to read it in draft.  Feedback from friends is always good for morale – they almost always like your work.  Some friends provide good writing feedback; others don’t.  The writer needs to figure out who will be most helpful.

Different Ways to Publish

When I began writing, my dream was to publish and become rich and famous.  I had no idea how hard it was to get published.  So when I had a finished manuscript, I went the traditional route of trying to find an agent which is an exhausting process. 

Over the years, I had two agents, one inexperienced and one highly experienced and successful.  Neither one ever sold one of my manuscripts and it wasn’t for lack of trying.  I believe I ran up against two problems.  First, my book wasn’t in the right genre, that is, the genre the publisher was looking for.  Second, my book was neither literary enough nor commercial enough – it was a “mid-list” book.

After several years of discouraging responses from the publishing world, I discovered print-on-demand (POD) publishing.  Today, there are many companies offering this service.  I have used three different ones.  While print-on-demand is essentially vanity publishing, it’s a lot cheaper because of the computer which allows books to be printed only when they are ordered (no stocks of unsold books, no remaindered books).  It also makes marketing feasible by allowing your book to be sold online.

While POD publishing was initially scorned by the publishing world, it is gaining more and more legitimacy.  Hundreds of thousands of books have come out POD.  Some have sold very well.  Some have been picked up by regular publishers.  For me, it has allowed me to get my book out, to have enough people read it to make me feel satisfied, and to break even on the cost or even earn a little bit.

The big problem with POD publishing is marketing.  The author has to do it.  It’s hard to get your book reviewed, picked up by bookstores, known to the general public.  There are many manuals around about how to market your book and many costly services to help you do so.  I am hoping this blog will be one way to help me introduce my books to a wider public.