no career, just vibes
writing v publishing (again)
I started a new day job recently in communications, which means I spend a lot of my days trying to figure out the exact right word for something.
I love thinking about words and the messages we send through various media, intentional or not. Surprise, surprise, it’s very difficult to communicate something well enough that the people on the receiving end get it. (No, you can’t just “throw something together”, share it, and then expect people to act in the way you want them to).
My new day job is also the reason that I didn’t do a September newsletter. I’ve thrown around the idea of just doing a newsletter when I have exciting updates, but a monthly schedule keeps me accountable to at least try to write something once a month so I’ll try to publish something monthly when I can.
I’m still struggling with what exactly I want to do with this newsletter, but for now, here’s what I’ve been thinking about and working on lately.
but when can i read your book
Spoiler alert: publishing is slow. Currently my “friendship love story” draft is out for another round of revisions with a friend/critique partner/beta reader. They’re going to give me feedback on whether each individual scene works and makes sense. I wouldn’t mind another set of fresh eyes to look at it, so reply to this email if you’d be interested! I would prefer someone who regularly reads contemporary fiction, but even if you don’t, let’s talk.
In the meantime, I am working on a query letter. A query letter is a summary that you use to pitch your novel to publishers or literary agents. I’m thinking about querying indie publishers because they’re cool and less scary to me than trying to get an agent for one of the Big Five publishers (the publishers you usually think of: HarperCollins, etc.) As I’ve learned over the past couple of years of dipping my toe more into the publishing space, it’s up to me to decide what I want out of my publishing journey.
query letter woes
A query letter also involves stressing over the same five words for hours. Like this:
Violet Brooks is an anxious, fresh high school graduate who has recently left her small town to go on exchange in France, of all places, after a tumultuous summer where her grandmother died and she met her friendship soulmates.
Violet Brooks is an anxious recent high school graduate, who finally has best friends for the first time in her life, after a tumultuous summer where her grandmother died and Violet decided in her honour to finally take the leap and go on a study exchange to her grandmother’s homeland, France.
18-year-old Violet is fresh out of high school and has spent the summer becoming close with her two new best friends, Aaron and Alycia. But when Violet leaves for France on a study exchange, Violet must find a way to keep her new friend group together and in order to [protagonist’s goal] or else [what’s at stake].
Violet is an anxious, fresh high school graduate who has just left her small town in Canada for the first time for an exchange program in France.
And I hate all of these options! Still lots of work to do.
no career, just vibes
When I was working on putting together this is a love story, I tried hard to “grow my writing career.” I went to writing events, talked to people, submitted stuff, tried to make connections and be consistent on social media. I just don’t have the time or energy for that right now. I can barely find the space to work on a query letter. But I still feel like I need to prove to you that I am on some sort of career path, that I am someone you should “keep your eyes on”, because otherwise, why would you be following me and reading this?
But maybe I don’t want to figure out a soundbite or try to figure out an ideal reader profile or network or send out submissions or research publishers or grow my subscribers. (I’ve been reading Naomi Klein’s Doppelganger recently which is very relevant to all of these feelings about trying to be a good author ‘brand’). Maybe I just want to put my itching-to-write fingers to a keyboard and create and explore my inner consciousness and the fascinating ways humans exist with each other in the world.
In other words, can I just write? And I know I can decide to “just write”, but oh how human it is to want more.
