The
first thing I asked myself when I sat down to write this blog was: When did I first become a writer? I was
sure that this was where I needed to start to give inspiration to all those
readers, writers and people thinking about submitting to our publishing house.
To tell the truth, there are two parts to the answer. When I became a writer is
a mixture of blurred lines and events in my life that all led me to want to
creatively form words and ideas on a page. When I realised I was a writer is
the black and white part and I’m going to share that with you now so that you
don’t spend the next few years wondering whether you are or you aren’t. My
tutor at the University of Canterbury said it plainly. If you write, you are a
writer. Isn’t it true that if you knit, you are a knitter? If you ride a bike,
you are a cyclist, and so it is if you write that you are, indeed, a writer.
Start thinking of yourself as one.
Taking
that first step and putting your work out there for others to share is probably
one of the hardest, but most crucial steps you can make as a writer. Start with
baby steps. Your friends, your family, they’ll all be very keen when they find
out you’ve finished a work of art and they’ll all want to see it. They’re your
support. They’ll clap you on the back and say ‘well done, we’re proud of you’
and ‘wow, you’ve written a book!’ Yep, this is important. But then you need to step
onto the next rung up the ladder. Now you need to reach those you don’t know.
Because people you are close to will always support you, but what you need to
learn is how to take constructive criticism. You need to learn to take a step
back from your precious work of art and be objective about it. It’s not
personal.
For
me, this place was an online writing community called Writing.com. For you it
might be the same, or another online location. Or it might be a local writers’
group. But I would strongly suggest you give this intermediate step a thorough visit
before you even think about submitting your work to a Publisher. The one thing
I learned early on was that Publishers will hardly ever give you feedback. They
will, very quickly, tell you ‘thanks but no thanks’, and who learns from that?
You want someone to tell you how to improve your work. You want to grow as a
writer, not be beaten down consistently, which is in no way constructive to you
or your craft. Get your work critiqued.
Have
you ever watched the pop talent shows, like American Idol, when there’s a nice
looking young person standing on the stage in front of the judges saying ‘all
my family and friends tell me I can sing like an angel’? Then they proceed to
belt out notes that have all the local dogs howling and covering their ears?
Don’t be one of those people with your writing. Surround yourself with people
who will tell you what to improve. Certainly, DO NOT be precious about it when
someone offers you some way of improving your story. Also, learn to tell the
difference between good advice and opinion. Writers have different styles and
they all do things their own way. They might offer you advice that you don’t
like, but at least taste it. Roll it around on your tongue and see whether it’s
something you think you would try again. If you really don’t agree with it,
spit it out. Or at least put it to one side. Squirrel it away in some far
corner where you might pull it out to examine it again at some point further
down the line. You never know, it might be useful one day. As writers, we’re
sponges, so this should be easy to adapt to. Be open-minded.
Prior
to joining Writing.com, I sent my manuscript to a few local publishers, all of
whom rejected my novel for publication. So I put it to one side, became
actively involved in the online writing community, and began submitting short
stories to their online competitions. I also joined a romance critique group
and started putting up chapters of my novel for review. This was a huge
eye-opener and a steep learning curve. Reading and critiquing other writers’ work,
while having my own pulled apart for analysis, was the best thing I ever could
have done.
Soon
I had a contract for publication of my first short story. I clearly remember
opening the email, seeing the contract attached, and crying. I was so happy. I
was going to be published!
The
process of seeing your work up there in lights, going through the process of
creating a cover – wow, a real cover, for YOUR BOOK, is amazing. All of a
sudden your characters become real. You become vindicated as a writer. The
essence of this creative process with a publisher – someone who believes in you
and likes your work, is the reason why I joined the publishing business. I
wanted to give the chance that someone had given to me, back to others.
I
won’t say the job is easy. I won’t say it’s going to make me rich, although
someday I’d like to think it might start to pay me back for all the hours I’ve
put into it. I won’t even say I’m good at what I do. As a writer, I’m still
growing. As an editor, it’s a constant learning curve because books and
literature are changing all the time, and our language continues to grow,
becoming internationally mingled, blurred and updated with the modern world.
It’s never dull.
As
a Publisher, Bluewood Publishing is still young. We’ve been here three years
now and we’re still learning. But I think that’s the key. We’re growing and
we’re still here. We still want to be here.
When
I get asked the question ‘Do you love your job?’ I always, without hesitation,
reply ‘I wouldn’t be doing anything else’. This is my home.
So,
please join us. Whether you’re a writer, or an avid reader, we’d love you to
have you along on our journey.
