Youngest can’t play football at recess. There are certain rules that must be followed and one (or more) of the kids playing failed to follow them. The result was that ALL the wanna-be quarterbacks got banned from throwing the pigskin for the rest of the week. (Tears in the morning flat-out stink, by the way.)
Hardly seems fair, that whole guilt by association, punish the masses for the destruction of the few, if-they-look-the-same-smell-the-same-act-the-same-in-the-same-box-they-must-all-go.
Yet, we writers are just as guilty of this as the Recess Nazis are.
Newbies, we think, and stuff them all into a category of must-need-more-work.
“Agents,” we say, and dismiss them as dream killers even as we beg for their attention and mercy.
Publishers, pshaw! We all know they hate writers and secretly delight in penning form rejection letters.
Self-pubbed? Garbage. All of them.
Or not.
As much as we hate to be stuffed into boxes, we should not seal another’s fate with packing tape and cardboard. We need to remain open-minded and realize that it is the Few who give the bad name to the Many.
So, today, I ask that you break down the box and recycle it. Let the non rule-breakers play ball. Pick up a self-pubbed book with fresh eyes. Encourage the newbie who might just know more than you. And for heaven’s sake, don’t let a rejection by one agent/editor spoil your good will toward the others.
I’ll admit that I used to feel a fair amount of disdain toward Agent-Only publishing houses. Then I learned a few things and realized just how much slush gets sent to agents and editors–and what that slush actually looks like. My respect level rose tremendously.
I used to hate the whole vampire/werewolf thing. Then I read Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce. Uhm, definitely out-of-the-box-amazing.
When I was a kid, I thought teachers lived to make recess as boring as possible. “Don’t run!” “Don’t bounce that ball!” “Stop swinging from that bar, you’ll break your leg.” Seriously, what did they want from us? A little Kum ba ya? A coma…?
What are/were some of your preconceived notions about writing, publishing and literature? Are the judgements fair, or is it time to rethink some things?
Curious minds want to know.
Words from the Woods 