Do All Writers Write Books?

Categorized | Lisa Pawlowski, writing

Do All Writers Write Books?

Posted on 12 July 2008 by Lisa Pawlowski

Do you hear that sound of smacking lips? That’s me trying to get the bad taste of Austin out of my mouth.

That sounds really negative, doesn’t it? It wasn’t all bad. I’m just let down. In my previous post, I wrote with excitement about going to Austin to the Agents and Editors Conference. The trip really was worthwhile. I met some interesting (in a good way) writers and even made a couple of friends.

So what was it that brought me down? The keynote speaker at the luncheon, Sara Nelson, Editor-in-Chief of Publishers Weekly, also wrote a memoir called “So Many Books, So Little Time.” At the beginning of her speech, Ms. Nelson promised to bust some myths about the publishing industry. There was one myth she didn’t really need to bust for the majority of us. She said aloud that only 1% of all books submitted to publishing houses become published. Most writers know this but saying it out loud is enough to drain anyone of hope. Ms. Nelson went on to say that even though she had connections in the publishing business, as well as a mother who would do anything to promote her daughter’s book, her book sold well, several thousand copies, but it still wasn’t a runaway blockbuster hit. And she made okay money from it but not a huge amount.

A pall settled over the tables. I don’t think we were truly prepared for someone to tell us the God’s honest truth. I’ve been to other conferences where keynote speakers gave more of an, “If I did it, you can do it” speech. A couple of years ago, I had the pleasure of hearing brand name author Debbie Macomber speak. Ms. Macomber told us that she once had a contest judge read her anonymous entry in front of people as an example of someone who should never, ever write again. Macomber recounted how she didn’t let that one person’s comment stop her. She kept at it, writing and rewriting, all while staying at home raising six children, until one day Simon and Schuster called and wanted to publish her book.

At the A&EC, I guess I wanted hear a fairy tale. That all it will take is for me to publish my book and sell thousands of them is to believe in myself and all my dreams will come true. As I talked to people afterward, most seemed to be asking themselves, “Why the hell am I busting my ass writing? Am I stupid for doing this?” However, I did meet a pragmatic lesbian couple who saw it differently. “Well, the lady told the truth. If you’re getting into something, don’t you want to know what you’re getting in to?” I admit, they had a point.

After the luncheon, I underwhelmed my appointed agent with my pitch. I gave a snappy, five sentence sales job, delivered with a lot of enthusiasm. “Ms. X, I wrote a light-hearted women’s fiction book about….” She stopped me and said, “No one reads chick lit anymore.” (For those of you who may not be aware, according to publishers in the know, the term “chick lit” is as dead as Latin.) To which I replied with a smile, “Well, that’s why I wrote a light-hearted women’s fiction book.” However, she did ask to see my first fifty pages so I really can’t complain. I compared notes with another writer who pitched to the same lady and heard the exact same thing she had told me. But when my friend pitched to a different agent with the same schpiel, that one was very enthusiastic and had the opposite reaction.

On Sunday, everyone seemed morose. Subdued. For many of the three hundred attendees, this conference was their first ever. They were new writers who thought this would be a good place to start and give them direction. Some were authors who had poured their hearts and souls into ONE self-published book and hadn’t written a sentence since. Of course, no one would be cruel enough to tell those people that they really didn’t have much of a chance of getting an agent or becoming published if all they’ve written is one book. It takes years of writing and tons of rejection to become a better, worthy writer.

I think all of us left the hotel reevaluating what we want and how serious we are about writing.
I don’t mean to harsh everyone’s mellow so I’ll end this post with something positive I heard an agent say. “There will always be readers. There will always be writers. And there will always be agents.”

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7 Comments For This Post

Michael Callaway Says:
July 12th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Sadly, the speaker is right. Here is what I would suggest, publish your book with lulu.com. What I like about them is they give you a free website to sell your book and they do not charge you anything untill you buy it.
Nicki B. Says:
July 13th, 2008 at 10:23 am
What a very sobering reality the speaker had conveyed. It is indeed not an easy task to get published. Michael’s suggestion is interesting, and I have seen mention of lulu in a few places. I am personally using a publishing service called “a href=”http://www.triond.com”>Triond for the meanwhile, until I get everything together and decide to actually put my travel guide together as a whole and try to get it published as a book… someday.
Bobby Ozuna, author of "Proud Souls" Says:
July 13th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
Lisa:
What Ms. Nelson said was true no doubt. She may be in “the know” with regards to statistics, but in the end, that’s all they are. Toby Harrah (former Texas Ranger) once said, “…statistics are like bathing suits…they never show you all you want to see.”

I applaud you for being so brutally honest about how you felt after attending the conference. I have been to others myself and I have returned home with mixed emotions. Some people make you feel good about yourself–the old, hold on to hope bid–and others make you feel like they are the literary gods and they have decided to take your attendance money but not your work.

In the end, I would tell your audience this: It doesn’t really matter what anyone says about the possibility of their work being published, loved, adored, sold or rejected. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. If you venture to conferences and seminars looking for the answers to how you might get published, you are already mislead. If anything, people should take some valuable lessons on approaching businesses, publishers, agents, etc., but not look to these people as though they know what life has in store for your future or work.

We are artists…we think “outside the box” and if anyone told me, “You can’t…won’t…shouldn’t…impossible…not very likely…” well they would have lost my support and would never be deemed an expert in my eyes on anything other than negativity.

Remember, Paulo Coelho, author of the book “The Alchemist” has sold in 117+ countries, more than 50+ languages and 50+ million copies and his first printing of that novel was in English and sold in America…
He speaks Portuguese and lives in Brazil. It wasn’t even sold in his home country…initially….

Anything is possible and it’s up to writers like us–all writers–free thinking artists…to set the standards for hope, faith, belief and the possibility that anything can happen when you work hard and you do so with absolute passion and sincerity…

Keep up the good work!
Debbie Macomber Says:
July 13th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Hi Lisa,

Thank you for mentioning my name and the talk you heard me give. Several years ago I was having coffee with another long established writer who asked me if I felt badly to be encouraging all these writers when both of us knew so few would ever publish. I thought about her comment for a long time and then asked her, “Which ones would you discourage?”

Sara Nelson is probably right in saying only 1% of manuscripts are published but I believe that those of us who are meant to be writers won’t stop unti our work and talent are recognized. Personally, I feel that I would have lost a piece of my soul had I given up in frustration and defeat. Follow your dream and believe in yourself and most of all ingore the odds.

Debbie
Rashda Says:
July 14th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Hi Lisa,

Good job recapturing that Austin weekend so well. And wow, I’m privileged to appear in your post as “friend.” And so very cool to get a comment from Debbie Macomber herself. Keep writing, because you enjoy it.
Lisa Pawlowski Says:
July 15th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Thank you all for replying. To Michael, I haven’t sent out my book to anyone yet. I guess I’m a glutton for punishment. I want to at least be able to say that yes, I really tried my damnest to get the thing published and put forward my best effort. To Bobby, every time I go to a conference, I always learn something new and sometimes make friends in the process. Yeah, it was expensive, but it gave me experience in pitching and querying agents and that is something I’ll be able to use the rest of my life. I didn’t go into it thinking, “After this weekend, I’ll have an agent.” I did know that much. To Debbie Macomber, thank you for responding. Your speech was inspirational to me. Whether I ever sell a book or not, I’ll always write. To Rashda, thanks for checking out CultureFeast. You were one of the good things that happened that weekend. Thanks y’all for commenting.
Michael Callaway Says:
July 15th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Well young Lisa, I say put it on Lulu anyway, if you find a “real” publisher you can always take it off at that time.