The Never-Always Myth

Among the myths writers often entertain is Never-Always. You may have it embroidered on the fabric of your mind regarding your writing projects or career:

No means never.

Yes means forever.

Be encouraged today. Those are myths, as are other commonly held but faulty premises.

Let’s expose them one at a time.

Never-Always Myth

 

If I write a solid, well-told story but have no platform, my work is doomed, right? Or, if I write a great story and have a strong platform, my work is guaranteed to be picked up by a traditional publisher, right?

Both are myths. Curious things happen in the writing world. No human can predict that this will always happen if… or this will never happen if…

It’s one of the reasons agents exist–to help you navigate all the wonders and wonderings. Never-always depends heavily on expectations and suppositions. Taming expectations is a meaningful exercise for a wise writer. It also helps the writer maintain an air of utter delight when things work out well.

No-Means-Never Myth

 

Agents love to collect stories as much as an avid reader does. The successes thrill us, as they do the writer. But even more noteworthy are the successes that start out looking like failures. A writer’s project has lain dormant for years. Then the agent receives a call or email from an editor–“Is that project still available?” Time to pull out the salsa (either the dipping kind or the dancing kind). A writer receives rejection after rejection, then tries a new project or genre or tense or hook with what looks like instant success built on years of practice and adjustment.

No-means-never is a myth.

Yes-Means-Forever Myth

 

Just as untrue is the assumption that if the author has a book published, they’ll never have to work that hard to get a contract again. Or that having a book reach a bestseller list is a sure path to Easy Street. Bestselling authors are often chased by the pressure to produce another bestseller, and another. A contract doesn’t equal the guarantee of a second contract, or a tenth.

Reaching a platform milestone in social media or having one viral post doesn’t not mean the author no long needs to concern himself or herself with platform (built-in audience). That pool of potential readers need attention and care. And if the pool remains the same size after contract, after the book releases, it’s a signal to agents and editors that something (or someone) is off-kilter. An author’s newsletter mailing list, for instance, should reflect ongoing upward growth.

Receiving a yes from a publishing house is not permission to “phone in” the next book or the thirtieth. Yes does not mean forever. Yes means, “Here we go. Roll up your sleeves for the duration of your career.”

Self-Publishing-is-a-Great-Foot-in-the-Door Myth

 

Is self-publishing or independent publishing the right path for some authors? Yes. For a variety of reasons, self-publishing may well be the correct route. But if we maintain the assumption that self-publishing is a foot in the door for traditional publishing, we’re buying into a myth that will disappoint us. Most (not all) self-publishing efforts for debut authors sell modestly.

Unless they sell strongly (not more copies than your friends, or even the most copies from that hybrid publishing house) in the thousands of copies, and unless the book is aligned with your overarching publishing goals and your strengths as a writer, a self-published book may actually create a hurdle rather than a foot in the door. And who needs more hurdles?

The editor considering a proposal from that author asks, “Did the author simply want a book published, or was this a strategic move, and a good one? How many copies sold? That will reflect how many potential readers the author can bring to the table for this next project. Does this project truly reflect who the writer is for their overarching career? How could the author not know that editors investigate what else an author has done, produced, tried?”

Self-publishing can be a good move for speakers who sell lots of copies at events and need product quickly. But it’s a myth that it will serve as a foot-in-the-door for traditional publishing. If it does, it’s an exception rather than the rule.

I’m-An-Exception Myth

 

“I’ve heard all the advice from editors and agents,” a writer says, “but I believe I’m an exception. I’m counting on it.”

“Eight different people have told me I should change genres because my unique author voice is out of character for this category, but I believe I’m the exception.”

“I realize it’s not common, well, rare for an author like me to get a contract when I don’t own a computer and choose to write my 400,000 word epic family sagas in a 17-part series about my own family, longhand, on paper I made from mulberry bushes, but why can’t I be the exception?”

Because if you think you are, you likely aren’t. Exceptions, phenomena, wild journeys are called that because they happen so seldom. To a person, those who set out to be a phenom failed at it. Or lost their relationships or their soul in the process. If you are an exception, let others determine that, then be (in the words of earlier in this post) delightfully surprised if it happens. Don’t fall for the myth that you can, deserve to, or can orchestrate becoming an exception.

There’s-No-Hope Myth

 

Survey 100 authors and you’ll find a good number who believed there was no hope for their project or that they could choose writing as a career. They proved the no-hope idea a myth. They may have needed more time, more experience, a greater understanding of the industry, connections with the right people, a bunch more prayer, or a lovely serendipitous moment when what they wrote aligned with reader needs.

Authors cling to hope. It’s what we do. And it’s no myth.