Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Aren’t we all looking for the end of the publishing rainbow? Aren’t we all seeking our pot of gold, whether that’s fame, fortune, expanding the faith community or some mix thereof? We’re all trying to figure out how to make ourselves notable in a veritable downpour of books and authors, each clamoring for attention.
I have good news and bad news. The good news: The most likely path to success isn’t that hard to find. The bad news: Who said the path would be fun?
The other night I watched a PBS segment on a Chinese acrobat trainer who was working with Americans to teach them the “secrets” of the fantastic ballet of muscle and grace that epitomizes this skill the Chinese have taken to heights no other country has reached.
One of the students explained the first of two parts to the secret of any success by saying, “Training is bitter…”
Ah, that’s the rub for writers. It takes a lot of training for the majority of us to become notable. What does that training consist of for a writer?
- Learning how to write a winning proposal
- Figuring out what is publishable
- Discerning who the gatekeepers are and how to approach them
- Plotting a way to connect with those gatekeepers
- Taking a fundamental ability to communicate on paper and working, working, working to hone the craft. Then working some more.
- Writing a manuscript that stands out in a crowded field
- Establishing a supportive writing community that includes critiquers, like-minded creative beings and resource people like web designers, publicists, etc.
- Masterminding a plan to bring together through social media potential readers of your as-of-yet unpublished work. But before that…
- Puzzling out what your social media presence will look like–Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, blog, website, Goodreads…the list keeps growing.
Well, you get the point. All this is “merely” training to get published. Talk about sweat and tears! This business is not for the faint of heart.
Nor is training for Chinese acrobatics, I learned as I watched the TV feature in which the Americans were trying to develop new showstoppers that would make the Chinese sit up and take notice. The program ended after the Americans’ first show. One of the performers, who was all smiles, told us viewers the end of the Chinese saying, “Training is bitter,” that they repeated–in Chinese–each day before they began their training work: “…its fruit is sweet.”
Yes, training is bitter. When you’re in the middle of it, the small steps forward are laborious but celebrated. You know much work remains. But, at some point, you too will be able to finish the sentence with, “Its fruit is sweet.”
What other aspects of “training” must a writer undergo before he or she is considered “notable”?
For each of us, different parts of the training are bitter; others might actually enjoy them. What parts are bitter for you? What parts are sweet?
Jeanne
Thanks for the interesting post, Janet. Training is constant, it seems, in a writer’s life. For me, I love seeing a new story come to life in my mind, the characters, the plot. The part that is difficult is keeping my thoughts from comparing my writing with others, or thinking that it will never be “good enough.”
I know I need more craft training, and I enjoy that. The “bitter” part is focuing my thoughts on the process rather than on my apparent lack and others’ apparent strengths.
Janet Grant
The comparison issue is a big one for all of us, isn’t it? I always see my inadequacies rather than thinking I come out on top.
Joanne Sher
Such a helpful, encouraging/discouraging post (I do believe you know what I mean :D). Training IS bitter – but the fruit is sweet. Love that.
Lindsay Harrel
Great post, and great saying, Janet. I don’t think all parts of the training are bitter–after all, if they were, why would any of us do it? There has to be SOMETHING in the process we enjoy, especially since publication is usually so far off.
But the constant need to persevere despite disappointments…THAT can be bitter.
It seems whenever I get feedback that’s slightly (or fully) negative, I shrink into my shell and doubt. It takes me a bit to come out, face the feedback, and really evaluate it. Then, the revisions that come out of that acceptance and change are sweet.
Lisa
Lindsay, I completely agree. Beautifully said. Despite disappointment a writer must continue to move forward with hope and a teachable spirit.
Jennifer Major
The sweetest thing for me is watching characters being transformed into real people right before my eyes. I feel like Geppetto when the Blue Fairy grants him a real boy to love and nurture. But, let’s not forget what Pinocchio put poor Geppetto through before he became real! Pinocchio’s training was very bitter! As was Geppetto’s. But the joy of having his own son makes the rocky road to fatherhood straighten itself.
Janet, it was interesting and very telling that you said “It takes a lot of training for the majority of us to become notable. What does that training consist of for a writer?”. You did not refer to what training a writer needs to write, but instead, what a writer needs to become notable. In the grand scheme of things, writers are writers because they write. But writers need the bitter pill of acceptance by total strangers in order to advance on the (enemy) camp of notability. It is hard for me as a person who has been blogging since 2001 to turn around and begin the climb to base camp, again. Eleven years of one blog have built some amazing connections and friendships, but the ether world tells me that those eleven years of writing on that certain blogsite are moot. THAT bothers me. THAT is bitter.
(I have enough depth and history in that blog to have buried one of those friends.)
The hoops are bitter, high and very small. But, instead of harping on how small and difficult the hoops are, I shall instead train myself to master ‘small and difficult’. The bitterness will fade once I get through the hoops, but it won’t disappear. And that in and of itself, brings the sweetness of making it through.
Janet Grant
Lindsay, thanks for reminding us that criticism really can be bitter when we first receive it. But it can become sweet when we adjust our work as a result.
Sarah Thomas
I love black raspberries–not the perfumy sweet red ones. Of course, you can almost never find black raspberries in a store or market. I kept meaning to plant some canes. But it takes two years to get fruit and at least three years to get a decent crop. So I didn’t bother. I wanted fruit NOW. Four years ago I finally planted canes and now I can enjoy handfuls of luscious berries. (Just now ripening!)
I love instant gratification and training is often bitter because it takes TIME. But I think it’s the best way to get great books (not to mention raspberry pies!).
Janet Grant
Great example of long-term thinking! Sometimes I’ll pull myself up short and say, “Hey, we’re talking craft and art here; why do we think this should come easily?”
Martha Ramirez
Very nice post. Thank you.
Cheryl Malandrinos
What an appropriate post for Memorial Day; for if we did not have the bitter (the ultimate sacrifice given by many), then we could not have the sweet (freedom).
I would like to expand on Jennifer’s point, because we not only endure the criticism of strangers, but also of our peers. I’ve been part of critique groups for years. Luckily they are wonderful. But I’ve had friends tell me about the cruelty and lack of support they have received from fellow writers. Perhaps that bitter was so they could appreciate the sweetness of finding a critique group that holds them to high standards while encouraging them along the way.
Janet Ann Collins
Great points, Cheryl.
Janet Grant
Thanks for reminding us of how this theme is a perfect fit for Memorial Day, Cheryl.
Leah Good
Thanks for the post! What a great reminder to persevere.
I think the bitter part of writing is not being able to learn everything all at once. But reaching goals and mastering new techniques is very sweet! 🙂
Lisa
Yes, you really have to take things one step at a time. I am always trying to race ahead of myself!
Wendy Heuvel
Thanks Janet, for another insightful, thought-provoking post!
Another great reminder that the road to success isn’t easy – it takes a lot of hard work, dedication, perseverance and more hard work! But, any one of us can reach success if we’re willing to do what it takes.
Generally speaking, there are about only 2% of people who live a life of success. That shows how many of us choose to actually stay on the road without giving up. Sobering – but here’s hoping I can be one of the two percent!
The hardest part for me is remembering the road is narrow and I just need to stay on it and not give up when the going gets rough.
The sweetest parts are any part of the writing journey when I’m able to focus on the goal at the end of the road and keep things in perspective.
Janet Grant
Wendy, such good reminders; thanks for these. Years ago I attended a romance writing class at UCLA. The instructor assured us that the vast majority of the 40 students wouldn’t finish their manuscripts. I scoffed, sure I’d be among the small percentage. Nope. I abandoned the project. The work was too hard for me!
Dale Rogers
Oh, so true. I believe one component for success in the writing world is living. When we’ve experienced more of the bitterness of life along with the sweetness, we can write with more depth and perception. But one of the sweetest aspects of writing for me is that inspirational break-through–then looking up from my work and saying,
“How did it get so late?”
Janet Grant
I love your thought on the sweetness of writing when we’re in the zone. Those moments are magical.
Robin Patchen
All this, and we have to be able to write, too! It’s no wonder so many would-be novelists quit. Each part of the journey can be bitter and sweet, depending on the day, the mood and, more often, the feedback. But since we’re not plastic characters in Candyland, sliding down Gum Drop Mountain, I suppose the road will be marked with both bitter and sweet. The memory of the bitter makes the sweet all the more satisfying.
Janet Grant
Yes, Robin, without the bitter the sweet could be cloying…Sometimes I’d like more “cloy.” But then I remember the Halloween candy–and the ensuing tummy ache.
Darby Kern
Great thoughts. I am reminded of a fruit that I used to eat every now and then in Austria- I don’t remember what it was- that had a bitter taste, but it was very good for you. You can actually get a taste for that bitter fruit and tolerate it for the goodness that it provides you.
Unless we’re talking about that classic quote: “The weed of crime bears bitter fruit. Crime does not pay. The Shadow knows.”
Thanks for the blog. It’s a great motivator.
Janet Grant
We could do a riff on bitter fruit. What about rhubarb? I love rhubarb pie because of the blend of sweet and bitter.
Lee Abbott
Humility is bitter-sweet. It is humbling when a member of my critique groups sees something obvious that I missed. It is humbling to discover that every word I write is not God-breathed (I often wonder if Isaiah had first, second and third drafts). It is humbling when someone misses my point entirely. It is humbling when I don’t like my own writing. It is humbling to delete hours of labor because it leads to a dead end.
It is sweet to know that I too am a work in progress: he who began a good work in me will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Phil 1:6).
Janet Grant
Thanks for these reminders of the work God is doing in us and the importance of the bitter and sweet.
Sue Harrison
I love this post. The comparison is perfect, Janet! Sweet – the writing. Bitter – the realization that I never reach my goal. My writing is never quite what I hope it will be. My story is never perfect. The heartache of that, but another sweet – imperfection is the foundation of challenge.
I must say that as I read your “training” list, I realized again how much Books & Such does to help its writers survive and succeed during that bitter training!
Janet Grant
I often tell people getting published is a process. Until you make the list, you don’t always realize how complex that process is.
Tessa Afshar
Thought-provoking comments, Janet. What I would add from the perspective of a published author is that the training doesn’t stop after the contracts start coming in. You still have to write good proposals, you still have to come up with marketable ideas, you still have to hone your craft, you still have to build your platform and define your brand. Only now you do it in the confines of contract deadlines. We are never good enough to stop learning. And there is always that next mountain to climb. All along this journey there is a lot of sweetness. But it’s hard work too. It’s the combination of love for craft and divine calling that keeps me going, even when I’m tired or overwhelmed. Who can resist doing the thing Jesus designed you for? Not me!
Janet Grant
Good points, Tessa. The training never ends, but that’s true about so much worth doing, isn’t it?
DiAnn Mills
The process never gets easier. But would we want success if it were simple? Not me!
Michelle Lim
Thanks for the great post, Janet! One of the things I think is the most difficult is learning when you are really ready to submit. As a new writer, we are sure we are the next best thing to the invention of the e-book. Then we realize, WOW, Do I have a lot to learn. Then comes the almost stage… Somewhere in there we are ready. For me that is the most difficult piece. Figuring out the right time to submit.
I have taken that plunge, but it is a confusing bit of the journey for many writers.Many submit way too soon. And some are scared to hit send.
Janet Grant
This is where a critique group can help or talking to editors and critiquers at writers conferences. Don’t pitch to submit the project but to test your idea and to get feedback on your opening page.
Connie Almony
The bitter and the sweet often come together. When I receive a crit of my “baby” that is bruised, beaten and bloodied, it’s bitter. When I’ve made the changes and the story pops out more than it had before, the fruit is oh, so sweet!
Jan May
Great stuff Janet and a wonderful encouragement! My writers conference is just around the corner. The first thing you listed was writing a winning proposal. Any good resources on that topic? Some say write book chapter synopsis others say include several chapters. What do you say?
Janet Grant
Mike Hyatt has created a great book on proposals for fiction and another book for nonfiction. You’ll need both a synopsis and sample chapters. For fiction, you’ll need a synopsis rather than a chapter by chapter summary.
jenna
The bitter part is realizing that for now, I have to look at myself as a person with two fulltime jobs, spouse/mama AND writer, in order to begin to separate the two appropriately and do justice to them. The sweet part is pressing on through that adjustment to the point where I miss my characters when I’m not writing as much as I miss my family when I am writing.
Anju Gattani
Hi Janet,
What a remarkable post and yes, training in any field, is bitter. Especially if you are determined to succeed. I’d say the bitter parts are being away from the manuscript for too long and then trying to get back in the story. That is soooo hard! The sweet spots are the rewrites and being able to “see” the flaws in my work and deeper levels of meaning / layers in the story I had never known existed! Now that can be real sweet treat!