It helps me a lot to sit down and write about my current projects and creative goals (as opposed to just thinking about them), as well as what kind of progress I’m making toward them. This is a lot more helpful than keeping them in my head, where they swim around in the nebulous stormcloud that is my creative work life so I can’t see them with the proper perspective.
I try to be honest about my progress and setbacks on this blog because I don’t want to fall into a trap of pretending that I’m doing a kick-ass job if that’s not really the case. Pretending you’re doing better than you are is pretty unhelpful because 1) It alienates you from other people you can’t be open with, and 2) It hinders you from actually improving the way you organize your time because you’re living out a kind of fantasy where everything’s going just peachy.
Anyway, enough with the intro: here’s what I’m working on RIGHT NOW:
Being Sick Sucks, But Isn’t the End of the World
I’ve been behind the past two weeks or so since I caught a cold—it wasn’t the worst sickness I’ve had by any means, but it was enough to lay me up in bed for an entire Saturday, and it’s had me feeling fatigued and phlegmy in the evenings, which has also pushed me to go to bed early instead of getting creative shit done (d’oh!).
Being sick has been a drag for sure, but I haven’t been beating myself up about it—in recent years I’ve learned to be less critical of myself when an actual illness drags me down. Instead, I try to focus on resting and feeling better so that I can put the illness behind me and start being productive again.
Think of the sickness like a giant tree that falls in the middle of the road when you’re trying to drive somewhere—you can’t drive around it or move the tree yourself, so you just have to sit tight and wait for the emergency crews to come to remove it while maybe listening to a podcast or two in the process.
I’ve Been Writing a Lot and It Feels Awesome
Here’s a pretty awful truth: aside from this blog and a few miscellaneous endeavors, I did very little writing at all last spring or summer because I had too many other things going on—a mistake I have zero desire to repeat. It made me think a lot about the balance I keep between actual writing versus other aspects of my creative life (running this blog, submitting stuff, reaching out to people, etc.). After much thought, I realized that I really did want to be writing new things, and not just talking about writing new things.
Once I actually got into this new writing routine the words started flowing fast: I finished a twenty-page creative nonfiction piece I’d been working on for the better part of six months (!), drafted some shorter pieces I’m revising right now, and even scribbled out a 100-word flash piece last Sunday that I thought of in the shower and didn’t want to get lost.
I feel happy with how most of this new writing has been going (and in some cases VERY happy), but I feel even better knowing that I’ve gotten back into a routine and that the actual writing hasn’t slipped by the wayside (which, TBH, was a pretty big fear). In the long-term, that’s probably more important.
I’m Still Querying My Novel, But In a Slightly Different Direction
My quest to find an agent for my graduate school novel also slowed down a bit when I got busy. I got back into querying with full force in the fall, but I still wasn’t getting anything but form letter rejections, along with the softer but still depressing No-Reply-Means-No responses.
This clearly sucks and has been kind of a letdown—as of today I’ve cast out lines to 72 agents without getting nibbles from any, and it’s starting to become harder to find new ones who might actually be interested in a novel like mine. This isn’t the end of the world, though (and I can honestly say that I’m not letting the No’s get to me) because I’ve instead started looking into independent publishers and small presses. I took a similar path when I was querying my Japan novel (try the big agents first, and if they don’t bite, go for independent presses), so making the transition hasn’t felt like a big change.
I’ll probably go into the specifics of indie publishing in a later post, but the gist is that instead of using an agent as a go-between, authors generally submit to small presses directly via email, Submittable, or hard copy (yeah, some places still prefer paper…). Many presses also offer yearly contests where the winner gets a cash prize and publication, though said contests always come with submission fees (usually between $10 and $40), which is something I have mixed feelings about.
Getting published by a small press earns authors a lot less money and offers less powerful distribution (generally via Amazon and the usual online channels, the publisher’s website, and anywhere the writer can hype it themselves), but it offers significant advantages over self-publishing in that the press handles the financing, does the cover and layout, and bestows a significant amount of street cred upon the author. Again, I’ll go into the specifics of self-publishing in another post, but for now, suffice it to say that most bookstores, agents, readers, and people in the literary world take you a lot more seriously if they see that an actual press believed in your book enough to publish it over the countless other manuscripts being thrown at them.
I’m Sending Out Other Stuff Too, And It’s Also a Waiting Game
Remember those shorter pieces I mentioned before? Well, they’re part of my new querying routine as well—I’ve got two pieces I’m actively trying to get picked up, and once the others are finished I’ll be able to send them out too.
I’ll likely go more in-depth about how submission works later on (damn, that’s three blog posts already I’ve promised…) but basically I either research (or stumble upon) journals, magazines, and websites that might want to publish my writing, check their submission guidelines to make sure they’re a good fit, and if everything matches I send off the piece and do more waiting (always waiting…).
I really only started submitting the shorter pieces two or so weeks ago, so I haven’t heard back from anywhere yet. When I do, though, I’ll have more writing to share with everyone who follows me, plus another line or two to add to my publications list. The publications list is more for the professional aspect of things: having more publications does a lot to boost your reputation as a writer, plus it gives you a more impressive-sounding bio for your query letters ;-)
I’ve Got a Bunch of Little Things to Do That I’m Trying to Clear Out
Having a lot of little things to do sucks and I’m sick of looking at all of them on my To-Do list, so I’ve been making more of an effort to clear them out before they get even more overwhelming. My big task for today was bringing my bike to the bike shop in the next town over to get my gear-shifting cable tightened (which I did immediately before drafting this post), but others include some miscellaneous editing work, calling my credit union back in the States to fix a problem with my contact info, setting up a new pocket notebook for idea-jotting since my current one’s almost full, and writing down an actual list of my friend’s birthdays so I don’t have to constantly log on to Facebook to remember them.
It’s been rough balancing all these little things with getting the bigger things done, but the trick for me seems to be about time of day: I like tackling major tasks like writing, editing, or submitting immediately after work or on weekends when I have larger blocks of time, and tend to slot in the smaller stuff after dinner, later in the day on weekends, or on days where I just can’t muster the stamina for more demanding work.
Well, That Went On Longer Than I Intended It To…
A sign I’m working on too much, perhaps? ;-) In any case, I’m looking forward to kicking this cold once and for all so I can get back to work—my whiteboard tracker has seen better days for sure.
The big plus, though, is that mentally I feel like my priorities are just about where I want them to be, and in a lot of ways that’s also a bigger victory for the long run.
Keep in touch—I try to keep a record of my writing progress to give people ideas (or, you know, if you’re just curious…).
But I Also Have a Day Job on Facebook
My Instagram where I post cool pics from Japan
Ian I just want you to know that I so enjoy following your journey. You have made me laugh and yes cry…. Don’t be so hard on yourself as you are a talented young man. You will be rewarded for your hard work even though the time it takes to reap the benefits can be so long.
Stu’s mom
Thanks for the encouragement — it means a lot!!