Wishing and the Publishing World by Elana Johnson

Hello! My name is Elana Johnson, and I’ve been around in the publishing/writing/author blogosphere since 2008. You can find me atmy blog, on Twitter, or Facebook. My first series came out with Simon & Schuster beginning in 2011, and I am an Insecure Writer here to share with you some encouragement and support.

Sometimes we think we “have it made” in this business. Whether that means we’ve published a book ourselves, signed with an agent, or gotten a deal from a traditional publisher. But the publishing industry is a tough beast to be involved with. In some ways, it’s extremely unforgiving. In others, the sky is the limit.

Since I’m a rather positive person, and I like to dwell on things of a more optimistic nature, I’m going to talk a little bit about looking into that sky and reaching for the stars.

No matter where you are in your publishing career, I’m willing to bet you could still start a sentence with “I wish.”

“I wish my agent would read faster.”

“I wish I could sell to a publisher.”

“I wish I could write more than ten words before my kids interrupt me.”

We all have them. Wishes. I’m right there with you—and we should have wishes, and we should be working on making them come true.

See, 5 years ago, I was a complete unknown in the publishing world (and in many ways, I still am!). I didn’t have a single thing published, not a short story, a novella, nothing.

I was wishing on stars, writing books, and sending queries. A lot of queries. Hundreds of queries. SO MANY QUERIES.

Some of my dreams came true. Yours can too. Even if you aren’t recognizable yet. Even if you can’t get more than a handful of sentences on the page before something else comes up. Even if you haven’t signed an agent or publisher contract.

The point is to keep going. Sometimes it’s hard. Boy, let me tell you, I know how hard this business can be from an intimately personal place. Sometimes things don’t go the way we’d hoped, imagined, or dreamed—even if we do sign with an agent and then get a publishing contract from a New York house.

But keep going. Keep looking up into the skies, finding those stars, and making your wishes. I can’t guarantee they’ll come true, but I can guarantee that you’ll be happy and satisfied with what does happen.

So what’s your wish?

Elana is the author of the Possession series, which includes full-length novels POSSESSION and SURRENDER, and short stories REGRET and RESIST . Her newest novel, a YA contemporary in verse, titled ELEVATED, just came out in February. She is the author of FROM THE QUERY TO THE CALL, an ebook that every writer needs to read before they query.
She runs a personal blog on publishing and is a founding author of the QueryTracker blog, a regular contributor to The League of Extraordinary Writers, and a co-organizer of WriteOnCon. She is a member of SCBWI, ANWA, and LDStorymakers.

Qualities of a Good Critique Partner

The manuscript is polished – huzzah! Time for another set of eyes to look at it.

Beta readers/test readers are often those who are just readers of our genre. They’re great for spotting flaws in the story. But we also need skilled writers to go over the manuscript and examine the plot, the character arc, the grammar, the structure, etc. Enter–critique partners.

What should we look for in a good critique partner?

Similar writing ability and experience

A professional tennis player doesn’t want to play with someone who hits the courts once a month for fun. He needs a match with someone at his level. We need to find partners who are also at our level or above. A published book isn’t always the best criteria as there are many writers of talent not yet published. But they do need to be in a similar place on the journey in terms of ability.

Familiar with your genre

A partner who writes in our genre is great because he understands the setting, structure, and flow of that kind of book. But most writers read outside of their genre as well. They can judge a manuscript based on its characters and storyline. Often they are more subjective and spot things we miss.

Honest but tactful

We need to know the truth. Yeah, it can hurt. But if something is wrong or doesn’t work, we need to know while there is still time to fix it. This needs to be done with tact–and with suggestions if possible. The critique partner’s point should come across as ‘I don’t think this works’ rather than ‘this is all wrong, stupid.’ We also need to hear what does work well.

Familiar with your style and voice

This might not always be possible, but a good partner has read our writing before (even in blog posts.) He knows how we tend to write–what elements we usually include, the flow of our stories, the voice of our characters, and so forth. He’ll also be less likely to impose his own voice on our work.

Reliable and trustworthy

Most writers are trying to work on a schedule. We need someone who adheres to deadlines and is consistent with critiques. We also want someone who will not only deliver as promised, but will be discrete with our work. (Sharing it with the world or running off with it is just not cool.)

Good sense of humor

Everyone involved needs a good sense of humor. (Writing is intense enough–need to lighten up now and then!) We don’t always get to sit down with critique partners and words on a page can come off cold and harsh. A good partner knows when to add a little humor.

Understands you

This is a package deal and why it’s important to use people who know you well. It helps if they understand your standards, your morals and beliefs, and what you’re trying to accomplish. And just like making friends, it’s great when critique partners share many of those same attributes and goals.

If we find one or more critique partners with all of those qualities, then we’re set!

What do you look for in your critique partners?

Insecure Writer's Support Group Anniversary Announcement!

It’s time for another group posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! Time to release our fears to the world – or offer encouragement to those who are feeling neurotic. If you’d like to join us, click on the tab above and sign up. We post the first Wednesday of every month. I encourage everyone to visit at least a dozen new blogs and leave a comment. Your words might be the encouragement someone needs.

The awesome co-hosts for the September 3 posting of the IWSG are Laura at My Baffling Brain, Mark Koopmans, Shah Wharton, and Sheena-Kay Graham!

Today marks three years since the very first IWSG post. Next month marks one year since the IWSG site and Facebook group opened. And we’d like you to help us celebrate!

The IWSG Team is putting together an eBook that will benefit all writers - The IWSG Guide to Publishing and Beyond. And we invite all IWSG members, Facebook members, and followers to contribute.

Here are the details:

The three topics will be writing, publishing, and marketing.

Each contribution needs to be between 200 and 1000 words. Focus on one of those three aspects and give us your best tip or procedure. The essay can include bullet points, top ten lists, and recommendations. (Websites, software, books, etc.)

You can either post it for your October 1 IWSG post or email it directly to TheIWSG AT gmail.com or alexjcavanaugh ATearthlink.net (Since the length can go over the standard IWSG post length.) Include a one sentence byline and a link to your site. Also state that you give us permission to use it in the book and which topic it falls under. (We will only edit for misspellings and grammar mistakes.)

All submissions need to be sent or posted by October 2, 2014. We will compile them into an eBook and aim for an early December release. The book will be free and available for all eReaders.

Thank you for making the IWSG such a huge success!!