Yup. One of the few skills that gets better with age. Most writers don't hit their stride until their 40s-50s anyway.
Form rejection today. I once read a piece of advice for aspiring actors which suggested that, rather than looking at the specific audition in front of them as a win/lose situation, to instead consider it merely one step closer to That Audition which will take their career to the next level at some point in the future. It might be this one or it might be 500 or more down the line, but even if it's the latter, after the one you're worried about right now, you'll only have 499 to go. I'm not sure I've explained it very well, but I rather like this way of thinking.
One of my craft development exercises is participating in improv, so I spend a lot of time with actors. There's a real overlap in career planning, although there are differences (acting is performative, so you have to adhere to somebody else's calendar, for example). One expression that hits close to home for writers is: "Acting is a craft. Casting is a lottery." So, I'd say that: "Writing is a Craft. Getting published is a Lottery." The analogy with a lottery has two connections: yes, it's unpredictable; but, the more you participate, the greater your chances. My approach as a writer is to not only keep resubmitting existing manuscripts, but also to produce more new content.
I think it's fine to be a struggling artist at any age. It has its own charm And with writing especially there is no aging out. So what if you're in your 50s before you reach your goal? So what if you're in your 50s before you even establish these goals? I think a writer is more likely to be successful in their 50s than their 20s. And there is no myth about success. Most things we really, really want are harder to get than they should be. When I started this thread I really doubted myself and spent years getting rejected. And then after starting this I still faced nothing but rejection. But I didn't stop writing. I wrote more. And I read more. And it took along time and I still face regular rejection, but I have also published places that I thought were impossible markets. It surely won't happen for a writer who gives up, but for those who don't there is a chance. Here's the other thing. I've always wanted to write stories like those published in the journals and magazines. I was always more focused on elevating my abilities than having publishing credits. I wanted to be a good writer. Getting accepted by certain places meant I was at that level. I think we have to want to write like the stories in The New Yorker or wherever more than we want to land a byline in these places. I absolutely love literary journals. Reading them is one of my absolute favorite things to do. They're not all the same and this is something you can really start to notice the more you invest in knowing this world. I think that's always been something in my favor. I had some understanding of the collective conversation happening in the literary world and I wanted to join. It didn't happen quickly, but it did happen when I was ready.
Yeah, what do you even know in your 20s as far as writing goes? I was prob 35 before I had anything interesting to say.
I’m 47, started writing seriously at 44 and as you know well underway with querying agents and writing 3rd novel (2nd one parked as 3rd far more exciting). My 50s is going to be my decade! (I hope so anyway)
Me too! Though I suppose at 42, there's still hope for my 40s. Either way, I'm retiring with a "5" in front of my age. Hell or high water. Rob a bank if I need to.
As a voracious reader throughout my entire life, I always wanted to write someday. I would dabble here and there but it never went anywhere - I think I had good ideas, but no idea how to breathe life into them. I started writing in earnest in my early 40's and my first novel was published when I was 45. I'm sure it's not the same for everyone - there are some old souls out there for sure. But for me I needed a lot of life experience before I could write stories and characters with authenticity.
Same same. I never had trouble writing stuff, but authentic character stuff didn't come until much later.
Yeah, the exceptions are a bit insane though. Bret Easton Ellis was what, 21? when he published Less Than Zero. Phillip Roth 26 when he won the National Book Award for Goodbye Columbus. But these are outliers for sure.
Yeah! As an actor myself, I'm just using current auditions online to actually connect with people and chat (thank goodness Covid restrictions are nearly over in this country), and it's worked wonders, so I think I'll keep with that mentality. Even if you do get rejected, you end up getting to know people well enough that you could chat with them/get in touch with them again if necessary in the future. I think everyone's missing out on a bit of social interaction right now, so if you actually act more sociable in your emails, it comes across really well. I've had some lovely conversations as well as rejections - which never really hurt much at all if they're accompanied by casual chatting and 'hey man, we wish you the best of luck in your career, your work is amazing, but we ended up going with someone else for this project'. Sometimes I've had to reject them, and it all works the same way. My dad calls it 'fluff', screws up his face, and refuses to do it; but it's part of basic social interaction, so guess who has no friends? Guess who never knows how to network? Idk, but it's not me, that's for sure.
I had that dream too, and now they are closing the bank branches so can't even rob one of those. Ah well...
Rejection today, actually very blunt- think I’d prefer a form response that is bland. Gutted because it’s sort of the end of the road with book 1. Only one more agent has the full MS and a few other stragglers have the query. yes I’ve got a request to rewrite and resubmit to one agent and how I want to do that means I can probably resubmit to a decent number of others, but still. what have I achieved? Well, I think I’ve proved I’m ok, I can write. Just need the right book at the right time to go to the right agent! So for now it’s on with book 3, then perhaps revisit book 1 as requested and finish book 2. Anyway- onward!!
I'm curious how other authors talk about their successes and what reaction they get. Does it elicit jealousy from other writers? Personally, I've learned to keep quiet about my publication history around other writers. I went to the Sewanee Writers' Conference a couple of summers ago, and it was literally my first exposure to a writers' community. I noticed that talking about any success you've had was considered gauche, although personally I liked hearing what people had accomplished. If I did mention somewhere I'd published, not that I have all that much to brag of, I often got glares of pure hatred. I was a little shocked by the reaction. It seems better to not mention any success except to let friends know where they can read a new story.
I’m not sure what the protocol is either, but I’ll make an Instagram post of a contributor copy, and I do notice other writers posting acceptance letters on Instagram.
1st thought—only if they're resentful jealous people. If I hear about someone's success I'm happy for them and hope maybe I can learn something from them. But then I'm fortunate enough to have a growth mindset and an abundance mindset (I think they go hand in hand, and maybe are different terms for the same thing). Possibly it's considered arrogant at certain groups? Or maybe they've learned some people get their feelings hurt from hearing about other people's success? I don't know.