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Kevin Lucia, one of five new bloggers at Relief, continues his first blog series on the path to publication.

Writing is tough, if you’re really committed.  There’s a distinction between those who “like to write” and those who are hardcore writers. There are writers out there of all kinds: The former “like” to occasionally jot down their thoughts here and there, but when push comes to shove, writing isn’t a priority in their daily schedule (Notice I said ‘A’ priority, not ‘The’ priority. We’ll get to that later).

The later are those who write and type to the brink of carpel-tunnel destruction, whose eyes twitch from computer screen over-exposure, get cranky when they don’t write, and write into the wee hours of the morning. There are writers out there of all kinds, but I’m sure every one would tell you: writing seriously consumes serious energy and requires fierce dedication.

Author Robert Liparulo offers a great example. When asked how he finally found the time to write his breakout novel, Comes A Horseman, he answered that with a family and a full schedule, he began waking every day at 4 AM so he could have quiet time to write before everyone else woke up.

The willingness to write into the wee hours of the morning isn’t the only thing that separates the writers from the hopefuls; patience is another qualifying factor. With the exception of a few, it takes awhile to get published.  Some writers wait years before publication; some see it never. Others spend years in non-writing careers (such as Andrew Gross, who managed sports retail businesses before The Blue Zone) before publication.  Everyone has to do their time and take some lumps.  It’s said that even J.K. Rowling was rejected by Penguin/Putnam, among scores of others, before Scholastic took on Harry Potter.

This waiting period, fraught with rejection letters and repeated “No thank yous” from editors, serves a purpose (despite being frustrating): it gives writers time to refine their craft.  It also separates those who were meant to be published writers, from those who really want to be published writers. As painfully true as it is, just because someone loves writing doesn’t mean they’re meant to write for publication. Writing is something everyone can enjoy, but statistically – and unfortunately – not everyone is meant to be published.

Of course, technology has changed society radically, and the writing/publishing world hasn’t remained unaffected.  With the advent of Print On Demand technologies, scores of independent small press publishers and self-publishers have opened shop on the Internet. Now almost anyone, regardless of talent, can pay a fairly reasonable “package fee” or “pay per copy” to have a book “published”.

I won’t spend a lot of time on this, except to make the following statement: self-publishing itself is not ultimately foolish or a waste of money. Everyone needs to make a decision about what’s right for them, and there are many projects with niche audiences that self-publishing is suited for. However, bottom line: POD/vanity/self-publishers who promise that you can have your novel published “now, why wait?” and get all the ensuing fame are at the very least not telling the whole truth, at the very worst, lying.

Many have wasted time and resources until they discovered they’d either made a mistake trying to manufacture writing success or, worse yet, they weren’t meant to be writers at all, while someone took advantage of their dreams. The most unfortunate cases are folks whose natural talent and inexperience are taken advantage of. I myself have missed several traps, by the thinnest of margins. Popular detective fiction author John Laurence Robinson’s first novel was an unfortunate victim of such a “publisher,” but he recovered and continued to publish several fine novels, (When A Skylark Falls, To Skin A Cat, & Until the Last Dog Dies), through River Oak Press.

A good example of patience is the experience of another popular suspense/thriller author, T.L. Hines. Before Waking Lazarus was a Library Journal Suspense/Thriller of the Year choice, it languished in a drawer with three other completed manuscripts.  Over the course of several years, Hines garnered almost 181 rejections from a variety of publishers and agents.

Considering his rejections many lessons learned, Hines stopped sending out Lazarus and worked on other projects, until Bethany House acquisitions editor Dave Long came across a sample of Waking Lazarus on Hines’ blog, downloaded it, and asked for more. At that point, Hines had become simply content with one thing: writing for the enjoyment and development of his craft. His third novel, Unseen, will be hitting store shelves soon.

To recap :
1.    First and foremost, you need patience.
2.    Check back next week for point two…

Kevin Lucia is currently seeking an MA in Creative Writing from Binghamton University, is a born-again Christian who teaches 9-10th grade English and acts as a freelance columnist for The Press & Sun Bulletin.  If you can’t get enough of Kevin here at Relief, you can find him at kevinlucia.net, as well as on MySpace and ShoutLife.

At least five. Our Assistant Editor Heather and her husband Fiction Editor Alan discovered a problem with their apartment, and so the Relief team here in Chicago kicked some serious ass packing and moving all their stuff in six days start to finish. It has put a delay in our regularly scheduled programming, but when life happens, our team moves. Ha ha. I'm a funny guy. Get it? Moves? Oh never mind.

So please forgive the delay while Heather and Alan get settled into their new place, and we'll be rockin' and rollin' in no time again. 

Diner Subs Open Until May 31 

Submisisons for Coach's Midnight Diner will remain open until May 31st. After receiving some harried emails from folks we met at Calvin ("I just found out about the Diner! My story is almost finished but not quite! Can I please have more time?!?!?") I decided to go ahead and leave it open. So go ahead and finish your Shatner on a Plane story and get it in!  

Kevin Lucia, one of five new bloggers at Relief, introduces his first blog series on the path to publication.

We all have dreams that require time and patience for fruition.  Unfortunately, we live in a “now” generation; we want success now, not later, and it seems as if we’re always looking for a short-cut to our end goals.
The writing world is no different.  In an age of best-selling mega-authors, many have bought into the romantic dream of the novelist’s life: a carefree existence sipping wine in a country cottage or trendy Manhattan studio-loft, pounding out one bestseller after another. I know this first-hand; I had this same dream.

Someone forgot to mention, (or maybe we just ignored), the most important truth about a writing career: it’s hard work, offering little immediate returns or fame. Getting published is like making the NAVY Seals; most wash-out before they get past “week one,” and like getting into the NBA, even if you do make it, there’s no guarantee you’ll get “off the bench” and make it into the limelight.

Author Brad Listi recently blogged that pursing a writing career without a doubt certified a person as completely insane because of how hard it was.  Many folks don’t think this way; I know I didn’t initially. I hardly imagined writing a novel was like breathing, but I clearly remember my dreams of never having to work again as I feverishly hacked away, (hacked is a good word), on my very first manuscript in college.
Though I’ve published no novels, I have published quite a few nonfiction articles and a handful of short stories. And even with this track record, I don’t have infallible answers, only the realization, (gleaned from hindsight), that if it weren’t for a few key changes I made based on the advice of far other worthier folks, things would be different. Over time, I’ve learned things I wish someone had told ME fifteen years ago, and they fit into the following four maxims about a writing career:

1. No Batteries Included, Patience Required—The question is not only “how much energy do you have?”, but also “How long are you willing to wait?”
2. Hats, Coat, and Thick Skin Only — listening to and valuing critique, taking direction, and playing nicely is almost always a requirement.
3. A Plan In Hand Beats Wandering in the Bush—There’s no ONE right path to publication, but there are paths, and plans for them.
4. Be Willing To Sacrifice What You Love Most—You will be forced to rework some priorities…and it’s not the ones you think.
5. Nuts and Bolts: Cover letters? Writers’ Market? Places to Send Stories and/or Articles?

Join me next time, as I will elaborate on each of the previously mentioned maxims!