Relief: A Quarterly Christian Expression - Hats, Coat, and Thick Skin Only

Hats, Coat, and Thick Skin Only

Written by Kevin Lucia

Thursday, 22 May 2008

Continuing his series on The Path To Publication, Relief Blogger Kevin Lucia discusses the importance of listening to and valuing critique, taking direction, and playing nicely with editors.

The most important thing a new writer needs for improvement is critique. It’s hard to endure, admittedly. Our projects are dear to us. When we send them into the world, we want to protect them from mean editors who obviously don’t recognize brilliance when they see it. Snarky tone aside, rejection hurts, even for the seasoned writer. No one likes to be told that what they’ve worked so hard on needs improvement.

However, a writer can’t improve without outside input. For years, I wrote “behind closed doors,” never letting anyone see my work. I was afraid that negative comments would hinder my progress. Besides, from my perspective, the folks at the weekly Barnes & Noble Adult Writers Workshop weren’t published either, so why should I take their advice?

The result was obvious. Though I possessed a natural storytelling voice, I continually practiced bad fiction writing habits and never grew as a writer. All writers have tendencies they’re blind to, no matter how many times they’ve proofread, so everyone needs a second pair of eyes. For example, I love adverbs, and left to my own devices, I’ll use as many as I possibly can.

There are multiple ways to get this input. The first – which I so smugly sniffed at in my youth – would be some kind of formal or informal local writing group. Depending on a writer’s place in life, attending college and taking Creative Writing classes, either as a part of program or simply a course here and there could also be extremely helpful. Most important, writer’s always need to be open to suggestion. If writers can get to a point where they crave feedback – both positive and negative – they’re on the right path.

Once past that, there’s still the gatekeeper: the almighty editor; he or she that holds the ultimate fate of our treasured work in their hands. Since none of us is Robert Heinlein, (who had an uncanny initial acceptance rate), we’re going to get rejected – a lot. Instead of lengthy exposition detailing how to deal with it, I can relate several personal experiences.

A little over a year ago, I put my novel dreams to rest, (I plan on detailing this in a future blog series titled “Why Write Short Stories?”), and submitted one of my first short stories ever to this up-and coming speculative anthology. The editor seemed a bit radical and “out there,” and seeing as how I was a Christian who didn’t write evangelical fiction, it seemed like the perfect place for my masterpiece.

Said editor’s reaction was less than glowing. Among some of the reactions were, “hackneyed”, “clichéd”, “really bad dialogue” – and he called it a “bad knock-off of Buffy [the Vampire Slayer].”

My initial response (which thankfully never made it to email!) was shock, and then a little anger. How dare he? This was something I’d slaved over, worked hard on, and put late nights into. “It’s a stupid anthology anyway,” I muttered to myself, the way a kid calls a carnival stupid because his mom won’t let him go. I was about to email him my opinion of his editorial abilities when a thought hit me: ALL writers go through this, don’t they?

It was a stunning revelation. Every magazine and anthology in the world had editors, and it stood to reason that every writer had to work with editors and listen to their critique, probably even the ones who’d been published multiple times. What made me so special that I could skip what everyone else endured? With that in mind, I took a deep breath and read the editor’s final remarks:

“There’s something here – a good voice underneath all this. Try again.”

Try again. Did I have the guts? Could I make the changes in style this guy wanted? Of course, then came the only logical follow-up question: How badly did I want to get published?

I wrote something completely new, keeping in mind these comments, swallowing my pride along the way (which didn’t exactly taste yummy). I wrote and re-wrote, deleting whole passages in the spirit of said advice. I re-submitted—still grumbling, I might add—but also feeling a glimmer of hope, because I sensed the truth in the advice: this piece was much better than its predecessor.

The eventual result wasn’t the Pulitzer Prize, though it felt like it to me. Not only was it selected for the anthology, it later won Editor’s Choice honors, and took home a decent cash prize. The lesson about critique was hammered home.

Accepting critique is a mindset, however, and not something applied only to big-cash rewarding publications. Not long after my first acceptance, I received editing requests from two different, smaller magazines that paid only in contributor copies. They wanted my stories, but had some very specific advice about what they wanted changed. My lesson having been learned; I instantly made the changes they requested.

For those worried about losing their distinctive voices by always acceding to editor’s requests, not to worry. The longer you write and the more critique you soak up, the better “eye” you get for the story itself, and are better able to judge critique. Case in point— not too long after my learned lesson, I received a rejection/invitation to resubmit concerning another story of mine from a publication. The editors “liked the concept, but weren’t comfortable with all the flashbacks”.

I opened the story to critique, but came to the conclusion the flashbacks were integral to the plot. Though I felt it needed some brushing up here and there, I kept it the way it was and sent it out to the next magazine, which it accepted for several contributor copies.

On a final note, learning to work with editors and being willing to accept critique helps build your reputation as a writer who acts professionally, is humble, and easy to work with. I’ve run into many writers, writer-hopefuls, and small press authors whose attitudes are defensive, abrasive, and confrontational. Rejection is a dish best served never with them, and I can’t imagine their careers are going to grow much.

Regarding over-all personality and reputation, I can’t help but return to a recent example of an author who’s attitude has been continually and over-abundantly blessed. About a year ago, best-selling Young Adult Fantasy Author Bryan Davis stayed with my family for several days when he graced our school book fair with an appearance and signing. Not only was he a tremendous wealth of information for a young writer, but was an astounding example of how to act: gracious, courteous, easy to work with, humble, and cooperative. It’s not hard to imagine how his success came about. I’m sure booksellers, publishers, and editors find him a joy to work with. This is a perfect, final example of how important it is to set a personal standard when it comes to accepting critique and relating to editors and others in the writing field.

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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.

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