And so I type...
Confession...I haven't been spending my precious designated writing time doing much actual writing lately. I've spent it pitching, and I'm feeling exhausted and disillusioned by the process. I enjoy crafting the pitches themselves (because, writing) but what drains me is the endless research to find appropriate pubs, then more research to figure out who best to send pitches to, and then there is the waiting. Waiting, waiting, waiting. I have not worked as an editor, but I can imagine they are inundated with pitches on the daily, so I'm not judging; I'm just expressing...frustration from my end of things.
I would prefer rejections, even nasty rejections, over this agonizing silence. Because a rejection is feedback, even if it is a form rejection. It tells me that I need to reassess my approach (or, after multiple rejections, my ideas). But not knowing whether a pitch is a "no" or if it's languishing in a slush pile of never-to-be-opened emails is not constructive for me in any way. So after a couple of weeks, I follow up. The majority of my commissions have come after a first follow-up. But more often than not that follow-up goes unanswered. Now my pitch has been sitting for a month, and meanwhile my bank account dwindles. If I knew an idea was rejected I could move on to the work of pitching it elsewhere. The "cast a wide net" approach I've sometimes heard advocated doesn't appeal to me as a writer. I take care to craft my pitches thoughtfully and with a publication's tone, content, and voice in mind. I start with a clear summary of the "big idea" and give a sense of the shape a piece will take. I want to show editors through a quality pitch that they can expect quality work from me. But at what point am I putting too much effort into this? Or maybe I just need to continue doing the hard work and hope something turns around.... Writers out there, what are your thoughts? Is there anything you have tried that makes your pitches stand out and get noticed?
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I literally just sat down to write this and immediately heard the dog retching from the other room. And no, I didn't get the door open fast enough. And yes, I am grateful we don't have any carpet. It's par for the course that I'm sure many writers can relate to, especially us work-at-home parents. If the dog's not barfing, then the preschooler is melting down (or doing something extremely naughty in a bid for your attention), or some other urgent happening is taking you away from your work. And so it goes.
I've become pretty good at working around distractions, which is huge for me, considering that less than a decade ago I required absolute silence to even read a novel. It's amazing how we can adapt. For me, adapting has also meant changing my creative process. Whereas in the past I could get lost in my bubble for an entire day, that's just not in the cards right now. I miss the intoxicating feeling of "flow" from those long stretches but, on the upside, I'm now much more efficient with the time I do have. I feel like I'll be able to accomplish more and more as my son becomes more independent and my time for work increases. It's almost like I've been in training for what's to come... I've had to discipline myself to write ideas down as they happen, so that I'm ready, not when inspiration strikes, but when it's my turn for "office hours." My iPhone has been a lifesaver in this respect, and notebooks and sticky notes abound in our house. The trick is remembering to consolidate them into an Ideas book regularly so we're not drowning in paper scraps. I'm really proud of what I've been able to accomplish in the past year and a half since we moved to Vancouver Island and left our "real" jobs behind. It's been hard to balance everything and get used to living in the uncertainty of the gig economy, since my husband is also a work-at-home freelancer (Hovington Instruments), but it's absolutely worth it. We're both doing what we love, AND spending oodles of time with our little guy while he is young. Of course there are moments (days, and weeks, even) that are discouraging, when rejections (or worse--lack of responses) fill my inbox and I wonder: what am I doing? But despite these times, I push onward. I want my son to see that you can follow your passion and still make a living. And there will never be an "easier" time to do this. If not now, when? So I sit my bottom down in this chair, and I write. |
Kelly McQuillan
Musings on creativity, productivity, and how to juggle it all with family life... Archives
December 2019
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