One of the things that writers crave most is validation. This comes in the form of publication, agents, editors, positive reviews, and so forth.

However, some of the ways in which we try to get these or react to rejection in the course of arriving at our goals, are what I'm calling our sins. We've all made them, myself included. There are many things that I did as a young writer (and that's many, many years ago since I will turn 50 this month) that if I could turn back the clock I would do different.

So this is what I learned along the way in terms of etiquette and good manners, most of which I learned the hard way.

1) Be polite to the older and more experienced pros, and also to the editors and agents. All of them spent years learning what you need to know, usually with no one except life to teach them. Even when they get spiky with you, they've earned their spurs and you haven't. You have to "earn your spurs" as King Edward Longshanks said to his son the Black Prince.

I violated that one a few times when I had only a single pro cred under my belt and paid for it dearly.

2) Be patient. Writing is both a hurry up and learn and a hurry up and wait business. Be patient about submitting your stories, be certain that it is the best that you can make it first. Submitting something that is less than your best effort can cause an editor to writer you off as someone they don't wish to see a story from again.

Be patient about sending out a follow-up query after you have submitted something. Check the reply times before querying and make certain you have passed that first. Then be polite in asking whether they got it, whether they have made a decision yet, and so forth.

Be patient with editors and agents. If they say that they have a certain reading period, then that is what they mean. Respect that. Be patient while they read. It always takes a while and some agents and editors will read a piece twice or more through before making a final decision on something that is very close to what they want. Do not bombard them with emails and letters.

3) Don't bring your personal life into your business. Keep them separate. Editors and agents who are considering your work don't want to know about your sore throats, your marital problems, your unpaid rent. This is business.

4) Don't respond to rejection with abuse or arguments or explanations. Chosing to take on a client or buying a story is a purely business decision. It is a subjective decision, which means that every single agent and editor bases their decision on what they perceive to be quality, whether it fits their audience, and whether they like it. Most important is whether they like it. That's a purely subjective decision. A rejection of your work is just that: a rejection of your work. As much as it may hurt, it is not a rejection of you as an individual.

5) Learn your craft. Talent without craft cannot succeed. It is like an artist trying to paint without brushes. There are good books and good courses you can take either in school or, if you're out of school, through adult ed classes and many of them are taught by actual writers.

6) Don't give up. Too many writers, even those with a few sales under their belts, give up in the face of rejection. Dune was rejected by over 40 publishers before it found a home and became a bestseller.

7) Try very hard to keep your personal life separate from your writing. And this is the place I most sinned as a young and star-struck writer. I married another writer/editor and allowed him to tear my career apart. It took me years to put it back together again.

So here it is for you to think about... All these potential writerly sins. If anyone has more sins to add, I'll be glad to include them next time and keep them on my sins list.






Some brief creds, a partial list

articles published in:
Movieline
Cinefantastique
Washington Post Book World
Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Drive Guide
Black Belt
Martial Arts Weapons
Monsterland
Thrust: Science Fiction in Review
Science Fiction Review

Former MPAA Accredited Journalist.
Currently Active member, SFWA, HWA