Act as if
For most writers, the path to mainstream publication is long, especially if we're trying to sell a novel. Dig into the 'how I got published' section in any writer's magazine and you'll see that a ten or fifte en year struggle to get that elusive first contract isn't uncommon.
So how do we keep the faith while we're waiting to be discovered? We act as if we're already published. Personal development writers stress the importance of acting as if you already are something before you achieve it. That way your brain is programmed to become that thing and eventually you'll achieve it.
Part of my 'acting as if' was independently publishing Panthera : Death Spiral with Pentangle Press. Carol Westron, Chris Hammcott and I decided when we set up Pentangle that we were aiming for the most professional publishing standards. We would each edit our books to make them the best they could be, then we would turn them over to be beta read and copy edited. Chris is a professional graphic designer and so Carol and I knew we' d get stunning designs for our covers that worked professionally. We were acting as if we were mainstream published,
We took our books to the Oxford Crime and Mystery Conference and sold some to complete strangers through the bookshop there. That was especially pleasing, because it meant the sales were made on the strength of the cover and blurb alone, the way they would be in any bookshop. It was lovely to sit in the common room on the author's side of the table and sign my books for total strangers. That kind of acting as if is the most pleasurable.
We have to believe that we are best-selling authors before we can get anyone else to take us seriously. So if you're aiming for publication act is if you're already there and you' ll increase your chances of making it.
So how do we keep the faith while we're waiting to be discovered? We act as if we're already published. Personal development writers stress the importance of acting as if you already are something before you achieve it. That way your brain is programmed to become that thing and eventually you'll achieve it.
Part of my 'acting as if' was independently publishing Panthera : Death Spiral with Pentangle Press. Carol Westron, Chris Hammcott and I decided when we set up Pentangle that we were aiming for the most professional publishing standards. We would each edit our books to make them the best they could be, then we would turn them over to be beta read and copy edited. Chris is a professional graphic designer and so Carol and I knew we' d get stunning designs for our covers that worked professionally. We were acting as if we were mainstream published,
We took our books to the Oxford Crime and Mystery Conference and sold some to complete strangers through the bookshop there. That was especially pleasing, because it meant the sales were made on the strength of the cover and blurb alone, the way they would be in any bookshop. It was lovely to sit in the common room on the author's side of the table and sign my books for total strangers. That kind of acting as if is the most pleasurable.
We have to believe that we are best-selling authors before we can get anyone else to take us seriously. So if you're aiming for publication act is if you're already there and you' ll increase your chances of making it.
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