Alison, Thank YOU so much!. I love your newsletter and am honored to have baked your celebration cake. Merry Half-Birthday and cheers to the next six months of writing and burning bright ❤️ 🎂
Half a cake made me think of half-baked, which I realize is not at all the same thing, but in writing terms one problem is half-baked ideas: if you haven't sat with your ideas long enough, the writing may feel forced, which may mostly be a problem for you rather than your writing, but still ...
(By this I mean, when I write, that I tense up if I have a deadline or just an inner compulsion to write before I've let the ideas fully percolate - but that doesn't necessarily mean the writing suffers; just I do.)
Last night I had a deadline and didn't really feel ready, but pushed on and felt a bit tense (not as tense as some other times) - there was also the problem that I was writing an encyclopedia article, which can still be creative in its way, but there is the issue of, you know, getting the facts right, so stopping to check my notes to see: was it 24 editions or 27 editions that East Lynne went through (this was an article on Mrs. Henry Wood for an encyclopedia on Victorian Women's Writing).
And how do I celebrate? Why, by writing about my writing, as I'm doing here, or sharing it, as I'm also doing here.
And as to the other point in the newsletter, about editors asking you to rewrite, well, I've always resisted that. Alison's example seems to prove my point: why cut Uncle Early? I would trust my inner inspiration, not what the editors think, not even what I think the next day, but I'm a bit of a heretic on this.
Well, I do write books...cookbooks with personal narrative and one of my favorite recipes is Clean the Oven Pie. It always makes me laugh, and it IS a pie we have all made . . . at least once.
CLEAN THE OVEN PIE
Makes one pie
INGREDIENTS
1 Recipe for Double or Single Pie Dough
1 Recipe for Fruit Filling
PROCEDURE
1. Make your favorite pie filling with fresh or unthawed frozen fruit
(berries, pie cherries, rhubarb, etc.)—the juicier the better.
2. Mound it really high.
3. Cover it with a top crust and cut vents or make a lattice crust.
4. Bake it in the oven.
5. You will know when it is nearly done when you start to smell burning
filling.
6. Open the oven to release smoke.
7. Fan the smoke away from the smoke alarm that is now going off. (Opening windows at this time is good too.)
8. Remove pie from oven when it has bubbled over enough.
Wow, Alison. Your discussion on editorial notes is so timely and helpful. Thank you.
After signing with an agent in August and reviewing the five pages of notes she gave me over the last month or so, I've just started the revision process this week. Let's just say that after a morning of re-reading my own work with her notes in mind, I spent the afternoon on Indeed.com looking for a new career.
The suggestions she's made feel very much against the grain of my story. It feels like I'm supposed to change the protagonist's basic view of the world and her inclinations toward it--she's got to go from being the conventional, rule-abiding, "just want a normal life" teen to a Greta Thurnberg-style crusader. And the messy, inappropriate sexual relationship that drives the protag's crisis needs to be pulled entirely because it's not appropriate for YA audiences. I get the sense I'm being asked to sanitize, or in some way make palatable the mess of loss, addiction, neglect and poverty that drove me to write this story in the first place.
When the agent and I had "the talk" this summer, I had only a glimmer of what she was asking. And I wonder if I'd have been able to see it clearly anyway, even if the full scope of the changes she suggested were clear. I saw what I desperately needed to see: that I was a writer who would be published, and she wanted to help me. Because who turns an agent down, honestly? With a first book? Wouldn't that be insane? How would I explain such a thing to other writers, to myself? After so many years of work?
I really feel as if this is my only chance to make that long longed-for move from Writer to Author. But at what cost? If I can even write this other book she's asking for, and that's a big if, will I even care to have it out in the world? I worry that it won't be mine at all. An orphan. A lifeless book that I cannot claim. The irony is that it was exactly those stories--the messy, shameful stories--that took me so many years to claim as a writer. And now I'm being asked to hide them again.
But even in all this uncertainty, Alison, this comment of yours resonates: "I set aside both ego and humility, and just get open."
I think I need to give it a try. Even with these major misgivings, I don't know how I would justify backing out at this point. I tell myself that maybe the "real" story will find its way through some other channel, and this is what professional writers do--take feedback, write to spec, meet deadlines. And if that other story never sees publication, at least I wrote it. Clumsily, incompletely, but written.
Thanks again for the space to share these all-too-live writing struggles, Alison.
What Laura Nicol's editor suggests disturbs me, and I've had to ponder over my response. YAs experience what Laura writes about, so...???? Then I had to think - what age IS YA. I googled it, and more than one source agrees that it's 12-18. Really?? There is a huge gap in maturity between 12 and 18. How can you reasonably expect a writer to write about tough issues and speak to both 12 and 18 year olds? What is entirely appropriate for an 18 year may be beyond a 12 year old. Nevertheless, I've known women who became sexually active at 13 and 14. Who grew up in poverty.
And I've known teens who won't read the news because the way humans treat each other is too depressing.
So it seems - without reading either the novel nor the editor's comments - that Laura Nicol's topics are age appropriate. Or, has Laura Nicol written a novel for adults?
It is true that humans more often want an uplifting lesson or ending in their reading, but not smarmy.
I wish Laura Nicol well in her rewrites and publishing path. I am sure she will find her way while keeping true to what her novel wants to say.
Alison, Thank YOU so much!. I love your newsletter and am honored to have baked your celebration cake. Merry Half-Birthday and cheers to the next six months of writing and burning bright ❤️ 🎂
Half a cake made me think of half-baked, which I realize is not at all the same thing, but in writing terms one problem is half-baked ideas: if you haven't sat with your ideas long enough, the writing may feel forced, which may mostly be a problem for you rather than your writing, but still ...
(By this I mean, when I write, that I tense up if I have a deadline or just an inner compulsion to write before I've let the ideas fully percolate - but that doesn't necessarily mean the writing suffers; just I do.)
Last night I had a deadline and didn't really feel ready, but pushed on and felt a bit tense (not as tense as some other times) - there was also the problem that I was writing an encyclopedia article, which can still be creative in its way, but there is the issue of, you know, getting the facts right, so stopping to check my notes to see: was it 24 editions or 27 editions that East Lynne went through (this was an article on Mrs. Henry Wood for an encyclopedia on Victorian Women's Writing).
Easier to write book reviews, like a recent one I did for the online Ormsby Review on Dostoevsky: I can just let fly then and let the creativity take over. If you're interested, here it is: https://ormsbyreview.com/2021/10/30/1266-goldfarb-bowers-holland-dostoevsky/
And how do I celebrate? Why, by writing about my writing, as I'm doing here, or sharing it, as I'm also doing here.
And as to the other point in the newsletter, about editors asking you to rewrite, well, I've always resisted that. Alison's example seems to prove my point: why cut Uncle Early? I would trust my inner inspiration, not what the editors think, not even what I think the next day, but I'm a bit of a heretic on this.
Sheldon
Well, I do write books...cookbooks with personal narrative and one of my favorite recipes is Clean the Oven Pie. It always makes me laugh, and it IS a pie we have all made . . . at least once.
CLEAN THE OVEN PIE
Makes one pie
INGREDIENTS
1 Recipe for Double or Single Pie Dough
1 Recipe for Fruit Filling
PROCEDURE
1. Make your favorite pie filling with fresh or unthawed frozen fruit
(berries, pie cherries, rhubarb, etc.)—the juicier the better.
2. Mound it really high.
3. Cover it with a top crust and cut vents or make a lattice crust.
4. Bake it in the oven.
5. You will know when it is nearly done when you start to smell burning
filling.
6. Open the oven to release smoke.
7. Fan the smoke away from the smoke alarm that is now going off. (Opening windows at this time is good too.)
8. Remove pie from oven when it has bubbled over enough.
9. While pie cools, clean oven.
Another piece I wrote is about folks being angry when recipes don't work because they substitute ingredients that are wildly off from what a recipe lists. It's another fav. https://artofthepie.com/piechiatrist-hint-follow-the-directions/
Happy Half Birthday!
Kate
P.S. I'm a fan of Jolene's as well. In fact, together we are co-hosting the Food & Drink: Substack Grow Meet Up session tomorrow.
Wow, Alison. Your discussion on editorial notes is so timely and helpful. Thank you.
After signing with an agent in August and reviewing the five pages of notes she gave me over the last month or so, I've just started the revision process this week. Let's just say that after a morning of re-reading my own work with her notes in mind, I spent the afternoon on Indeed.com looking for a new career.
The suggestions she's made feel very much against the grain of my story. It feels like I'm supposed to change the protagonist's basic view of the world and her inclinations toward it--she's got to go from being the conventional, rule-abiding, "just want a normal life" teen to a Greta Thurnberg-style crusader. And the messy, inappropriate sexual relationship that drives the protag's crisis needs to be pulled entirely because it's not appropriate for YA audiences. I get the sense I'm being asked to sanitize, or in some way make palatable the mess of loss, addiction, neglect and poverty that drove me to write this story in the first place.
When the agent and I had "the talk" this summer, I had only a glimmer of what she was asking. And I wonder if I'd have been able to see it clearly anyway, even if the full scope of the changes she suggested were clear. I saw what I desperately needed to see: that I was a writer who would be published, and she wanted to help me. Because who turns an agent down, honestly? With a first book? Wouldn't that be insane? How would I explain such a thing to other writers, to myself? After so many years of work?
I really feel as if this is my only chance to make that long longed-for move from Writer to Author. But at what cost? If I can even write this other book she's asking for, and that's a big if, will I even care to have it out in the world? I worry that it won't be mine at all. An orphan. A lifeless book that I cannot claim. The irony is that it was exactly those stories--the messy, shameful stories--that took me so many years to claim as a writer. And now I'm being asked to hide them again.
But even in all this uncertainty, Alison, this comment of yours resonates: "I set aside both ego and humility, and just get open."
I think I need to give it a try. Even with these major misgivings, I don't know how I would justify backing out at this point. I tell myself that maybe the "real" story will find its way through some other channel, and this is what professional writers do--take feedback, write to spec, meet deadlines. And if that other story never sees publication, at least I wrote it. Clumsily, incompletely, but written.
Thanks again for the space to share these all-too-live writing struggles, Alison.
What Laura Nicol's editor suggests disturbs me, and I've had to ponder over my response. YAs experience what Laura writes about, so...???? Then I had to think - what age IS YA. I googled it, and more than one source agrees that it's 12-18. Really?? There is a huge gap in maturity between 12 and 18. How can you reasonably expect a writer to write about tough issues and speak to both 12 and 18 year olds? What is entirely appropriate for an 18 year may be beyond a 12 year old. Nevertheless, I've known women who became sexually active at 13 and 14. Who grew up in poverty.
And I've known teens who won't read the news because the way humans treat each other is too depressing.
So it seems - without reading either the novel nor the editor's comments - that Laura Nicol's topics are age appropriate. Or, has Laura Nicol written a novel for adults?
It is true that humans more often want an uplifting lesson or ending in their reading, but not smarmy.
I wish Laura Nicol well in her rewrites and publishing path. I am sure she will find her way while keeping true to what her novel wants to say.
I often try your writing tips. This time, I will try the linked pumpkin cake recipe! Mmmm!