John Irving on Novel Writing

The YouTube clip below features John Irivng, best-selling author of The World According to Garp and A Prayer for Owen Meany. In this clip, Mr Irving talks about the novelist as a craftsman. He says:

The craft of a novel is simply to make the story better, more compelling, more unstoppable on page four-hundred than it was on page forty. You have to make the reader interested in the characters before the reader cares what happens to the characters. And there has to be some emotional pay-off at the end.

The end of the novel is so important to John Irving that he has the ending designed and set as a kind of focal-point in his mind before he begins to write his novels.




To get published as a novelist, you don't have to believe the same things about novel-writing that John Irving does, and you certainly don't have to write the same way. (Many brilliantly successful novelists start their novels with not even a clue about how it will end). If you want to get a novel published however, it is wise to to watch interview clips like this, and to ask yourself some questions about the creative novel-writing process.

So, after watching the clip above, what are the similarilies and differences between your creative writing processes and John Irving's? Is there something you feel you should change, or at least try differently? Use the comments below to answer and discuss.

Moonrat's Guide to Getting Published

Moonrat is a "recovering editorial assistant" and blogs about the publshing industry at Editorial Ass. Moonrat is part of a growing group of publishing industry insiders sharing their experience and advice using blogs. If you want to get published, free advice from people like Moonrat is exceptionally good value for money.

Have a read of Moonrat's Guide to Getting Published. In this brief article, Moonrat shares four important points about how to get published. One of the most important, and easily overlooked, is her second point: Build up your platform while you're writing. Nobody starts as a best-selling novelist (almost). Building your platform is part of the publishing journey. Get to where you're going with achievable steps, and celebrate each victory along the way, however small. Enjoy the journey.

The other vital point that Moonrat makes is: Be a fantastic writer. This is important, not only to get published, but also to be true to yourself and who you're trying to be.

If you'd like to get published, I'd encourage you to first read Moonrat's Guide, then browse around the other content in Editorial Ass. If you like what you see, subscribe.

Get Published with Duotrope's Digest

If you're serious about getting fiction or poetry published, you need to have a good look at Duotrope's Digest.

Duotrope's Digest is a fantastic on-line resource that lists over 2,750 current fiction and poetry publications in a fully searchable database. This way, you can take the piece that you've just completed and find just the write market for it.

Publication Info
The information that you can get on every publication is quite extensive. Here is a summary of the information that is available:

• Genres & Themes. These are categorised for searching. There is usually a quote from the publisher's editorial guidelines that gives you a better "feel" for the what they're interested in.


• Lengths. This tells you what length pieces they're after: flash, short stories, novellas, etc.


• Media. Is it a print publication, or an on-line journal?


• Paycale. Do they pay, or are you rewarded only by the pleasure of seeing your work in print? Some pay better than others. Money's not everything, but the information is available.


• Submission Types. There are so many variables to consider here. Electronic or postal submissions, or both? Are reprints and multiple submissions allowed? Are simultenous submissions acceptable? Duotrope lays the information out in an easy-to-read and easy-to-search format.


• Response Times. This is my favourite section, and it can be so telling. You get the minimum, maximum and average resonse times. You get the percentages of acceptances and rejects. There's a bit more info here too. Important: This information is based only on what other Duotrope users have submitted. Like all stastics, take them with a grain of salt. But, it's still very interesting…

All of this information is great, but it can't beat following the link to the publication's website and having a good look around. Read their editorial guidelines, and if possible, read their journal. Writers are readers, too – you may well find your new favourite literary journal.




Submissions Tracking
One of the best features of Duotrope is the submissions tracker. You can use it to keep track of all your pieces, and what markets you've submitted them to. It tracks the date submitted, how long it's taken to respond, and most importantly, what the response is. This way you can avoid wasted time and embarrassment with trying to find when you sent a story off, and to who, and whether it's time to send a query. You can also be very pragmatic about accepting a rejection for a piece and sending it right off to the next publisher for consideration.

Curiosity and the Cat
For those of us that also like playing with numbers and data, Duotrope has a section called Curiosity and the Cat, which contains a number of reports on their database. These include the Top 25 "Good, Bad, and Ugly" Markets, based on response times and acceptances.

More about Duotrope's Digest
Duotrope's Digest was one of Writer's Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers for 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Duotrope is run by volunteers, and is always looking for your support.

They also welcome comments, suggestions and questions. If you do have any questions, have a look at the about page first.

Summary
If you want to get fiction or poetry published, you need to know the markets and keep track of your submissions. Duotropes Digest is a fantastic, free tool that helps you do this. I use it, and so should you.

Get Published in The New Flesh

Do you want to get flash fiction published, but your work is slightly out of the ordinary? You should seriously consider submitting your work to The New Flesh! The New Flesh is a relatively new online literary magazine specialising in "odd flash fiction" – with flash fiction being defined as 1,000 words or less, and odd being defined as "SciFi, horror, fantasy, bizarro, et cetera." Have a read of The New Flesh, and you'll see what they mean by "et cetera".

I interviewed William Pauley III, editor of The New Flesh, and asked him all about his journal, and how to get published in it. Mr Pauley's answers are essential reading for anyone looking to get flash fiction published anywhere, not just in The New Flesh

[The interview appears below. The questions are appear in bold, followed by Mr Pauley's answers].

What are your motivations for running The New Flesh – why do you do it?

As a writer of odd fiction, I often find it difficult to find a place to submit my writing where it seems to fit and doesn't stick out like a sore thumb. If you read the average horror fiction site on a daily basis then every once in a while you will come across a story that is really strange and eerie more than it is straight up horror. Those are the stories that we want for The New Flesh.

How did you come up with the name The New Flesh?

I am a huge fan of David Cronenberg. The New Flesh is from his film Videodrome. "Death to Videodrome... long live the new flesh!"

Authors published at The New Flesh don't get paid, but your journal suggests that they may pick up some dedicated readers. Can you expand on this?

The New Flesh is still a baby - It is only four months old. However, it isn't unusual for a story to get 30 or more comments in just a day or two. I could be wrong, but I haven't seen so many dedicated readers to many other flash fiction sites out there. A lot of sites post stories day after day and don't receive a single comment. At The New Flesh, that is a rarity. I promise that if you have a story accepted for The New Flesh, then you will have a good number of people reading your work.

Do you think that publishing credits with online journals like The New Flesh help a writer get published later in print?

Yes and no. I think that having your work published on an online journal is a great way to build not only a fan base, but it's a great way to build your self-esteem as a writer. Confidence is important in the writing world.

The reason why it would not matter? Well, any wise editor will read the story first and then go back and read the cover letter and bio. I always let the story speak for itself. If it's good, then I'll be really interested in knowing more about the author. If you've got a great story, then your publishing credits won't matter.

Your journal publishes a flash fiction piece every weekday. Can you give us an idea of how many submissions you get in a typical week? How big is that slush pile?

I get about 15 submissions a week. Five of those stories are accepted for that week's New Flesh. I'd say that the acceptance-rejection ratio is about 50 / 50. We always respond ASAP. We've never taken longer than ten days to respond to a submission.

What do you hate to see in a submission - what makes you press delete the quickest?

I absolutely hate when an author summarises their story in the cover letter. Let the story speak for itself. I can't stress this enough. Of course, like any editor, excessive grammar and/or punctuation errors is always a turn off. You'd be surprised at the amount of submissions that I have received that don't have any punctuation at all.

Also, don't send your story as an attachment unless the editor prefers it that way. Use the submission guidelines! Also, avoid stationery backgrounds and photos.

I love weird stories, but I hate stories that are weird only for the sake of being weird. I want emotion, I want to think, I want to care about your characters while I'm reading your story. Don't send me your story about a girl with a marshmallow for a head and fly swatted arms unless there is some substance to it. Don't make your story pointless or meaningless.

What do you love to see – what makes you want to publish a story right away?

Something I've never seen before. Something that makes me want to call up a friend and share it with everyone I know.

If a story is rejected, do you recommend revising it, trying it somewhere else, or trying something different?

Well, that all depends on the story. If the problem is with excessive grammar and/or punctuation errors or just a poorly written paragraph or two, then I will suggest the author rewrite it and send it back to me. But if it's something I am not interested in publishing whatsoever, then I will wish them the best of luck getting it published somewhere else.

Do you have any specific pointers for writers preparing submissions to The New Flesh that you'd like to share?

Really, just go by the submission guidelines. That is the only advice that I have. Nothing turns an editor off of your story faster than a submission that fails to abide by the submission guidelines.

Publishing doesn't validate your life

Mary DeMuth is a published Christian author and writing mentor. She has worked as a non-fiction freelancer and a novleist. Together with D'Ann Mateer and Leslie Wilson, Mary shares her understanding of the publishing industry, and the Christian publishing industry in particular, on their blog called So You Want to Be Published.

I'd like to use this post to share an article with you that Mary wrote on that blog, back in early 2008, called Publishing doesn't validate your life. I very highly recommend that your read this article, and spend some time thinking it through.

Introducing the subject, Mary DeMuth writes:

I have to admit before I was published, I thought that if I reached that nirvana called "published author," I'd have sweet validation. Every day would be smiles and dancing. You know what? I was wrong. Being published is terrific, mind you, but it doesn't bring happiness or validation. Instead, it adds more stress to your life.

If you want to published – and if you're reading this blog, then you probably do – you need to ask yourself what your core motivations are. Why do you want to get published? Are you looking for the nirvana-like validation that Mary was?

Mary talks about how getting published can be a "weird endless cycle of neediness". She lists the incremental steps of "getting published", starting with getting published for free in a magazine. She doesn't condemn these activities themselves – after all, getting published is a one-step-at-a-time journey – but, approached with the wrong mindset, each new step get make the goal of "getting published" an elusive, ever-changing if-only. You will never be satisfied.

In her article, Mary DeMuth goes on to describe how these "get published" type goals are actually blocked goals. She defines blocked goals, "A blocked goal is a goal that is dependent on other's actions or happenstance." Instead of keeping blocked goals, Mary adopted unblockable goals. Her new goals don't depend on the actions and viewpoints of others and the fickleness of the publishing industry. She lists her unblockable goals in her article.

Mary's unblockable goals are hers. They depend on what she wants from her writing, and they are linked tightly with her faith. They likely won't be your goals, exactly. After reading the article, sit down and work out your own list. What are your unblockable goals as a writer? Like Mary, yours should be tightly linked with your core beliefs as a person.

If you learn nothing else from Mary DeMuth's article, learn this: Publishing doesn't validate your life. I know I need to be reminded of this as much as anyone.

Ken Follet's Masterclass on Getting Published

Ken Follet is an author of thriller and historical novels, who has sold over 100 million copies. If the elusive dream of a writer is to "get published", Ken Follet can safely be called a success. So, if you want to get published, it would make sense to listen to any advice you could get from Mr Follet, wouldn't it?

Well, Mr Follet has published a very informative "masterclass" on writing on his webpage. If you have any desire at all to get published, go and read it. Mr Follet introduces the masterclass by writing:

The basic challenge for the writer can be very simply explained – it is to create an imaginary world and then draw the reader into that imaginary world.

All novelists are trying to do that. Once we get there, different writers may have different concerns. Personally, I want to entertain you. I want you to be thrilled or moved to tears or scared and I definitely want you to be on the edge of your seat all the time, wondering what is going to happen next.

There are a few things that I really like about Ken Follet's masterclass. Firstly, he uses examples from his own work. This is especially informative if you've read the books that he references, including The Man from St Petersburg and The Hammer of Eden.

The other thing I find especially informative and inspirational is the way that Mr Follet describes how to expand the germ of an idea. Using a kind of brainstorming method on a notepad, he takes us through how to grow a single idea into something bigger, and bigger.

Mr Follet unashamedly uses an outline to build his novels, and tells us how. Using feedback from various people (using, not blindly following), he continues to work on his outline until he is satisfied with it. All this happens before he even starts the first draft. Don't think this process will take you a Saturday afternoon, either. Ken Follet is a full-time, skilled, experienced craftsman; and even for him the process takes quite some time. In his masterclass he writes:

The whole process of coming up with [an] idea, fleshing it out, doing the research, drafting the outline and rewriting the outline comes to about a year all told. There are quite often a couple of false starts within this. I may spend a month working on an idea before I realise that it isn't going to work and abandon it. But after this whole process, I'm ready to write the first draft.

There is further practical advice on going from the outline to the first draft. There are many ways for a first draft to go wrong. Ken Follet takes you through some of the key problems, and how to avoid them.

Finally, Mr Follet takes us through the process of working with an editor and publisher to get the novel ready for publication. In his section of the masterclass called Finding a publisher, Ken Follet has some very encouraging words for those of us that want to get published:

So although people say, "it's terribly difficult for a first novelist to get published," in fact, if you are good it is not that difficult.

The catch of course, is that little phrase, "if you are good." No one wants to admit that they aren't any good, and so they'll externalise and blame others for not appreciating their masterpiece. This is a lot like being a loser. Don't be a loser – get published. Listen to the advice of those you respect, such as Ken Follet, and work on your craft. No one is born a great writer. Humble your pride, sharpen your axe, and get published.