Apparently, I’m Irrational
Today, I was bumbling around the internet and stumbled upon a discussion about querying on an idea and an idea alone. The person argued that she should be able to do this so as not to waste time on actually completing a manuscript if it couldn’t sell. In her own words, she stated she would not complete the manuscript if she knew an agent wouldn’t accept it, therefore, wanted to query on her idea. Then, she proceeded to call authors irrational who slave away completing manuscripts without any confirmation they’ll ever get published.
Really? Is it that irrational to finish a novel knowing it might not ever be published? I think it’s irrational not to do that. What if you query on an idea and find out the book is absolutely terrible later? Since you’ve never finished a book, how do you even know you can even do it? If you haven’t finished a book, how will the agent know you can do it? The publisher? How will you ever get better if you don’t write those dreadful first books? This outlook makes no sense to me!
What if you’re a swimmer, and you really want to win in the Olympics. Would you not attend the race since you really wouldn’t know whether you’d win or not? Would you want to ask the judges beforehand if they’d let you win? No!
What about a job interview? Do you call up the companies and say, “I’m thinking about sending you my resume, but I wanted to make sure you’d want to interview me before I wasted my time.”
What if you wanted to join a sports team? Would you go and say, “I’m thinking about trying out and I haven’t practiced any because I wanted to make sure you’d let me join the team before I wasted any of my effort on getting any good at it.”
Also, why are you writing if you don’t want to “waste” your time? If that’s what writing a book means, I honestly think there are probably other projects, hobbies, jobs, passions that would be better suited for you. Maybe this comes off as harsh, but as someone who loves creating these things called novels, it offends me that someone who considers it a chore could live my publishing dream by querying on an idea that wouldn’t even be written if it couldn’t be published!
And to think it’s irrational that I would be crazy enough to want to finish a novel without any guarantees. That I love the process so much. The little bursts of ideas that make me laugh out loud at my desk. The satisfaction I get for meeting a goal. The satisfaction I get for finishing the entire thing. For having a dream I’m passionate enough about to spend hours and hours of my time devoted to achieving.
So, I guess I am irrational, but I sure am proud of it. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Because in the end, when I do get there, it’ll be much more satisfying than it would be if it were something I casually decided to waste a little time on.
Comments
Irrational, huh? I’ve been called worse. I’ll take irrational, stubborn, obsessive-compulsive and geeky any day of the week. But that’s just me.
*lol* Jen’s feisty today!
I’ve got another one for you.
Would you list an item on ebay to see if it sells before procuring/making it?
Good point though. I understand how she feels about it- we’re talking months if not years of your life here. But it’s the same as going through 6 years of college to become a doctor. You may not ever make it, but if you don’t go through the process first, you definitely won’t. Do the d*mn work, and then hope for the best.
Yes, I may have gotten a little carried away. Whoops.
Nah…you brought up some good points, and who among us hasn’t gotten all ranty from time to time?
Besides, being feisty, sassy and passionate about things is what makes a good writer.
I am amazed you didn’t say something to her, but appreciate your reserve!
Seriously, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being irrational at times, and well, passion is a good thing in a writer, as Dan said.
Amen, hallelujah, praise the Lord. Oh, and preach on, sister. Point for point, Iouldn’t agree more.
I was doing this when I was a little kid, and I didn’t have the slightest idea what an agent was or did at the time. I sat in my room, made up stories and drew because I ENJOYED it. I still don’t HAVE to do it. I have a job already, and a good one. I write because III enjoy the story, because I want to know what happens. If someone else does, too, and wants to pay me for it, bonus.
Sounds like she’s the irrational one. Apparently she didn’t do her homework, any research of the industry, or any real work. How rational is it to think you could get the benefits without any work? Feh. Don’t get me started on that mentality. We could rant together and be here all day.
I wouldn’t worry about her getting published any time soon, Jen. If she does manage to get some interest from an agent based on querying her idea, they aren’t going to be pleased to find out she hasn’t written the book yet. And even if they’re willing to wait, by the time she finishes the book there might not be a market for it any more.
On the miniscule chance she does make it through all the hoops and gets published… Try not to let it upset you. Sometimes fortune favors the stupid instead of the brave. ;o)
Whew. It seems to me that we (my writer friends and I) have had this discussion so often over the last decade it isn’t even funny. IMHO it wastes everyones time to query first. Sure, once you are published and everyone knows your writing style and knows that you can adhere to a deadline…then I hink it is perfectly acceptable to query first…but unpublished? No.
Oh, God; then I’ve wasted 20 years and three novels on irrational behavior! What about all the art I’ve done, knowing I could never sell it, and not even bothering to try? What about the music I practice, knowing I’ll never perform anywhere?
They may as well lock me away!
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