I mentioned in the fall that I’d hit a sort of writing block. It wasn’t necessarily that I didn’t have the motivation to write or the ideas to write about; it was that I lacked the time to put my thoughts to paper (or screen, I suppose). My nontraditional NaNoWriMo helped to break that block and get me back on track with my writing. One other thing made a huge difference for me, so I wanted to talk a bit about it: finding a writing community that fits what you need at that exact moment.
“How do I know what I need right now?” you might ask. I used to think the answer was more complicated than it truly is. If your goal is, say, to interact with other writers for fun, maybe the community you need is right here on WordPress. Shazam! You already achieved your goal, so cross that puppy off your list of resolutions.
If what you need is a bit more complex, you might need to ask yourself what your writing goals are. Self-publishing? Traditional publishing? Comradery? Commiserating? Finding book recommendations? Once you know what you want, you can reach out to other writers (and Google) for direction to find the right resources. There’s so much out there that I’m convinced anything you could need exists; it’s just a matter of doing the research to find it.
I knew that I wanted a place to do a bit of commiserating about the difficulties of traditional publishing while also gaining more advice in that realm. I found Manuscript Academy, which was exactly what I needed at the time. The folks there are an amazing resource and almost unbelievably welcoming and kind. The only downside is the cost, but even their free resources, like Manuscript Wishlist, are incredibly valuable. My husband gifted me an MA membership, which made me feel less guilty about spending money on my writing. There are many free and low-cost resources out there for writers; this just happens to be one that fit my particular needs at this particular moment in time.
As a member, I was able to access a bunch of their courses and live virtual meetups, which taught me a lot and introduced me to other writers. I’d taken the IRL version of a writing course from a local program in October 2022, where I’d met amazing people, including a devoted beta reader for my memoir. I wasn’t able to attend an in-person event happening near me in 2023, but this program was really the next best thing. And I was able to meet one-on-one with agents, which made a huge impact.
For a few years now, I’ve felt that there is a disconnect between writers and literary agents. Since I’d only ever received rejections (well, with the exception of the time I was almost-traditionally published back in 2016), I felt like agents generally didn’t appreciate writers or didn’t care about our work or were only in it for money. I had a really disappointing virtual group meeting with an agent I’d long admired that only confirmed that in my mind last year. I think that meeting left a bad taste in my mouth because my query attempts have been sparse since then.
In fall 2023, I was fortunate to actually meet agents who seem to care about both writers and readers and want to help us through a difficult and narrow path to our publishing goals. I’ve heard it quoted that as few as 1 in 1,000 writers will actually land a book deal these days, so, yes, it’s an insanely tough market out there in the world of traditional publishing. Seeing all of the amazingly talented writers out there also trying to break in was oddly reassuring. It’s not just me receiving those form rejections; it’s an author with an incredible premise, killer storytelling skills, precise diction, and amazing character development. So many amazing books aren’t published yet because they don’t have an agent. I’m in good company.
I’ve had two one-on-one Zoom meetings with agents through the program. One reinforced what I didn’t necessarily want to hear about my memoir; however, she also agreed with my suspicions about the memoir market: I would have much better odds in focusing my querying on my fiction; then, hopefully after scoring an agent and selling some fiction while building a fanbase, I could potentially publish my memoir. So, at this rate, uh, look for my memoir in 2054…? 😅 Oh, gosh, I hope not.
The difference between this recent meeting, though, and the agent from 2022 is that this one actually took the time to read my work and give me feedback. Though it was a short timeframe, she still treated me like a person.
The second MA meeting I attended was just last month. I shared my speculative fiction manuscript for this one. The agent I met this time around didn’t have any criticism of my first page (“honestly, I’d just keep reading at this point!”), but she gave me some valuable pointers on my query, especially in the lines of comp titles, which is my weakest link. I left the Zoom call feeling like the wind had gathered beneath my wings, and I scoured the library for all the comps she’d recommended and dove directly into my query letter to vamp it up as advised. Honestly, despite the hours and hours I’d previously slaved over my query, it never sent shivers down my spine the way it does now. I think anyone who picked up the query now would truly want to read the book. At least, that is my hope.
I also feel that the program gave me guidance toward where the market is heading. It’s a bit odd to be in a space where you feel so passionate about certain topics yet know you might have to write something drastically different to get your foot in the publishing door. I have two other story ideas in the works that I know have a more mainstream audience, so those are sort of my “back-up” projects for now. I’ve heard at Manuscript Academy and elsewhere that it’s the third book you query that lands you an agent, and I’m starting to see why. It’s not just that it’s a ridiculously tough market; it’s that there is so much to learn. And when you’re querying with a feeling of uncertainty, or even distrust, it’s much more difficult. Nowadays, I feel like a part of that world; I feel like I finally, truly understand it and relate to the agents, who are, much to my surprise, real people, too. ❤️
Words and Coffee Writing 
Your husband really supports your writing! ❤
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He does! Sometimes I think he is more supportive of it than I am! One day I told him I was feeling down about my writing and then he spent his lunch break at work researching writing conferences in the Twin Cities. And now I’m registered for a writing conference in April 😅 I’m really lucky to have him. ❤️
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