Go to Moving Forward...Or Bust
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- Go to 'I CAN DO THAT' TURNS INTO 'NO CAN DO!'
Oh, and another lesson under my belt.
posted by
word.smith
on July 10, 2005 at 7:10 PM
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Thanks Kim.
I got you loud and clear.
posted by
word.smith
on July 10, 2005 at 7:09 PM
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Word
The one thing I agreed with Gant on is the thought of you putting the cart before the horse. That's part of your difficulty in finding a home for it. That's the main thing I was saying. If you don't have an audience to write for, it tends to be vague writing. When you are pitching a specific publication, you get a real idea of what that reader wants, and your writing will follow that path.
We all write articles that just sort of happen even when we haven't looked for the market. We hope we'll do that later but don't want to lose the idea. That's what I was trying to say to you. When I read the article the first time, I got your humor loud and clear. It could have used tweaking, but I figured you'd get it. All of the crituques may have seemed helpful, but they seriously killed that little hmmmphf that gave it your voice. That was the funny part. So, it was improved technically, but not necessarily made better. Big difference.
I would sit on this article a bit while I looked at Writer's Market for possible places to pitch it. As always, you are sending a query first, not the article, so you have time to refine it then. If you do the opposite...just write the articles then edit and edit, you will do exactly what you are concerned with now---lose interest. That would be a real shame. You definitely caught me with the funny parts the first go around. You will find a home for some version of this. It may be a year from now or even 5 years from now...but as long as there are cell phones, that idea will be pertinent, right?
Kim
posted by
terpgirl30
on July 10, 2005 at 6:36 PM
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Word.smith, I understand...so do I
posted by
Azur
on July 10, 2005 at 6:26 PM
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MayB
It is obvious that I have unrealistic expectations. I hadn't even thought about it not being published at all. 
Thanks for bringing me back to earth.
posted by
word.smith
on July 10, 2005 at 6:08 PM
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L.E.Gant, Terpgirl30 is right about the editor. Think of it this way. If the editor can choose between the piece that is complete and one that requires to-ing and fro-ing, the editor will always go for the polished piece.
It is up to the writer to lift their game so the editor chooses them. I have been on both sides of the fence. As an editor it is great to add a little extra polish to a well-written piece rather than bringing a sub-standard piece up to scratch. As a writer my aim is always to write a piece which can be poured onto the page and then I am thrilled when the editor tweaks it slightly to make it even better.
Word.smith, no writer in the world can have everything they write published. I always hang on to old pieces and occasionally draw on the odd paragraph again. It's a little like a painter, some things will only ever serve as working drawings. Sometimes it is best to move on and use your energy more productively on someone else. Also Terpgirl30 is right about markets. Good luck
posted by
Azur
on July 10, 2005 at 5:59 PM
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SpitFire, that's exactly what's
happened here. If I have to edit the piece again and again, I get bored with it.
posted by
word.smith
on July 10, 2005 at 5:58 PM
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Terpgirl, thanks for giving me your thoughts.
Half the time, it's in looking at calls for submissions that my ideas are formed. However, right now the article is not exactly fitting anywhere. As L.E. suggested, I'll have to look for a few places to submit. It mightn't be so much of a good idea to write first and then try to find a niche later.
Thanks for the storytelling approach as well. I haven't done that at all and in these days of on-line publishing, a friendly tone is desireable.
It's good to have an editor's perspective.
posted by
word.smith
on July 10, 2005 at 5:56 PM
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L.E.
I do realize that at some point I need to stop editing and reworking and actually try to get it published. Thanks for that reality check. Perfection could take a long time, more time than I have to work with. I must do something to meet my self-imposed Wednesday deadline.
posted by
word.smith
on July 10, 2005 at 5:43 PM
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Note to terpgirl: Sure, one has to make the editor's job as easy as possible, but one has to draw a line somewhere. Otherwise, the piece will never be finished - it turns into, as word.smith said, a "no can do". So, where's the point at which it's not worth the effort of further honing?
posted by
L.E.Gant
on July 10, 2005 at 5:29 PM
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Word,
Go with "C." That always seems to be a good workable option. For me, I have realized (and this may sound strange) that if I spend too much time on a piece, it usually winds up poor. Like, when I write a poem, it just comes to me and I type it flowingly. If I stop to think and revise it before it's all out on paper, I lose my train of thought and it turns into nothing. That's just me, but I think many times we tend to hyper focus and then become burned out on the piece.
posted by
SpitFire70
on July 10, 2005 at 5:22 PM
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You can't sell a particular article, no matter how good,
if there's no market for it. The key to SELLING that article, as opposed to writing it/liking it, is to keep the end customers in mind (the magazine and its readers).
As for the cell article, I've read it but didn't comment. I read it the first time up, and to be honest, when I read the follow ups, I thought the same thing you are saying now, the things that struck me funny the first time were taken out. Sometimes too many suggestions can mess a piece up. If you are funny, you're funny. I find myself writing funny even when I don't mean to. My family just speaks that way.
I didn't comment on it because I knew you didn't have a market, and until you do, it's always going to be too general. When you decide where you want it to go, then look at that publication's reader, the rest really takes shape. There are inside jokes for any field (stay at home moms...entrepreneurs...cops...you name it.) That will be your guide. Picture yourself telling these stories aloud to the people who will be reading your article. Then write that. Try not to make it sound too polished if you are going for that humorous edge. You refine it to the point that it takes the fun out of it. I remember when I read it the first time thinking of a cell phone ringing in the middle of church and everyone looking around. When I read it after the rewrites, it seemed like too much was being explained. If you have to explain the "funny" to someone, it stops being funny.
I hope any of this makes sense. I know you're getting frustrated with this piece. Sometimes when you've worked on it and revised it a number of times, you have to sit it aside and do another piece entirely different before you can go back to it. I think if you do that, the funny/quirky things you thought of in the beginning will come back to you and you'll get that enthusiasm for it again.
And I have to say an aside on this. LE said it is an editor's job to make it perfect. No it's not. I am that editor. I can refine something and bring out the best in a writer, but I can't/won't get on the phone with a writer to tell him how to get an article to grab my attention. In my writing group, I constantly hear, "That's the editor's job." It's not. The editor's job is to edit, and if the editor comes to know your work, the editor will get a handle on our particular strengths and browbeat you to get the best out of you. You have to get in the market in the first place. You have to make it something an editor wants for HIS audience in the first place. The burden falls squarely on the writer there.
Kim
posted by
terpgirl30
on July 10, 2005 at 4:48 PM
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An idea is NOT enough to set up a publishable article. However, it's worthwhile to think of Robert A Heinlein's view: do the best you can with a piece, then send it out, and get feedback from "them that pays". Why not try your cellphone article in a few places that might accept it, as is?
It's the EDITOR'S job to make your piece "perfect" - through telling you what will make it better! Don't get hung up on perfection at your end!
posted by
L.E.Gant
on July 10, 2005 at 3:58 PM
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Good advice Quirky.
Unfortunately, I'm one of those people who like to prod and poke something, rather than move on. However, in the face of the non-cooperation of the article, I suppose I shall have to concede defeat and move on for the moment.
posted by
word.smith
on July 10, 2005 at 3:39 PM
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Any of those can happen. I think the key is not to stress out over it...I believe there is such a thing called divine timing. So relax...and if you feel called to either rewrite it now or move on...then do so!
posted by
Julia.
on July 10, 2005 at 3:11 PM
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