And then there is ideas that won’t quit and everyone seems to like, but agents look at the subscriber list and say build it first. Its frustrating to hear “I like this idea, but you don’t have the following we are looking for.”
It is frustrating, for sure. Maybe there's merit in writing around those ideas that won't quit and seeing if your subscriber list grows? I don't know if there's a magic number that publishers suddenly take you seriously with. I've known people with 0 social media presence who wrote award winning books that were good (but not always great), mostly because of another quality about them (they were in the minority of something, they had another kind of platform or visibility, etc.). I've also known folks with hundreds of thousands of followers who couldn't get a publisher to take them seriously.
I've been told social media doesn't sell books, word of mouth does. But often times the community you cultivate in the spaces you share (this isn't about numbers, but care) are the best mouths to share the word.
Anyway, all that to say, publishing can often times feel like a locked vault some people magically have the combination to and everyone else has to work their fingers to the bone trying to guess. BUT (and this is a big but), I do honestly, earnestly, with all my heart believe that if 1. Someone has a clear story they want to tell or thesis they want to build upon, *and* 2. They have a real, undeniable, and unique gift with words, many editors will see that. I wish I could say most, but I don't know. The editors I know would see it though. I've seen them take a risk on folks with those two qualities above and it's been the beginning of beautiful careers.
All this to say, I guess, the frustration is real but so is a good idea and so is a honest gift with words and neither can be faked or forced or forgotten.
I love how you talk about writing. I’ve had a book a brewing/in the works/forming and reforming for quite some time. I’ve talked with agents a plenty, some of who I have connected deeply with, some who have given me a lot of time to poke holes in what I’m thinking through, all who have told me I’m not quite there yet. The reasons are this or that - needing a more of a “felt need” but mostly needing more subscribers. I have a book in me. I’m obsessed with the topic/topics and I’m feverishly and excitedly working to hone my craft. I’ve searched my motivations and have come back to the fact that I love exploring the world through words, and I am actually ok with the number thing. Many have worked hard for a long time to build what they have and I’m willing to do the same. In the mean time, it’s helping me grow, allowing me to flex my brain muscle and is a way I seek God and beauty. Some day I’ll finish, if not just for me. In the meantime, I’m building something that I has been quite the fun exploration.
I wrote my first book when I was 8. It was crazy long (literally around 5000 pages) and very dramatic, but it was from my heart and showed me my passion for writing. My mom made me put it through our shredder and then deleted the file off the computer. That stomped out my written voice for years. But I've still had these stories inside me that I've told bits and pieces of to children I nannied over the years... until now... now I've got to finally having plotted out each chapter of book 1 of this fantasy series. I've never approached a publisher or anyone but friends with my ideas (nor would I know how to, just yet) but everything in me has been screaming "JUST WRITE", "JUST GET THE WORDS OUT"... so that's where I'm starting. My husband says he can't wait to read the books in full, a couple of my friends have asked to be beta readers after reading my first draft of one of the chapters.
I would like to write a book about the dozen or so experiences I had in my childhood and adolescence that my psychiatrist has classified as deeply traumatic, all of them contributing to the PTSD I was diagnosed with many years ago. I would like to describe them in detail, not gratuitously, but just as I remember them all the little details that never leave my mind. I could do one chapter per experience. I would also like to include the messages those experiences spoke to me/ taught me and the agreements I made with those messages, and how God brought me out of, or is bringing me out of, those agreements, and teaching me the truth about myself and him.
I'm afraid to write that book. I've even thought of titling it "I Am Afraid to Write This Book."
So glad I’m not alone as I read everyone’s comments.
And I needed that push to get back to writing. I do have stories that are burning to come out. Even if I don’t want to go through the emotional turmoil of writing them. It can be so emotionally exhausting to write sometimes.
I do wonder and want there to be a book or books in me. I feel like God has been leading me in this way lately, but it’s such a big task. I definitely have ideas, but I have not muddled all the way through them to make something worth reading. Yet perhaps. I think I have lots to say, but I want it to be in a form where I show up having worked through it first. Precisely what you were saying, I think.
Well this was the most helpful incisive way to explain the difference between writing for the excitement in seeing one’s name in print (a feeling I am very familiar with), and writing because the compulsion to say a certain thing on a certain subject won’t go away. I am relieved to say I also fight in the second category… although that also means I have set about actually WRITING it or the thing will haunt me forever…! I’m any case, thank you.
I have a feeling there’s a book in me somewhere, but I think it’s going to be a long time coming. I don’t want to read something from someone who still thinks they know the answers. I don’t want to be the person that writes that either, so I have more learning to do to know how much I don’t know. Also, I suspect that any eventual book will involve stories of people who, though very complicated, are not really the villains. And I’m not ever sure how to write about them. So for now I’ve committed to showing up and practicing. I appreciate the weekly in real time feedback of Substack newsletters! It seems to be a very flexible medium for discerning where your readers resonate and where they don’t, and I love the conversation. What I need right now is to not feel alone, both as a writer and a reader. Perhaps when I feel as you’ve described the book will show up :) As it is I can see themes that I keep circling back to, feeling that I really only talk about a handful of things in a different way. I’ll write a post and then realize I’ve already written about that, but forgot that I needed to learn it again. So that is helpful too - to realize that maybe these are key areas for me.
I have just released my book on kids' ministry, and while the marketing has been HARD (my book launch event is actually today) this post was really validating - I wrote this book because it was an idea I just couldn't quit. I couldn't stop thinking about how kids' ministry changes when we view kids as full members of the church and treat them like siblings in Christ, not Christians-in-waiting. And it was an idea I felt the church here in Australia needed. It took three years of writing and feeling like an imposter, but I am so glad I wrote it.
After just retiring from homeschooling my four kiddos for 22 years, the book answering everyone's question of, "Should I homeschool?" has been flying across my keyboard. Thank you for the confirmation that I need to push forward!!! Now, back to work!
Wow! Your words and all these comments brought a deep sigh of relief and a feeling of solidarity. I have been picking away at my book for years now and always question “is it worth it?” I know the writing of it and wrestling with the ideas is definitely worth it because it is changing me - but is it worth it to pursue publication? I still don’t know. I keep taking the next step because the idea won’t leave me alone.
I say keep working on it. Adrienne Rich wrote, "The words are purposes, the words are maps," and I love that. They will help you find your way through.
Well this is certainly and timely and affirming read. I'm at the decision point trying to figure out if I want to move forward with a book opportunity that I'm struggling to find peace and the right amount of passion about....even though it's exactly what I've been working toward for years. I just...don't know if it's my next right thing, after all. Anyway, I really needed to read this today.
And if the editor who is waiting for me to email you back reads this...I will soon. And I'm sorry you haven't heard from me yet. Discernment is taking the time it needs.
Mary O wrote, "Things take the time they take," and ain't that the truth? Let it marinate. You'll know if and when it's the right time. And if it's the wrong time or wrong material, your gut will tell you =)
This was so helpful and reassuring. "Life is pain, Highness," but also, it's worth it. Have you read A Circle of Quiet, by L'Engle? I have sat in the shelter of just the first few chapters for years. Literal years. Her story of foreswearing life as an author when she received a letter of rejection on her birthday, I think it was sometime in her thirties--picks me up and dusts me off every time. I haven't come close to finishing the book yet because I just keep going back and weeping over those first few dozen pages!
I have had The Idea That Won't Go Away for a decade and a half, and I've drafted bits, and I'm actually trying to form a proposal now, and maybe it's finally going somewhere--but oh, the pain of fearing that literally no one will be interested is so close. All that work, only to be told that because I have no platform, no mentionable public presence, my work isn't worth anyone else's investment? That's what I'm afraid of. Maybe the idea will never go away, but maybe it'll be me trapped alone with the idea forever, because nobody wants it (or, by extension, me). That's what I was crying over last night.
I feel EXACTLY like this! This is very encouraging, as I’ve been waffling on whether to write it. But it does infuse most of my thoughts and conversations and even life decisions, and nothing else exists on the topic, and I want to read this book that doesn’t exist so I might just have to write it. Thank you for posting this. It really is helpful.
And then there is ideas that won’t quit and everyone seems to like, but agents look at the subscriber list and say build it first. Its frustrating to hear “I like this idea, but you don’t have the following we are looking for.”
It is frustrating, for sure. Maybe there's merit in writing around those ideas that won't quit and seeing if your subscriber list grows? I don't know if there's a magic number that publishers suddenly take you seriously with. I've known people with 0 social media presence who wrote award winning books that were good (but not always great), mostly because of another quality about them (they were in the minority of something, they had another kind of platform or visibility, etc.). I've also known folks with hundreds of thousands of followers who couldn't get a publisher to take them seriously.
I've been told social media doesn't sell books, word of mouth does. But often times the community you cultivate in the spaces you share (this isn't about numbers, but care) are the best mouths to share the word.
Anyway, all that to say, publishing can often times feel like a locked vault some people magically have the combination to and everyone else has to work their fingers to the bone trying to guess. BUT (and this is a big but), I do honestly, earnestly, with all my heart believe that if 1. Someone has a clear story they want to tell or thesis they want to build upon, *and* 2. They have a real, undeniable, and unique gift with words, many editors will see that. I wish I could say most, but I don't know. The editors I know would see it though. I've seen them take a risk on folks with those two qualities above and it's been the beginning of beautiful careers.
All this to say, I guess, the frustration is real but so is a good idea and so is a honest gift with words and neither can be faked or forced or forgotten.
Been there! 🙃
I love how you talk about writing. I’ve had a book a brewing/in the works/forming and reforming for quite some time. I’ve talked with agents a plenty, some of who I have connected deeply with, some who have given me a lot of time to poke holes in what I’m thinking through, all who have told me I’m not quite there yet. The reasons are this or that - needing a more of a “felt need” but mostly needing more subscribers. I have a book in me. I’m obsessed with the topic/topics and I’m feverishly and excitedly working to hone my craft. I’ve searched my motivations and have come back to the fact that I love exploring the world through words, and I am actually ok with the number thing. Many have worked hard for a long time to build what they have and I’m willing to do the same. In the mean time, it’s helping me grow, allowing me to flex my brain muscle and is a way I seek God and beauty. Some day I’ll finish, if not just for me. In the meantime, I’m building something that I has been quite the fun exploration.
I wrote my first book when I was 8. It was crazy long (literally around 5000 pages) and very dramatic, but it was from my heart and showed me my passion for writing. My mom made me put it through our shredder and then deleted the file off the computer. That stomped out my written voice for years. But I've still had these stories inside me that I've told bits and pieces of to children I nannied over the years... until now... now I've got to finally having plotted out each chapter of book 1 of this fantasy series. I've never approached a publisher or anyone but friends with my ideas (nor would I know how to, just yet) but everything in me has been screaming "JUST WRITE", "JUST GET THE WORDS OUT"... so that's where I'm starting. My husband says he can't wait to read the books in full, a couple of my friends have asked to be beta readers after reading my first draft of one of the chapters.
I would like to write a book about the dozen or so experiences I had in my childhood and adolescence that my psychiatrist has classified as deeply traumatic, all of them contributing to the PTSD I was diagnosed with many years ago. I would like to describe them in detail, not gratuitously, but just as I remember them all the little details that never leave my mind. I could do one chapter per experience. I would also like to include the messages those experiences spoke to me/ taught me and the agreements I made with those messages, and how God brought me out of, or is bringing me out of, those agreements, and teaching me the truth about myself and him.
I'm afraid to write that book. I've even thought of titling it "I Am Afraid to Write This Book."
So glad I’m not alone as I read everyone’s comments.
And I needed that push to get back to writing. I do have stories that are burning to come out. Even if I don’t want to go through the emotional turmoil of writing them. It can be so emotionally exhausting to write sometimes.
I do wonder and want there to be a book or books in me. I feel like God has been leading me in this way lately, but it’s such a big task. I definitely have ideas, but I have not muddled all the way through them to make something worth reading. Yet perhaps. I think I have lots to say, but I want it to be in a form where I show up having worked through it first. Precisely what you were saying, I think.
Well this was the most helpful incisive way to explain the difference between writing for the excitement in seeing one’s name in print (a feeling I am very familiar with), and writing because the compulsion to say a certain thing on a certain subject won’t go away. I am relieved to say I also fight in the second category… although that also means I have set about actually WRITING it or the thing will haunt me forever…! I’m any case, thank you.
I have a feeling there’s a book in me somewhere, but I think it’s going to be a long time coming. I don’t want to read something from someone who still thinks they know the answers. I don’t want to be the person that writes that either, so I have more learning to do to know how much I don’t know. Also, I suspect that any eventual book will involve stories of people who, though very complicated, are not really the villains. And I’m not ever sure how to write about them. So for now I’ve committed to showing up and practicing. I appreciate the weekly in real time feedback of Substack newsletters! It seems to be a very flexible medium for discerning where your readers resonate and where they don’t, and I love the conversation. What I need right now is to not feel alone, both as a writer and a reader. Perhaps when I feel as you’ve described the book will show up :) As it is I can see themes that I keep circling back to, feeling that I really only talk about a handful of things in a different way. I’ll write a post and then realize I’ve already written about that, but forgot that I needed to learn it again. So that is helpful too - to realize that maybe these are key areas for me.
I have just released my book on kids' ministry, and while the marketing has been HARD (my book launch event is actually today) this post was really validating - I wrote this book because it was an idea I just couldn't quit. I couldn't stop thinking about how kids' ministry changes when we view kids as full members of the church and treat them like siblings in Christ, not Christians-in-waiting. And it was an idea I felt the church here in Australia needed. It took three years of writing and feeling like an imposter, but I am so glad I wrote it.
After just retiring from homeschooling my four kiddos for 22 years, the book answering everyone's question of, "Should I homeschool?" has been flying across my keyboard. Thank you for the confirmation that I need to push forward!!! Now, back to work!
Wow! Your words and all these comments brought a deep sigh of relief and a feeling of solidarity. I have been picking away at my book for years now and always question “is it worth it?” I know the writing of it and wrestling with the ideas is definitely worth it because it is changing me - but is it worth it to pursue publication? I still don’t know. I keep taking the next step because the idea won’t leave me alone.
I say keep working on it. Adrienne Rich wrote, "The words are purposes, the words are maps," and I love that. They will help you find your way through.
Simply here to say that all this talk about trees has me super impatient for your new book.
I will be so annoying.
YOU AND ME BOTHHHHHH! I can't wait to talk incessantly about trees and the forest and soil and compost to everyone!
Well this is certainly and timely and affirming read. I'm at the decision point trying to figure out if I want to move forward with a book opportunity that I'm struggling to find peace and the right amount of passion about....even though it's exactly what I've been working toward for years. I just...don't know if it's my next right thing, after all. Anyway, I really needed to read this today.
And if the editor who is waiting for me to email you back reads this...I will soon. And I'm sorry you haven't heard from me yet. Discernment is taking the time it needs.
Mary O wrote, "Things take the time they take," and ain't that the truth? Let it marinate. You'll know if and when it's the right time. And if it's the wrong time or wrong material, your gut will tell you =)
This just gets me so excited to read your new book.
Thank you friend! I think you will like it =)
This was so helpful and reassuring. "Life is pain, Highness," but also, it's worth it. Have you read A Circle of Quiet, by L'Engle? I have sat in the shelter of just the first few chapters for years. Literal years. Her story of foreswearing life as an author when she received a letter of rejection on her birthday, I think it was sometime in her thirties--picks me up and dusts me off every time. I haven't come close to finishing the book yet because I just keep going back and weeping over those first few dozen pages!
I have had The Idea That Won't Go Away for a decade and a half, and I've drafted bits, and I'm actually trying to form a proposal now, and maybe it's finally going somewhere--but oh, the pain of fearing that literally no one will be interested is so close. All that work, only to be told that because I have no platform, no mentionable public presence, my work isn't worth anyone else's investment? That's what I'm afraid of. Maybe the idea will never go away, but maybe it'll be me trapped alone with the idea forever, because nobody wants it (or, by extension, me). That's what I was crying over last night.
A Circle of Quiet is my favorite book of all the times in all the worlds from all the writers in the worlds =) Keep with it.
I feel EXACTLY like this! This is very encouraging, as I’ve been waffling on whether to write it. But it does infuse most of my thoughts and conversations and even life decisions, and nothing else exists on the topic, and I want to read this book that doesn’t exist so I might just have to write it. Thank you for posting this. It really is helpful.
Those are all good signs!