Biting the hand that feeds you

Well, it's been way too long since I've posted, but apparently trying to do three jobs while celebrating both my and Mr. Pink's birthdays doesn't give a girl a whole lot of blogging time.

However, I have noticed a few things in the writing blogosphere that I want to comment on.

The publishing industry is very, very incestuous. Let's look at that whole "venom cock" thing (and really I'm just putting that in my blog to drive more traffic here hee!) It can take a matter of hours for something to be said before it's talked about on one person's blog, then another, then another... Remember that shampoo commercial "and then she told two friends and so on..." ? Yeah. it's a lot like that.
Worse, people have really, really long memories.

Let me tell you a story. When I did my internship at *bignameromancepublisher* in 1997, there was this one author who sent me probably 5 or 6 manuscripts over the 6 months I was there. She was close, but not quite ready to be published. I got to the point where I really hated to write back to her, because I felt bad sending her yet another rejection letter. And in my brand-new-editor ego, I wanted to help her. So I sent her a letter telling her that it was great that she was so prolific, but she may want to take a little bit more time with her manuscripts before sending them to us to make sure they're as good as she can make them. I know, kinda a snotty thing to say, but I really thought if she'd take the time to put her book aside, go back to it with fresh eyes, and really polish it, she'd create something publishable.

Now, the author could have called me and just said, hey, can we talk about this? What do you mean? And I could have told her what her issues were and helped her out a bit. I was an intern. I wasn't too busy or important to talk to people.
Instead, the author posted the letter I wrote on an e-loop. An e-loop that I WAS ON. What followed was a stream of commisserating emails, discussing my incompetence as an editor, how I simply wrote that because I was having a bad hair day, and basically I was a big bitch. First, I'm always having a bad hair day. Second, I'd like to think that I'm good enough at my job that the state of my hair really doesn't come into play. And even after I identified myself on the loop, the author still sent me nasty letters and basically played the "poor me" card. Now, here we are, 8 years later, and a simple google search shows me that this author? still unpublished. Still trying. Yup, you read that right. Eight years later, and I still remember her name. And worse for the author? I talked about what happened with my co-workers. One of whom is now the Senior Editor. Betcha she remembers that author's name too.

My point? Most editors are buying writers, not books. This means, how you behave, how you treat people, how easy you are to work with plays a part in an editor's decision to take you on. This is especially true in romance, where there aren't a lot of players in the game and each house can be as picky as they want. If you're gonna throw a hissy fit every time someone offers a suggestion or asks you to do something, people are gonna remember that. Then they're gonna move on to a new publishing house and talk about you with their new coworkers. And they'll remember you too.

As an editor, I have one job. That's to take a written manuscript, be it a romance novel, a techinical user manual or a flyer for a giant department store, and make it as strong a piece as I can. I don't have time to make up bogus requests or change things just for the hell of it, just to piss a writer off. I do it because I, in my experience and talent for what I do, honestly believe that this change will make it better. And I even hate using the word better. Stronger, more effective, more powerful, take your pick.

If me doing my job is going to make the writer throw a pissy fit every time I do? That's not gonna make me jump up and down to want to work with her again. And when the executive editor asks me about working with the writer and I tell her the story? She's not gonna be jumping up and down either... get it? This is where the "and so on" comes in.

Publishing is a business. And sitting on both sides of the fence, as I do, I know how hard it is to take your story, your heart, your soul and turn it into a product. But that's what it is. A product you want to sell. To a business you want to build a relationship with. Treating the business poorly? Ain't gonna get you sales, whether you're a newbie, or a multi-published NYT bestseller.

And while this rant is absolutely not directed at any one person (much *wink*), I think it's something that all of us writers should think about...