Patience and Perseverance
Newsletter #41
Dealing with the Writing Industry
The writing industry is slow. Molasses slow? Sloth slow? All I know is there is a finite number of editors, imprints, and publishers, plus a growing number of aspiring writers. People are inundated with full email boxes and are really working hard to set boundaries for self-preservation. So I get it. But the wait is real.
I’m pretty good at not thinking too much about any stories that are out with editors. Once I’ve done my part and it’s sent off, I place my focus on making my other stories the best they can be. That is what I can control. And if that means taking a nugget of a theme or idea and re-writing it over and over and over in five completely different ways, then that’s the process. It’s how I find the real story I need to tell and determine how to execute it in the right way.
There is an endless number of ways to execute an idea. In fact I read a picture book the other day that captures the same theme I’m trying to convey in one of my stories, but done in such a different and beautiful way.
The good part about all this writing play or tryouts that I do, is that an editor might like the core idea of the story but want it executed in a different way. Since I work on so many versions before landing on one that we think is best, there’s a likelihood that I’ve already tried it and have something halfway ready to go in that direction. So maybe I tend to do most of my hard work on the front end. Which ironically I hated to do before.
I think that’s the benefit of having been working on writing for so, so, so many years. This is where my experience shows up, in enjoying the possibilities within the process and also being smart enough to know that the wait has nothing to do with me. The writing industry is simply slow.
Writers, how do you handle the wait time?
Book Report: DRAWN TOGETHER
Written by Minh Lê
Illustrated by Dan Santat
This picture book truly represents the type of magic that comes from the seamless blending of words and art into a captivating creative product. From its heart-wrenching beginning to heart-warming conclusion, readers are transported into the lived experience of so many intergenerational immigrant families struggling to bridge two distinct cultures and languages. The author Minh expertly provides us with so few words that are drenched in their powerful message. Then the illustrator Dan gives us comic panels that take us through a sequence of emotions from both the boy and his grandfather as they first struggle to find commonalities and eventually soar together as they create new worlds through artistic talents. DRAWN TOGETHER provides representation of a life reality that everyone can feel through the strong emotional pull of the story.
Themes: immigration, intergenerational, love and acceptance, identity
Discussion Ideas:
Compare and contrast the art styles of the boy and the grandfather, and describe what the images represent to you.
What are the benefits people can gain when taking the step to communicate with and understand someone different from themselves?
Mentor Text For:
author’s message
using visuals to write your own story
analysis of symbolism
making inferences from art
Link to Teacher Resources: Discussion Guide
Buy the book!
Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
Weekly Progress Report
This is a section for “stuff I did” that relates to my writing career. I believe in celebrating all wins, big and small alike.
wrote 2 book reviews and several posts for future newsletters
had a mini-writing retreat
crafted a refrain and brainstormed different ways to use it
joined a writing sprint with Uplift AANHPI Kidlit
worked on revisions for the biography
watched a webinar replay on agent relationships
read through feedback from a critique group on a manuscript
critiqued 3 stories
Sending you courage and grace in all you choose to do,
Susan