Jen's Writing Journey

Welcome to the new home of Jen's Writing Journey, the blog that chronicles Jennifer Roland's writing life and provides useful information for new and seasoned writers.

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On Monday, I talked a little about the stigma attached to vanity presses.

We all seemed to be in agreement that self-published books are not viewed with the same level of respect as traditionally published books, even if the writing is of the same or better caliber. Writer’s Digest has pulled together a guide to self-publishing that can answer any questions you might have about that method of getting into print.

I mentioned in my comment that I believe many vanity presses are predatory, taking advantage of authors who have met the sting of rejection. These authors are not willing to look at their book and objectively assess why it was rejected. If you get a rejection, especially if the rejection includes specific feedback, please take the time to look at your work again and see if there is any further work that needs to be done to help you get that all-important acceptance.

Many of you pointed out that decision of whether to publish a book is a business decision, based on the quality of the writing, the depth of the story, and the current and projected market conditions. For some writers, that means their book may be rejected even if the writer has done everything right–polishing their prose to a diamond-like sheen, developing rich and believable characters and plots, targeting the right agents and publishing houses, and building a solid platform.

Yes, this is another way of saying that rejection isn’t always about you. We writers are a lot like actors–we may do our absolute best work ever, yet it doesn’t quite fit for some other reason completely out of our control.

All we can do is begin work on the next project, which may be the one that gets us published.

• Writing Roundup, September 4 Public Service Message: If you are affected by the Google Books settlement and you want to opt out, today is the deadline. Here is the link to opt out. The Business of Writing Books: The Big Story Is Consolidation This Financial Times article argues for further consolidation of book publishers......
• Freelancers You Should Follow Twitter is all about connections and networking, right? Well, here are some of the essential people to follow on Twitter to help you build your freelance career. (Listed in no particular order) @DebNG: Deb is the founder of the Freelance Writing Jobs blog. She tweets about the freelance life and......
• Writing Roundup, May 29 Let's start by re-checking our goals for the month. Did you achieve them? If not, what can you do next month to reach your goals? Blogging How to Devalue Your Blog and Burn Yourself Out Men with Pens have done it again. This post about the need to find a......
• Writing Roundup, June 19 We've got some great resources this week--summer hasn't slowed down any of the bloggers! The Business of Writing Money, Money, Money, Money Author Lauren Dane shares her thoughts on the RWA president's position on e-publishing. It is a well-thought-out argument that asks the RWA to put the focus back on......
• Writing Roundup Ten Characteristics of a Good ClientUse these tips when evaluating whether you will continue to work with your current clients. Also, the comment from Kelly Parkinson has great tips to evaluate a potential client.Proving You're Worth More MoneyIn this post, Heather Boerner helps you negotiate for higher rates from current......

• Dos and Donts to Succeed as an Erotic Romance Author (Or In Any Other Genre, For That Matter.) by Jamaica Layne, guest blogger I've been a working (meaning: published and earning royalties) erotic romance author for a while, but I recently added erotic...
• Review: Back to Basics - A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills by Abigail R. Gehring This book, Back to Basics, covers all of the basic living skills that have been employed by our forefathers before us. The full color tome...
• It's easy -- but a lot of work Have you ever started a project, thinking to yourself that it'll be easy? "How hard can it be?" is pretty much a mantra of mine,...
• Financial Goals for 2009 (part 4) We are looking at financial goals for the New Year. MSN Money lists 6 financial milestones to reach before age 30. If you are already...
• Find Your Niche Using Bookstores The day may come when people do all of their researching and reading online but it isn’t here yet. Fiction, of course, will always be...