The Beast With Two Bubbles

Here’s a query pass I received the other day:

Hi Craig,

Thanks for sending this my way! I’m not enough in love to offer representation, but I wish you the best of luck with it and feel free to query me again in the future.

Again, a very nice, gentle rejection, but what does it mean “I’m not enough in love?” Does that mean she was a little in love? Was I close? Was there some love there? Or was this just a platitude, a pat phrase she throws in to fill out the rejection? Do some people get “this wasn’t for me,” or “this wasn’t the right fit for my list” or does everyone get “I’m not enough in love?” I’ll never know. I suspect it’s the latter, but among the array of “thanks for sending, but not for me” emails I’m receiving and expect to continue to receive, it’s hard not to cling to any glimmer of positive feedback.

This is probably why there are so many “consultation” services offering to help improve your manuscript and get it into publishable shape. I encountered these much more often in the screenwriting world. Organizations like Stage 32, the International Screenwriters Association, Roadmap Writers, Writers Boot Camp, and even individual proprietors all dangle the promise of representation or production to sell their various wares, which typically include opportunities to pitch to various agents, managers or producers, or promises to promote your script directly if you pay for and make good on enough iterations of their feedback.

It doesn’t work quite the same way for novels—face time with agents or publishers isn’t quite as important, but there are definitely an array of services out there willing to help you sell your book for the right price—which can quickly run into thousands of dollars.

My view is that writing, and probably any vocation that is tough to break into and offers great rewards at the top – e.g. acting, writing, dancing, modeling—is a beast with two bubbles. One bubble includes the people that are in the industry, and the other bubble are services that purport to get you into the industry. My experience is that there is rarely very much overlap between these two bubbles. They are self contained, with the teachers/consultants in the services bubble mostly people who couldn’t make a living actively working in the industry bubble, and the people supplying that economy being a community of hopefuls, who often know each other, who are confident enough in their ability that they are sure the next consultation or meeting will lead to success, willing to keep trying until the money runs out, and commiserate with each other along the way.

These industries that run on hope never fail, the universe always supplies new hopefuls, but I wonder how some of the people that live on them sleep at night. Mostly I assume they focus on the rare success stories that come out of their efforts, success stories that honestly probably have little to do with them and more with the whims of the universe.

There are also contests that can help one gauge their level of skill. In the screenwriting world, I’ve won or been a finalist in many of them, and none have led to any career success, so it’s unlikely I’ll be pursuing too many in the novel world, where they are fewer and more competitive with the same lack of promise of reward. However for some, having your screenplay or manuscript never even make the quarterfinals of any competition can be a good reality check that maybe something needs to change. By the same token, a finalist placement could be just the positive reinforcement someone needs to keep at it.

In any event, given the realities of these services and my financial situation, I’ll continue to get my feedback for free from people I trust, mostly writer friends, published and unpublished, and keep an eye out for that glimmer of hope that slips into that next rejection letter.

Weekly Tab: 10 queries, 4 passes