These 5 Tips Will Help you Work Through Rejection

February 1, 2018October 10, 2018 F.A. HuffmanLeave a comment

As a writer, you will have to face rejection at some point. This is especially true if you want a literary agent, and to have your book professionally published. What you write isn’t going to be everybody’s cup of tea. I may still be fairly new to the rejection game (I’ve spent most of my writing career writing, so far) but I have already gotten a few rejection letters.

Rejection isn’t something that people want to face, but it’s a fact of life. The best thing you can do is to learn how to handle it. Don’t let it destroy your life, and don’t take it personally. You’ll find somebody that likes your work. Let’s look at a few ways to handle rejection.

Learn From It

You won’t always get a personalized letter of rejection. A lot of them are generic “Thanks for querying, but blah, blah, blah.” There are a few that will give you their thoughts. Instead of throwing the letters out, or deleting the email, listen to what they have to say. There may be something in their letter that can help you improve your chances of finding representation. Now, if you receive criticism like, “You write like a child,” or a blanket statement like, “There is no potential audience for your book,” then, by all means, throw that away. Those statements aren’t helpful.

Remember Why You Write

Rejection will get you down, especially if you have heard no over and over again. Take some time to remind yourself why you started writing. Write yourself a letter that states why you write.

For me, I write because I like creating a new world that I can escape into. It’s a way to get out my feelings and plan things out the way I want them. It’s a situation that I can have complete control over.

Find Empowerment with Self-Publishing

A lot of people have worked through their rejections by self-publishing their books. If you think you have a best seller on your hands, then publish it on kindle or nook. There are lots of ways to get your book out there. Before you do that, make sure that your manuscript is clean. Sending it to an editor would be a good idea.

Take a Break

When you are working through rejection, you probably won’t feel motivated to write so don’t. Take some time for yourself and reconnect with the world. Then you can come back to your writing.

Be Friend with Writers

Having people who you can relate to will help you out. If you don’t have friends that write, join some online writing communities. Talking is a great way to work through feelings.

In the end, acceptance or rejection shouldn’t influence you as a writer. If you have a story that you want to tell the world, then tell it. It shouldn’t matter if people love it or hate; you shared your story, and that’s what matters.

“Was I bitter? Absolutely. Hurt? You bet your sweet ass I was hurt. Who doesn’t feel a part of their heart break at rejection. You ask yourself every question you can think of, what, why, how come, and then your sadness turns to anger. That’s my favorite part. It drives me, feeds me, and makes one hell of a story.” Jennifer Salaiz

Top 4 Ways to Write a Killer Story

January 31, 2018October 10, 2018 F.A. HuffmanLeave a comment

Take it from somebody who knows, writing your first book is hard. You could have a million thoughts running through your head. Maybe you know exactly what you want to write, but you don’t know where to start. Or you could just be toying with the idea of writing something.

That first word you write will be the hardest. A lot rides on that first word, first sentence, first paragraph. If you can’t grab your readers attention, then they won’t ever finish your book. Before you write those firsts, you have to know what you’re writing about.

There are many different ways to figure this out, and each writer has to find out which works best for them. Let’s look at some of the best ways to find your story.

Number 1 – Write about the things you know

If you’re a botanist, then you shouldn’t be writing about marine biology. Tolstoy didn’t write about Oscar Wilde, and Oscar Wilde didn’t write about Tolstoy. They wrote about the society and people they knew. Whether you choose to write fiction or non-fiction, pick a topic that you understand.

If you want to write about things that you know nothing about you have to experience them. Learn as much as possible. Read plenty of books, visit new places, and talk to people who have lived it.

Number 2 – Read, read, and then read some more

Read a butt-load of books. The types of books you read will likely dictate your writing style and niche. I have nearly two shelves on my bookshelf full of Laurell K. Hamilton books. I also almost have a shelf full of Stephen King books. Make sure you learn things when you read. Make notes about the books, about the subject matter, about the writing style; anything and everything.

Number 3 – Write things down

Make yourself a brainstorming journal. Time yourself for 15 minutes, and spew out everything onto a piece of paper. Once your timer goes off, look over the paper and see if anything makes sense. Then leave it alone. Set it to the side for a day or so, and then come back and see what you get from it.

See if you can find some commonalities, and then write down a sensible list of topics. Then start working through how these topics could become a story. Brainstorm some more ideas, and see if you can flesh out a possible outline.

Number 4 – Get some feedback

Once you have an idea as to what you want to write about, ask your friends and family what they think. You can do this on sites like Quora as well. Write out an outline, and then find out what people think. Don’t take their opinions too personally. They are just opinions, everybody has them. Some people will like your ideas, and others won’t. But make sure you listen to everybody’s opinion, not just the ones you like the sound of.

Now that you have an idea of how to come up with a topic, it’s your turn to write something. As cliche as it may be, everybody has a story in them. You just need to figure out your story.

“And as imagination bodies forth

The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen

Turns them to shapes and gives to airy nothing

A local habitation and a name.”

William Shakespeare (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)

The Journey Begins

January 30, 2018August 9, 2018 F.A. HuffmanLeave a comment

Thanks for joining me! I started writing my first novel in high school. My best friend at the time inspired me to start writing, and we planned out the book and the subsequent series together. Nearly ten years later, I have just finished writing that first book. I had no clue what I was doing when I first started writing. Hell, I hated taking the writing tests we had in school. I loved English class, but I never fancied myself a writer. But for some reason, Leslie convinced me to write.

I know, ten years to write a book seems like a long time. It is. But I wasn’t focused at first. I used to only write the book while at school. When I had free time, or during study hall. Sometimes during class when I was supposed to be working on a project. Then I would stop. I would either get bored with it, forget about it, or something. I’d stop writing for a week or months at a time. Then when I would come back to it, and I would start making major changes to the characters and plot.

Then I graduated high school and started college. The book fell to the wayside for a year or more. It stayed in the back of my head, and I would think about it from time to time. Leslie would sometimes ask about it. I knew I needed to get it out, but I didn’t have the gumption. Then I had a bit of free time, and I pulled out the book. I had taken a creative writing specialization on the website Coursera, and as I read through what I had written, I hated it. I still loved my story, and what I had planned out with Leslie, but the way I had written was completely awful. I scrapped what I had written, and started from scratch. Again, I would get distracted from time to time, but I wrote the book this time.

Between my ghostwriting job, and life, I was able to finish the book in about two years. That included writing and proofreading it. It felt so good to finish that story, and I will always love it because it was my first novel. Now, it’s not published yet, but it will be. I’m trying to go the literary agent and publisher route, instead of self-publishing it, so it’s going to be a long journey. That is what has led me here. Loved by Death is my first novel and the first book in my Wolfsbane Chronicles series.

I hope to share that book with you all one day, and the books that follow it. For now, you can read my short stories I write, and possibly some poems. So, let the journey begin.

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton