Don’t Forget to Have Fun Dummy
So, the agent submission process is pretty rough. You work for weeks or months or years on a piece of work you really care about, then you excitedly type up a submission tailored to the specific requirements of agents who you can tell really love the kinds of books you’re working on, who represent writers that you absolutely adore and…
…well…
…nothing.
Only this cat knows the depths of my despair…
I sit on the other side of the screen in the games publishing world, so I know how hard it probably is on these agents, just way worse than for video games. Anyone can write a book, while barely anyone can make a video game so the numbers are way worse for literary agents.
So, I get it.
…but its still rough. You pour your heart onto the page, you edit, you revise, you get beta readers to tell you its not terrible except that one part that is terrible, you revise again, you show your cat and then…
…large oof.
I was getting pretty frustrated with the process when I had a revelation! It's going to sound dumb but I think I just cracked the code.
The fantastic writer/director JT Petty said this when we were writing on Homefront, a decidedly not fun project at times, and it’s stuck with me to this day:
““If I’m not having fun writing, nobody is going to have fun reading.” ”
Sometimes, I take this stuff too seriously. I think lots of folks do and it makes sense why. We write because we love to read or audiobook or experience stories in any number of media. This is what makes us human. These stories make our lives richer and help us explore who we are (or sometimes just give us cool shit to daydream about while doing the dishes).
See, this cat right here gets it.
IT SHOULD BE FUN DUMMY.
I, Coray Seifert, Writer of Borks, just need worry less and have fun more (and maybe you do too if you’re currently in the submission trenches), because odds are no agent is going to touch this stuff until its already selling, anyway. So just play!
Enjoy the process of hustle. Enjoy the feeling of opening the inbox like its xmas morning (even though lol its coal again). Enjoy dreaming the dream of the hit writer until you actually get there. Best case, you get an agent and have fun along the way and feel rewarded because how can you not when you're writing? (even the unfun parts). Worst case, see above minus agent and really aren’t the friends we made along the way the real treasure?
Okay, time to howl into the abyss a bit more…
…but you know, in a fun way.
AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!