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If I were to give one word of advice to writers trying to get his or her book published I would say don’t give up. I recently heard a quote that I LOVE:

“Failure is inevitable but giving up is unforgiveable.”

Failure is inevitable. Of course it is. I should know. I could probably repaper at least one room of my house with my years of rejection letters. So, yes, failing is really quite easy. It’s inevitable. It’s inevitable because we learn from our mistakes. We learn to write better queries. We learn how to meet agents and to go to conferences. We learn to be better readers and we learn to be better writers. And we do it all by failing miserably.

But then one day, the phone rings and it’s an editor who loves your manuscript and wants to publish it. And you start to realize that all those years of hard work, all those rejection letters that you cried over, all those hours, days, months spent alone in front of your computer talking to yourself didn’t mean you were crazy – it meant you hung there. And finally you’ve climbed one mountain and are looking out at the world from the top.

It may not be the highest mountain. It may not have the best views. But you got there.

Of course once you’re there you can see all these other mountains you want to climb – higher ones, prettier ones – but now you know you can do it. If you keep your feet on the trail and put one foot in front of the other, you can make it to your destination.

For me the important thing is know it’s possible. Because I am relentless. And I say that with some pride. (Of course, some people don’t think of that as a good quality.)

Okay – so, in brief, here’s my how I am living proof that going to conferences, doing my homework, and not giving up got me two book contracts in one week. (Yes, two in one week!!)

I’d written this funny mystery and I really loved my main character, Thomas Weston, a hard boiled reporter with newspaper ink in his veins. I rewrote the manuscript at least four times, and I was still getting rejections letters. But one day I got a rejection letter that suggested I change the ending. So I did. Then I took it to a conference where I met the publisher of Blooming Tree Press. I told her about the book and she asked me to send it to her. Nearly a year had passed and I hadn’t heard anything. Then one day the phone rang and it was Miriam Hees saying she wanted to buy my book!

Later that same week, I got another phone call from Mountain Press about a non-fiction picture book I’d sent to them two days before. They wanted to buy that book! Two offers for two different books in one week after YEARS AND YEARS of rejections.

So just let me just say this: Failure is inevitable. It is. We are human. And because we’re human we make mistakes, we fail. But we also learn. And that’s the important thing.

But giving up IS unforgiveable. If that manuscript is sitting in your computer or on your desk no one is going to see it. It is just that. Sitting there. So do your homework, accept the fact that you will fail. But don

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The Montana chapter of SCBWI recently held The Young Adult Voice with Terry Trueman/Spend an Afternoon with an Agent workshop. In attendance were literary agent Mark McVeigh and Prinz Award winning author Terry Trueman. Fabulous author and regional advisor for the Montana chapter, Michele Corriel, kindly offered to share her take-aways from this special day.  

On May 22nd The Montana Region of SCBWI conducted a one-day workshop with YA Printz Honor Award winning author Terry Trueman and Literary Agent Mark McVeigh, of the McVeigh Literary Agency.

The workshop was held at the Bozeman Public Library, a new building -- very green, very gorgeous, full of art and natural lighting, a snowy spring day in Montana. (Yes, I said SNOW!)

Terry gave a hands-on writing workshop as well as an informal "pick my brain as long as you want" session that went on for over an hour. Terry is such an entertaining and insightful speaker -- everyone loved him! He was very generous with his time and hung out with everyone after the session. Here are some gems from his talk:

• sit down for at least an hour a day and write, that’s how you find your voice.

• A plot is a mechanism to tell a story, find out why a story needs to be told and tell it.

• The dreaded Middle of a story: think of the theme and go back to the character; don’t be afraid to step away from the manuscript for a week and then re-read it from the beginning.

• Any kind of writing that is good will have to be revised – a lot.

• There are three things important to being a successful writer: talent, persistence, and luck.

Then Terry had us all write five to eight lines of poetry after reading to us from Love That Dog and Charles Bukowski’s “Oh Yes.”

Mark did a panel with Terry (who is his client) on what it's like for an author to work with an agent and what an agent does for a client. Mark then did an hour talk on agenting and his long experience in publishing as an editor, how the market is changing and then took questions for another hour and probably would've went on longer if we’d had more time. Here are some of Mark’s gems:

• Separate yourself from your work.

• Become a professional – know the industry, make contacts with other writers, meet editors and agents by going to conferences.

• When writing a query to an agent be sure to follow the guidelines on the website. If you include a synopsis make it as tight as you can. If you’re writing a query to an editor, do your homework and mention a book the editor worked on.

• Send your best work.

• Don’t let the market influence you, let it inform you.

Michele Coriel is an award-winning journalist, columnist and freelance writer. During her eleven years as a newspaper journalist, she garnered First Place awards from the Montana Newspaper Association and was recognized by the National Newspaper Association. During her years in New York City, Michele was executive editor and publisher of an arts monthly magazine covering performance art, music, film, books and visual artists. Michele's interview with William Burroughs was published in 2001 by The University of Mississippi Press in their series “Literary Conversations," and two articles appeared in Faces of Freedom (Pioneer Press, 2002). Her

Stina Lindenblatt said, on 6/7/2010 4:24:00 AM

Thanks for the great info! A lot of useful advice, as always.

Can't wait for your contest on Thursday. :)

Creepy Query Girl said, on 6/7/2010 5:05:00 AM

Really great insights from a pro! thanks so much!

thejourneyofastory said, on 6/7/2010 7:46:00 AM

I just began researching SCBWI (I embarrassingly heard of them here, on your site - does that mean I'm not dedicated to my art, having not known of them before?). Your blog is of great encouragement to me, as I sit here this morning (absent of my coffee) yet dreaming of the future where I can not only enrich my passion for literature but actually contribute to it someday. (??) I wanted to stop by, and a new follower of your site, and thank you. I know I'll be unveiling more of the hidden wisdom within these pages.

Tahereh said, on 6/7/2010 8:04:00 AM

wow, another post packed with information! this is invaluable, ladies!

thank you!!

mcorriel said, on 6/7/2010 8:18:00 AM

The workshop was a ton of fun and I'm glad I was allowed the opportunity to share it with everyone here!

Lisa Gail Green said, on 6/7/2010 8:19:00 AM

I LOVE this quote: Don’t let the market influence you, let it inform you.

T. Anne said, on 6/7/2010 9:06:00 AM

I love that, 'don't let the market influence you, let it inform you." Perfect.

Betty Vanderwielen said, on 6/7/2010 9:42:00 AM

A couple of quotes from Terry that I particularly liked:
"I don't write to be edgy; I write to reach your emotions."
And a reality check when you get that rejection slip: "There is no truth; there is only opinion and honesty."

mcorriel said, on 6/7/2010 9:47:00 AM

Thanks, Betty! I know I was so enthralled I didn't take as many notes as I usually do. :)

Solvang Sherrie said, on 6/7/2010 11:49:00 AM

Great info! Don't you just love conferences? I always come away inspired.

Lindsay (a.k.a Isabella) said, on 6/7/2010 12:46:00 PM

Thanks for this, great info. I'd love to go to a conference. One day...:)

Donna Hosie said, on 6/7/2010 1:35:00 PM

Very grateful for the advice.

Jemi Fraser said, on 6/7/2010 3:55:00 PM

Wow - lots of great information - thanks so much for sharing! :)

Adventures in Children's Publishing said, on 6/7/2010 4:04:00 PM

Michele, how lucky we were to have you write up this event and pass along fantastic advice. Thanks for all the wonderful comments everyone.

Check back in a few weeks when we will have Michele featured in a WOW Wednesday guest post!She'll share inspiration on never giving up :)

Thanks again Michele!
Martina & Marissa

mcorriel said, on 6/7/2010 7:12:00 PM

You guys are most certainly welcome! Thanks for having me. :)

Sharon K. Mayhew said, on 6/8/2010 5:46:00 AM

Great job, Ladies! Isn't Mark a sweet guy! I met him via a tweet, followed by a blog introduction, followed by a skype chat, a webinar he invited me to and lots of emails. He truly believes in what he does and wants to help writers...Great guy!

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