December, 2023
My husband gave me this framed quote from Gustav Flaubert for my birthday. It sums up perfectly what writers experience — on the good days!
“It is a delicious thing to write, to be no longer yourself but to move in an entire universe of your own creating. Today, for instance, as man and woman, both lover and mistress, I rode in a forest on an autumn afternoon under the yellow leaves, and I was also the horses, the leaves, the wind, the words my people uttered, even the red sun that made them almost close their love-drowned eyes.”
Telling people about my latest writing project reassures me that the writing life brings far more joy than angst. Having said that, in these past couple of months I’ve had my share of self-doubt.
Most books you pick up these days have flattering quotes either on the cover, or inside under the heading “Praise for…” But how do you get these endorsements? As I don’t know anyone on the New York Times Bestseller list, and Oprah doesn’t live next door, it means some considerable leg work. I watched a great webinar from the Women’s Fiction Writers Association on the topic and went to work. I tried a few “cold calls” — requests to well-known writers whose books I enjoy, via their websites. This met with zero success. I wasn’t too surprised, as someone like Ann Patchett must get thousands of such requests.
The next tranche of email requests went out to friends who have written and published books. These are people I met at a writing conferences and events at my local bookstores and libraries. Others I met at a writing class (how I miss the Write-By-The-Lake retreat that used to be held on the UW-Madison campus each summer), and in a critique group (a shout out to Wisconsin Writers Association for making these available.) They all understand what I need from them, but even so it’s a big ask. First of all, they have to read my book in a timely fashion, then write an authentic blurb that will engage potential readers. It’s far more difficult than you think, and I have nothing to offer them in return except my undying gratitude.
In addition to requests for endorsements/blurbs, it is recommended that you choose a few professional review organizations (Kirkus Reviews for example) and pay for one of their staff to read your manuscript and write an in-depth review. After a lifetime of publishing scientific papers, I’m accustomed to soliciting arms-length reviews. But this is far more daunting when it’s your creative endeavor that you are opening up to scrutiny, as opposed to your latest experimental findings.
Towards the end of October, the first professional review for Finding Isobel arrived. This reviewer did not like Isobel one bit and wasn’t shy about telling me! I was stunned. Over the course of several years, I’ve come to know my protagonist intimately and I like her more and more as I watch her cope with what life throws at her. It’s a bit like watching a graduate student over the course of their PhD program. By the end you know and understand them, and you want them to have every happiness as they leave your orbit.
Fortunately, two days later I got a glowing blurb from a writer I know, followed by four more in quick succession in a similar vein. I am rich in generous friends who write wonderful endorsements! Next, a five-star arms-length review came in giving my confidence another boost. There are still several requests for blurbs and reviews pending, but at least I know there will be something on the “Praise for Finding Isobel” page when the novel comes out on March 19th, just in time for the Spring Equinox!
~ Mary
My husband gave me this framed quote from Gustav Flaubert for my birthday. It sums up perfectly what writers experience — on the good days!
“It is a delicious thing to write, to be no longer yourself but to move in an entire universe of your own creating. Today, for instance, as man and woman, both lover and mistress, I rode in a forest on an autumn afternoon under the yellow leaves, and I was also the horses, the leaves, the wind, the words my people uttered, even the red sun that made them almost close their love-drowned eyes.”
Telling people about my latest writing project reassures me that the writing life brings far more joy than angst. Having said that, in these past couple of months I’ve had my share of self-doubt.
Most books you pick up these days have flattering quotes either on the cover, or inside under the heading “Praise for…” But how do you get these endorsements? As I don’t know anyone on the New York Times Bestseller list, and Oprah doesn’t live next door, it means some considerable leg work. I watched a great webinar from the Women’s Fiction Writers Association on the topic and went to work. I tried a few “cold calls” — requests to well-known writers whose books I enjoy, via their websites. This met with zero success. I wasn’t too surprised, as someone like Ann Patchett must get thousands of such requests.
The next tranche of email requests went out to friends who have written and published books. These are people I met at a writing conferences and events at my local bookstores and libraries. Others I met at a writing class (how I miss the Write-By-The-Lake retreat that used to be held on the UW-Madison campus each summer), and in a critique group (a shout out to Wisconsin Writers Association for making these available.) They all understand what I need from them, but even so it’s a big ask. First of all, they have to read my book in a timely fashion, then write an authentic blurb that will engage potential readers. It’s far more difficult than you think, and I have nothing to offer them in return except my undying gratitude.
In addition to requests for endorsements/blurbs, it is recommended that you choose a few professional review organizations (Kirkus Reviews for example) and pay for one of their staff to read your manuscript and write an in-depth review. After a lifetime of publishing scientific papers, I’m accustomed to soliciting arms-length reviews. But this is far more daunting when it’s your creative endeavor that you are opening up to scrutiny, as opposed to your latest experimental findings.
Towards the end of October, the first professional review for Finding Isobel arrived. This reviewer did not like Isobel one bit and wasn’t shy about telling me! I was stunned. Over the course of several years, I’ve come to know my protagonist intimately and I like her more and more as I watch her cope with what life throws at her. It’s a bit like watching a graduate student over the course of their PhD program. By the end you know and understand them, and you want them to have every happiness as they leave your orbit.
Fortunately, two days later I got a glowing blurb from a writer I know, followed by four more in quick succession in a similar vein. I am rich in generous friends who write wonderful endorsements! Next, a five-star arms-length review came in giving my confidence another boost. There are still several requests for blurbs and reviews pending, but at least I know there will be something on the “Praise for Finding Isobel” page when the novel comes out on March 19th, just in time for the Spring Equinox!
~ Mary
RSS Feed