Ornery Woman : Forum : The Writer: what it takes to b..


[reply] [quote]

The Writer: what it takes to become noteworthy

16 Years Ago


The Writer: what it takes to become noteworthy
by: Nannette LaRee Hernandez (2005)
Near the beginning of my writing career, senior editor Judith Regan of Simon and Schuster Publishing sent me a personally penned rejection letter in response to my presented book proposal. Of the 276 rejection letters I received from various US publishing companies, hers was the most callous. Where other publishers simply sent me a standard rejection slip, Judith Regan made it her duty to make clear to me that I would never sell my book; that, in fact, I would never make it as a writer. In 1993, Judith Regan was at the height of her publishing career: she had successfully edited crass radio personality Howard Stern�s, as well as Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh�s tell-all books, proving she could easily gravitate to the Left as well as to the Right, and keep an even and amicable balance. Judith Regan was an expert at writing. And she came unprofessionally close to calling me a Nothing.
Not nearly enough has been written about the real benefits of Nothing. Because under any circumstance, Nothing is often the significant fuel needed to propel one forward. And Nothing, was all I had to lose. So I paid $16.00 for the business name Brilliant Creations and printed 500 hundred spiral bound books at Kinko�s Copies in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and sent my book to every radio station, talk show, magazine and newspaper company in the United States.
Two weeks to the day that I�d received Judith Regan�s letter, the phone started ringing for me from California to New York. It didn�t matter to the interested parties that my book wasn�t perfectly published or represented by a big publishing house. What mattered, was that I had taken the subject sex, which is extensively written about, and said it like it really is, and not how some publisher had decided that the female public wanted to read it or needed to hear it. From that point forward, I sold over 300,000 copies of my self-published book worldwide. I have been a guest on just about every television talk show, on several hundred radio shows, in most newspapers and featured in almost every magazine. In late 2006, I negotiated a contract with a big publishing house on my terms: that my book stays True to its creative form from it original publication. It took fourteen years, but I did it. For this writer, Nothing is the most eloquent word in the dictionary.
When a person writes, whether it be an essay assignment, Thesis, article or book, he or she is offering to the world not only who they are, but how they see things, how they want things to change, how they hope for the future or would attempt to modify the past. There never has been nor will there ever be, a �bad� writer. Writing is a talent endowed upon the masses, and too often, when something written is presented as �bad�, it is only because the writer has allowed their work to become structured and submissive through the opinions of a Critic.
A Critic, is anyone: a parent, a good friend, the guy at the carwash, an editor. A Critic is anyone who doesn�t �get� either the writer or what the writer is saying, and must therefore incorporate the writer�s work to best suit their own outside interest and perspective. Therefore, what makes a writer truly great; what makes a writer outstanding and significant, and, at last, successful, is the writer�s own Clarity, Uncompromising Stance of their own Truth, and the final formation of their own Trust.
Not every word written, either past or present, is penned for every reader. Some like poetry, many Science Fiction, others documentaries. The writer then, must first learn Clarity. The writer must see, feel and understand his or her literary goals, and not deter from it. With Clarity, comes the Uncompromising Stance to stay true to who he or she is as a writer, willing to make use of suggestion and comment, while unwilling to allow outside influences to break his or her foundation. With Uncompromising Stance, comes Truth; that ability to always stay True to his or her inner voice and gut instinct. And with Truth, comes the Trust that someone who reads their written work will ultimately want it, and be delighted to share it with the multitude. There is no need to become structured and submissive. Not when the writer becomes skilled at Clarity, Uncompromising Stance, Truth, and Trust.
When the writer recognizes that there is no need to become structured and submissive, rejection becomes a surety, and therefore the most difficult of all responsibilities to endure. Once given to the writer, rejection becomes a responsibility because rejection is an action that requires balanced management if the writer is to become successful. Therefore, when rejected, which will often happen on a daily basis, the writer has only two options: 1) to use the rejection as a trampoline, which will eventually give-to flight, or 2) to use the rejection as a pit-fall, which will inevitably become an abyss. Rejection, like Nothing, is an eloquent word. And managed with balance, the worst rejection often leads to the right acceptance elsewhere. And the right acceptance is guaranteed, if the writer never quits.
Writing is one of the few genuine methods of self-rejuvenation and Universal transformation.
Writing is where ideas are made, problems are solved, thoughts are exposed and communication gaps are bridged.
It is the writer�s distinct Creation that is the blueprint which formulates what humanity feels, thinks, sees, and hears.
Without the writer�s individual perspective, dreams, ideas, opinions, emotions and options would die.
The writer is the pulse, heartbeat, conscience, brain and breath-of-fresh air, that makes Life meaningful.