As a first step toward becoming a published author, my wife sent me to the Pikes Peak Writer's Conference, from the 19th to the 22nd of April. It was on the first day, Thursday, that I was stretching in the hallway in between classes when I heard a conversation between two apparently published persons. Being the polite, subtle guy that I am, I first eavesdropped and then inserted myself into the conversation. One of them turned out to be one Ronald Cree, perhaps one of the friendliest people I have had the pleasure to meet. It was the best thing that could have happened to me that day. Before I knew it Ron was inviting me to dinner and introducing me to everyone he thought I should know including (but not limited to) Brandon and Bryan, Hilari Bell, Nar Williams, and a vampiress named Julia. Throughout the conference I also got to meet and talk at length with several other literary artists on my own.
Being a normal human being, I'm usually not sure what it is that I should say to a person when I first meet them (um, nice shoes?), but at a writer's conference the ice breaker is easy. Just ask "What do you write?" and that's enough to make most authors gush about their work for the next fifteen minutes, minimum. I am no exception, and turnabout is fair play. Thus it was that I talked at length about the project that I am working on, and I got a lot of great advice for it. The consistent consensus, from multiple published, experienced, career authors was simple; my project is not publishable.
Non viable.
Lacking appeal to editors and agents alike.
However, that is not all that I learned about my book. Consistent consensus from multiple, experienced readers was something close to universal interest. In fact Aron Ritchey told me, "This is terrible advice, but if I were you I'd finish the book." The reasoning is simple. Most authors do not publish their first manuscript. Mystery/thriller author Jeffery Deaver admitted that his first two manuscripts were terrible. Horror master extraordinaire Stephen King was a notorious collector of rejection letters before selling his first novel. Before joining Keven Anderson's critique group, hopefuls were required to provide a minimum of five rejection slips. In short, I should finish my book because a first manuscript is a learning experience, and almost guaranteed to fail. That, and I think they want to see how my story turns out.
I'm listening to Aaron and finishing the manuscript. I'll pitch it for a while and see how many rejections I can pile up, perhaps gaining a little street cred on the writer's circuit. As soon as I'm finished I'll start another, of course, but I know I'll always have a special place in my heart for my first book. See, the concept wasn't rebuffed because my prose is wonky, or the ideas too esoteric, or the plot boring. It was rebuffed because it is a book about kids, but the concepts and delivery are probably too advanced for juvenile readers, and everyone knows that adults don't read books about kids. And it's too ambitious.
