Just a rant

In 1967, I began college as a nuclear physics major. My counselor warned me that this was a bad choice because there was an abundance of physics majors, and after I graduated, I would have difficulty finding work because of a saturated market. He recommended that I change to electronics engineering.

I was distraught. Had my life's ambition ripped out from under me. Went home and sulked all weekend until my dad called my into his home office to ask what was wrong. After I told him, he started chuckling. I asked why my problem was so funny and he replied, "Son, college counselors are like many government employees. They lack vision. They live out their lives in narrowly defined jobs that avoid competition. Security is their overriding concern and they assume everyone shares that limitation."

Dad lit his pipe and leaned back in his old leather armchair.

"Dean, the truth about statistics is that there is ALWAYS room at the top. When your college counselor warns about the tough job market, he's assuming you will be the run-of-the-mill graduate. He can't think in competitive terms. You see, those who graduate at the top of their class will displace others. True, the unemployment rate for physics graduates will be high, but it's up to you whether you are among the "top" physicists or among the unemployed mediocrity. That is YOUR choice!"

Dad was right. There is always room at the top. If you think you can write a compelling novel in the vampire genre, then, by all means, do so! Rise to the top, and there will be a publisher who will notice, despite the plethora of vampire-based books. Your hardest job, both in writing and in the query process, will be to distinguish YOUR vampire story from the common cookie-cutter variety. And, your greatest advantage is to clearly understand the nature of this obstacle before attacking it.

Good luck.

Thanks Dean! That's sound advice. I needed to hear that today.

I understand the frustration with editing, but the sucky part about it is how necessary of an evil it is. I agree with Dean, the only way to get past the "We're not accepting this type of novel..." query response is to not write what everyone else is writing. The best way to do that is to blow them away with your book. Circular argument, best way to blow them away is to do more editing. Haha.

Just to put it in perspective... I've read multiple writer's biographies and have found that many can write their book in about 4-6 months, and spend the next 18 months editing. You'll notice that some writers can put out a book about every year while others every two to three. I'll almost guarantee that the latter author is better known and has better books. My boss has a doctorate in clinical psychology, and she has written and published many books on her hope psychology in fictional situations. She told me that about 20-24 months after you write your first ms is a good time to call it finished and try to publish it.

Just stick with it. If you have the confidence in your writing then it will show through. Don't give up on doing what you want to do.