Pledge of No Grousing

I have been working with a book called “Get Known Before the Book Deal: Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform” (Christina Katz, Writer’s Digest Books, 2008).  While its primarily focused on non-fiction, I have still been finding it useful and I enjoy Katz’s breezy, no-nonsense style.  


I am nearly done with section one which has been focusing on helping an author figure out what her/his platform might be.  She also has a lot of common sense advice about behaving in a professional manner throughout the process and figuring out how to be your own producer and promoter without being obnoxious.  The section I just read was titled “Ditch Your Resistance” and she makes the point that you (the author) are 100% responsible for the success of your writing career.  All the time.  Then she goes on to ask that you (the author) make a promise that for one year you will never utter a word of reproach against anyone involved with getting you published – no whining, blaming, or other displays of poor attitude.


This promise is not hard for me to make because I had already decided to make it – and not just for a year.  At conventions and in writing groups one can almost immediately run into those people who are bitching and moaning and whose writing careers would be perfect if those other people weren’t idiots.  I had already made the decision that I wasn’t going to blame anyone else for my challenges – if they had really, truly “done me wrong” I’d deal with it in a professional, polite manner, but otherwise I would not rail bbout things.  So Katz’s pledge fits very well with this intention – and here it is (you can find it on pp. 68-9 of her book):

     I, Tannara Young, being of sound mind and body, do solemnly commit to keep my grousing to myself for the period of one year.  This stuffing of the sock in my mouth includes, but is not limited to, whining about all matters related to the publication of my work.  I will not grumble if I do not like an editor’s changes.  I will not moan if I do not like how long production of my work is taking.  I will not cry if I don’t get paid.
     Instead, when and if an injustice occurs, I will calmly take appropriate steps to alert my clients that I am a professional and that I expect professional treatment.  I will treat them in kind.  I will not even whimper when my pet projects get canned.  Regardless of how much I want to grouse, I will not so much as make a sarcastic remark.
     If I have a legitimate complaint and I can’t shake it on my own, or if one is eating at me to the point of distraction, I will discuss it with a good friend or trusted advisor until I find peace.  I won’t dwell on it or hang onto it unnecessarily.  I will do everything I can to avoid a victim stance.
Instead I commit to one year of channeling the energy I would otherwise spend grousing into becoming known.  Most importantly I will not contact Christian Katz with the intention of complaining in any way, shape or manner.  So help me Great Spirits of Publishing.
    Signed Tannara Young, May 16, 2012 

Marketing Idhua Part 1: Mission Statement

So, I have been working on my strategic plan - which is turning out to be a lot more fun than I thought it would be.  My sister, N, and I have observed to each other that often our challenge is not finding a way to do things, but to decide what we want to do in the first place.  It took me over fifteen years to decide I wanted to become a published author, but now that I have I am having fun figuring out how to make that happen.  I like the clarity the exercise of doing strategic planning brings to my process and the way I can go from distant goals to current steps to take towards them.  Here is my mission statement - I welcome any feedback people may have on it.  Leave a comment or email me at tannara.young@gmail.com.

Author Mission Statement for Tannara Young   My mission is to write, publish and promote mythopoeic high fantasy, set in the world of Idhua, for readers who desire such works. My stories are intended for an audience who is looking for high fantasy with a strong focus on lyrical prose that contains mythological depth. These stories will challenge some of the more conservative elements in fantasy by incorporating non-traditional characters and narratives, including female characters, non-white characters and characters of differing sexual orientations placed in atypical roles.

Italian Anyone?

I have decided that I need to find a writing group that is interested in my kind of writing.  The two main review groups I have are a very close group of friends and family and the somewhat random group that I have encountered through the Meetup website.  While the first group likes the style I write in and is infinitely supportive, none of them are fiction writers who are seriously pursuing the improvement of the craft of writing fiction.  While they are all avid readers, and that is a good thing, they don’t necessarily read and critique from the point of view of craftsmen. 

On the other hand, the Meetup is a very mixed bag with some excellent writers mixed in with some neophytes.  I have found all their perspectives to be helpful in different respects.  The main problem I have with that group is that I don’t seem to be writing the kind of fantasy that they are interested in reading.  When someone begins their critique with “I don’t like songs or poetry in my stories so I suggested you cut that out,” or “I don’t really get into that mythic, epic stuff...” it becomes difficult to decide how to take their critiques.  Certainly, they make some very good points, but I feel like there as many critiques which are trying to change the way I write, as there are trying to take the way I write and make it better.  If my only goal was to write things and get them published according to the taste of the moment, I would be writing different stuff entirely.  But most of the reason that I am writing is to write the stories that appear in my head in the more epic, mythic, old-fashioned, poetic way that they appear there.

I am not bitter about this or trying to say that I have no intention of responding to the world’s response to my work.  It’s simply that if you want a good critique for – say – your Italian cookbook, you have to ask other cooks as well as other lovers of Italian food.  Comments from people who hate tomatoes and basil will not serve you very well, just as only asking those who frequent Italian restaurants, but don’t cook, won’t give you a good idea of the quality of your recipes.

I want to find other writers who are also, potentially, within the audience I believe I am aiming for in what I write.  People who like what I write, and have the experience and skill to make suggestions to improve my writing.  Additionally, I’d like to really be able to be invested in what they write and so do the same thing for them.  Some of the work I have been critiquing is so far out of my interests or desire to read, that I really don’t feel like I can offer all that much to its authors – just as they don’t have all that much to offer to me.

I don’t know how to get this writing group, but, obviously, the starting place is to want it.  I think the first step is to really define what I am looking for, so that prospective members will be drawn to the important elements.  Like a crowd in an art gallery – I need to find the room that fits my work best so that I can look among those lingering in that room for companions.

Goals for 2012

Inspired by Rachel Stark at Trak Changes my first post of the New Year is going to be a list of goals for 2012.  However, I want to begin by briefly looking back over 2011.

Last year, I completed four short stories and got one of them to the point where I am submitting it to online and print markets.  I held three launch parties for Fjallind, Eonia and Tav’uran, as well as working on the Idhuan religion. In April, I attended Norwescon and starting in September I began attending the North Seattle Science Fiction and Fantasy Meetup group.    My fellow editors and I published the second issue of the Amber Grimoire in November.  I am amazed and pleased by the amount I have accomplished last year and am excited for the coming year.

My writing goals for 2012 are as follows:

  Write 4+ short stories
  Edit 4+ short stories to the point where I am submitting them
  Have 2+ short stories published, at least 1 in a qualifying market for SWFA
  Hold 4 launch parties, get 2+ new guests at one or more of the parties

  Publish The Amber Grimoire twice as was our original intent
  Attend at least 2 fantasy/writing conventions
  Improve my networking skills by:
    Read 1+ good books on online/otherwise networking
    Hand out business cards at conventions, etc.
    Add people to my Facebook and Google+ circles
    Find ways to promote my blog

I am excited about the coming year – I feel that it will be a good one.
What do you think?  What are your goals for 2012?