When a dream realized is not enough. A Behind the Scenes post on Sarah Fay’s journey to publication, on how to hit (or miss) the zeitgeist, on punctuation as a memoir delivery device, plus a call to pick up the mic 🎙️ and share your own story of desire & disappointment.
This is encouraging for any writer but it appears she had no luck securing an agent until becoming intimately involved with the industry. I checked her bio. Writing for Time, The New York Times, and The Atlantic couldn't hurt. As well as teaching writing as a professor at Northwestern (!). If this is the path to agents, the rest of us are sunk : )
I totally hear you...and I think Sarah waited 25 years before getting that deal. Part of landing into the midst of a zeitgeist is part of it. The next part is: Great writing. You cannot control the first, you can the second. Her dip into the zeitgeist had to do with Covid. There are more people than we know who have been questioning the medical industrial complex for a while, but aren't willing to stick their necks out...Covid changed everything. So the brave publisher and editors were asking important questions and this book fit into those questions. AND, she grew her craft as a writer to be worth reading. I hope that helps. Again, you cannot change the fact of events of the world, but you can write the best darn book you can...also, get into a relationship with querytracker.com. This will help you put things into perspective and move in that direction.
Thanks Jennifer! All true. Just trying to bring a dose of humor, with a jigger of honesty. Querytracker, yes, this is a great organizer, and I might be setting the one-man record : )
Thanks for sharing Sarah with us. I have done that with other than literary things and not going to write about it :-) I published my first book when I was 72 and had so much gratitude just to see it in print that I didn't have the same reaction. I would have if I'd been younger. What I share with her is the outrageous fees publicists charge for doing very little and having even less impact.
I wanted to leave home (mostly my dad) and go west on adventures. I did. The experiences and risks changed me for the better, and I have no regrets.
On the other hand, I understand what Sarah felt about her book. My first has received all four and five-star reviews, I paid $24,000 for a publicist, and I'm still not selling many books.
I was just telling my fiancee last night that I wish I could go back in time and find the motivational speaker I saw when I was a junior in high school. The speaker gave a presentation to (at most) twenty people --most of which were uninterested high school students. But that speech completely changed my outlook on life. It's hard to quantify the effect we will have on others. No bestseller list can truly capture that. But I get it, I want that to. And I know it's silly. And I want it anyway. Who knows why. Maybe it's just something to strive for? Maybe it's a way to say "I am here! I matter!" At any rate, thanks for sharing. This has been on my "to read" list for a while.
I could come up with so many examples of this phenomenon- where expectations and experience just don't align- but two are staring me in the face. The first, quite literally so, with his soulful brown eyes.
My dog is everything I wanted in a second dog: Where my first dog wanted personal space, Gus is happy to cuddle. Where my first did everything on his own terms and timeline, Gus is enthusiastic and eager to engage with me. He is always up for an adventure and is smart as tack. He could be such a fun dog. He *would* be such a fun dog...if I was the same person I was when I made the list of what I wanted. But my needs changed without me realizing it. So while I love him, I often find myself feeling disappointed- and then guilty I'm disappointed- about our relationship and time together. I know I'm not helping him live up to his fullest potential. And as much as I hate to admit it, he doesn't make me as happy or fulfilled as I thought I would be.
The second example is much more abstract and constantly evolving: Motherhood. It isn't a disappointment, or unfulfilling, but it is different than I thought it would be. Or, moreso, I'm not who I expected *me* to be. I think all moms feel this way to some extent. There is the mother we imagined we would be, and then there is the actuallity of living as a mother; the heat-of-the-moment anger and frustration, the overwhelming exhaustion, the guilt and shame- all mixed in with the joy, and pride, and hope and love that comes raising little people.
Your Turn:
When did you want something, so badly it hurt but when you got it, everything changed within?
Bonus points if you frame it in a scene.
Post below...
I wanted my wife and got her, and everything changed within. For the better, I hasten to add. She's not reading this but she is a mind reader : )
Loving this...getting what we want!
This is encouraging for any writer but it appears she had no luck securing an agent until becoming intimately involved with the industry. I checked her bio. Writing for Time, The New York Times, and The Atlantic couldn't hurt. As well as teaching writing as a professor at Northwestern (!). If this is the path to agents, the rest of us are sunk : )
Not sunk, but having put in the work and proven myself definitely helped.
Hi Richard. Great share.
I totally hear you...and I think Sarah waited 25 years before getting that deal. Part of landing into the midst of a zeitgeist is part of it. The next part is: Great writing. You cannot control the first, you can the second. Her dip into the zeitgeist had to do with Covid. There are more people than we know who have been questioning the medical industrial complex for a while, but aren't willing to stick their necks out...Covid changed everything. So the brave publisher and editors were asking important questions and this book fit into those questions. AND, she grew her craft as a writer to be worth reading. I hope that helps. Again, you cannot change the fact of events of the world, but you can write the best darn book you can...also, get into a relationship with querytracker.com. This will help you put things into perspective and move in that direction.
Thanks Jennifer! All true. Just trying to bring a dose of humor, with a jigger of honesty. Querytracker, yes, this is a great organizer, and I might be setting the one-man record : )
Thanks for sharing Sarah with us. I have done that with other than literary things and not going to write about it :-) I published my first book when I was 72 and had so much gratitude just to see it in print that I didn't have the same reaction. I would have if I'd been younger. What I share with her is the outrageous fees publicists charge for doing very little and having even less impact.
Me too. $10,000 went out back in the early 2000's and it was agony to see they did nothing for me. Nothing.
I love that! 72. You're my hero.
I wanted to leave home (mostly my dad) and go west on adventures. I did. The experiences and risks changed me for the better, and I have no regrets.
On the other hand, I understand what Sarah felt about her book. My first has received all four and five-star reviews, I paid $24,000 for a publicist, and I'm still not selling many books.
So so so courageous. Thank you for your perseverance and the honest share.
Wow. Oof. What a great post.
I was just telling my fiancee last night that I wish I could go back in time and find the motivational speaker I saw when I was a junior in high school. The speaker gave a presentation to (at most) twenty people --most of which were uninterested high school students. But that speech completely changed my outlook on life. It's hard to quantify the effect we will have on others. No bestseller list can truly capture that. But I get it, I want that to. And I know it's silly. And I want it anyway. Who knows why. Maybe it's just something to strive for? Maybe it's a way to say "I am here! I matter!" At any rate, thanks for sharing. This has been on my "to read" list for a while.
You'll get there, for sure. You're crazy gifted. Keep on keeping on the level of craft. I'll be there at your book signing with my copy. XO
Wonderful--thank you. We want what we want, and that's okay.
I could come up with so many examples of this phenomenon- where expectations and experience just don't align- but two are staring me in the face. The first, quite literally so, with his soulful brown eyes.
My dog is everything I wanted in a second dog: Where my first dog wanted personal space, Gus is happy to cuddle. Where my first did everything on his own terms and timeline, Gus is enthusiastic and eager to engage with me. He is always up for an adventure and is smart as tack. He could be such a fun dog. He *would* be such a fun dog...if I was the same person I was when I made the list of what I wanted. But my needs changed without me realizing it. So while I love him, I often find myself feeling disappointed- and then guilty I'm disappointed- about our relationship and time together. I know I'm not helping him live up to his fullest potential. And as much as I hate to admit it, he doesn't make me as happy or fulfilled as I thought I would be.
The second example is much more abstract and constantly evolving: Motherhood. It isn't a disappointment, or unfulfilling, but it is different than I thought it would be. Or, moreso, I'm not who I expected *me* to be. I think all moms feel this way to some extent. There is the mother we imagined we would be, and then there is the actuallity of living as a mother; the heat-of-the-moment anger and frustration, the overwhelming exhaustion, the guilt and shame- all mixed in with the joy, and pride, and hope and love that comes raising little people.