I don’t take rejection well.
Which is ironic, because as an actor in Los Angeles, I dealt with
rejection on a daily basis, sometimes several times a day, for over 20
years. But, somehow, I still managed to
make a living as an actor in a big pond.
As a writer, I have not yet achieved that goal, and sometimes that makes
me feel like a totally useless waster of other people’s oxygen. It can leave me in such a dark, low place
that waking up and facing another day is too much to bear. Yeah, I know, that makes me a total drama
queen, but it is truth.
Yesterday, a friend sent me photos from the Historical Novel
Society Conference, with the message ‘Fun memories.’ And, yes, they most definitely are. Friends have been asking me how that weekend went
and what it was like. So this post is about
what I learned, and am continuing to learn, from HNS 2013.
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New friends:(L-R) Stephanie dos Santos
(whose manuscript is about love, Portuguese tile and an 18th Century
killer earthquake; Fiona
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A month ago today, the Historical Novel Society Conference
was in full swing. There were over 300
people at the Vinoy in St. Petersburg, Florida – all of us like-minded in many
ways. The Vinoy, a magnificent old
hotel, is said to be haunted, although I did not personally meet any
ghosts. However, as historical
novelists, we brought plenty of spirits with us. There was a sea of friendly writers, each one
passionate about a different historical time period. Some had spent years researching specific
historical figures, and everyone was happy to talk about their particular
passion, if you asked them.
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With dear friend,Stephanie Cowell (author of successful novels about
Shakespeare, Mozart, Monet and the Brownings, etc.) and new friend, Stephanie dos Santos
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No one was shy when talking about rejection either:
‘I thought I had an agent, but then she changed her
mind.’
‘My publisher dropped me after my first book.’
‘My agent never returns my calls.’
It didn’t take long before I had a genuine understanding of
the words I’ve heard so many times before:
‘You are not alone.’
Being surrounded by so many creative, friendly people turned
me into a deer in the headlights. I
spent a lot of time just staring and listening to other people. In fact, I had a whole conversation with
Margaret George – THE Margaret George - and never even realized who she
was. [cringe]
The person who probably made the most profound impression
upon me was C.W. (Christopher) Gortner. He’s the author of
novels like THE QUEEN’S VOW and THE TUDOR SECRET, and he was the featured
speaker at the Saturday luncheon.
His stories are about passionate Renaissance types and Tudor
spies. He says he likes writing about
the past for the same reason most of us history-geeks like it: ‘There is always a secret to uncover behind
the portrait, a mystery to explore within the legend, a hidden motivation under
the fact.’
Christopher's best-selling books have been translated into fourteen
languages. Fourteen seems to be a
magical number for him. He endured an
epic amount of writerly angst and rejections – like agents who accused him of
‘lavender prose.’ Okay, now that’s a
totally dim-witted criticism to hurl at a gay man who writes about queens. After FOURTEEN LONG YEARS of that, he finally
landed a publisher at the first HNS conference in 2005. I was there too, and wish I’d known him then. In fact, he self-published his first book,
THE SECRET LION, about a 16th Century Tudor spy, the disappearance
of Edward VI (who died at 15), the whole Lady-Jane-off-with-her-head, Bloody-Mary and Queen I-am-SO-a-virgin Elizabeth thing. Now, I ask you: Doesn’t that sound like a good story? And now, in an absolute inspirational ending to Christopher's story, the publishing
gods are definitely smiling on him .
When he spoke to us – a room of over 300 people who were eating desert
and drinking coffee – it was like we were his friends from down the road who just
happened to stop by for a cuppa and a chat.
So, at the 2005 conference, Gortner got a publisher. You know what he got at the 2013
conference? A standing ovation. By 314
people.
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Before the banquet: (L-R) Patricia Hudson (author of a wonderful manuscript about
Daniel Boone’s wife, another one of those heroines ignored by HIStory);
Fiona and Stephanie Renee dos Santos (dressed as Frida Kahlo for the costume
contest).
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Patricia, Stephanie and I hung out in a
hotel room until very late, sipping wine and helping each other perfect our
pitches for the next day. It was a great
session. We laughed ‘til our sides ached
and then we each got manuscript requests!
The next time I get really depressed about rejection, I hope I have enough money to run off to a writers' conference. It's the perfect antidote.
I’ll write another post about further adventures at the
conference. For now, I’ll leave you with
the words of the amazing Charlotte Cook
:
‘Writers come to an empty page with a
full mind. Readers come to a full page
with an empty mind.’
