Fan mail

[darkemeralds]

A few days ago I got fan mail from a (not-incidentally gay, male) friend:

I finished Restraint last night near two in the morning then fell asleep awash with emotions. Principal among them was a sense of satisfaction a reader feels when a story has not just worked but has transported them. Upon the conclusion of your wonderful novel, I arrived at a place quite distinct from where I departed. Please know that it wasn’t simply a pleasurable excursion but a transformative one.

The ride concluded, I also felt a palpable sense of longing yearning for more of John and Tristan’s story and hunger for more of your writing. When you have the pre-orders available for [your work in progress], I would like to be the first in line. Your prose is rich, exact, elegant and seemingly effortless though by now I know well that effortless is more often an effect than an accurate description of how it arrives so miraculously on the page. In fact, as the story took its final turn in Book Four, I purposely slowed my pace, savoring the experience washing over me, not unlike the sensation that John and Tristan each had in cherishing the limited time they had left together. Quite an achievement considering this reader had never partaken in the genre of romance queer, historical or otherwise.




I just wanted to share that. It's only a small portion of a long and thoughtful actual letter on paper.

I don't write for a broad, general audience (whatever that is). I'm aware that M/M stories are largely by and for women, and I'm fine with that. But I'm also aware of certain appropriation or fetishization problems with the genre, so it meant quite a lot to me to hear from a gay male friend that a) he'd trusted me enough to give my novel his time and attention, and b) he found it satisfying enough to write me a fan letter.

Maybe I'll keep writing.

Comments

[nanila]

What a wonderfully uplifting letter. It sounds well worth treasuring and using for inspiration at appropriate intervals!

[darkemeralds]

It came at such a down time, too!

[dine]

that is a very wonderful letter - much-deserved but how excellent to see in writing that your work is well regarded

[darkemeralds]

I think it was the two typed pages on real paper sent in the real mail that did it. A unique experience!

[dine]

yes, there's something solid and real about an actual paper letter - e-mail is fantastic for communication,but it doesn't seem tangible. one can't put an e-mail in a box of treasures, after all

[tabaqui]

What a delightful letter. :D
It's one of the very *best* things, as a write, to be told that you have actually *touched* someone's emotions, made them think, made them cry or rage or laugh aloud.

I think...you should keep writing. :D

And - I have a question about your pro-writing, would you prefer that I ask it in a private email?

[darkemeralds]

It really is the reason I write (if I do). I accepted long ago that even if I went pro, it would be unlikely to mean more than pocket change. But we write to be read, and this was really uplifting.

On the pro-writing, ask away! Here, or feel free to email me, anne at annehawley dot net.

[tabaqui]

We *do* want to be read. It's just...nice. :D

I looked at your book mentioned in the post online, and maybe i'm just way too out of the loop, but - are you self-published or are you publishing with someone? Do you have an agent or did you just plunge in?

My BFF and i are seriously thinking of writing something publishing-friendly, and I just...dunno anything about it. At all, heh. Thank you!

[darkemeralds]

I decided to self-pub. I'd have loved to be "real" published, but when I realized that self-pub or pro-pub, I would still be responsible for my own marketing, I began to think more about maintaining creative control and all my rights.

I've become a professional editor, and I hang out with professional editors, so I was able to get my manuscript structurally edited on a trade basis. My family are artists and photographers, so I was able to get my cover just the way I wanted it.

One of my editing group is also a marketing coach, so to the extent to which I've done what she tells me, I've built my platform a little. But I'm not ambitious enough to play the game.

If I had decided to stick to the dream of being published by one of the big five, I'd still be waiting.

All that said, I'd be happy to talk to you any time about how to make a story "publishing-friendly," because that's my side hustle these days--developmental editing, helping authors tell a story that works.

Have a gander over here to see more about what I do. This is not a sales pitch, by the way. I'll talk about this stuff for free any time with my old pals!

[tabaqui]

Very cool! I like the idea of retaining control. The ugly covers and 'editing' some authors have had to deal with is not attractive at all.

And wow - very lucky and awesome to have people like in your corner, *and* to have those skills yourself!

Oh, i like the diagnostic service, that is very cool. I will definitely keep your link.

We write in google.doc, which i love for the little editing/chat thing that you can leave notes and such with, pointing out specific things. So much easier than the 'old school' way I first got beta'd, via email!

We have no timeline as of now, as this whole lockdown/virus is playing merry hell with my bff's finances and anxiety levels. Grrr.

But thank you! *makes sticky note* :D

[darkemeralds]

Give me a shout any time. I even typeset my own book using Adobe InDesign. NOT recommended! Pay for that.

[tabaqui]

Ha!
Adobe sucks so hard sometimes.
Except for Photosheep. I do luff that. :D

[sasha_feather]

How wonderful!!

[darkemeralds]

Yeah, it was a real lift in this decidedly weirdest timeline we're living.

[ljgeoff]

Oh, wow! How wonderful.

I loved Restraint and still think of the characters from time to time.

I'm working on something, only 5k or so at this point. Do you recommend editing when the manuscript is completed, or in progress?

[darkemeralds]

Thank you! How nice of you to say so.

As to editing, a lot depends on your working style. Generally I recommend that my clients dump words on the page, accumulating story materials (first draft). A trick here is "TK" (editor-speak for "to come," inserted where research or further thought would interrupt the creative flow).

Next, go back and shape the story, removing excess scenes, characters or plot lines, making non-working scenes work, etc. (This could comprise as many as three or four drafts in a long work.)

Not until the story is structured do I recommend line editing (read aloud, fix word choices, cadences, continuity problems, bad habits...).

Last of all, a copy-editing pass for typos and any remaining SPAG errors.

At every step except the initial draft, a second pair of eyes is useful. The trick is getting a reader/editor who doesn't waste time correcting SPAG when the story isn't even structured yet.

It was a huge shock to me to learn that "editing" wasn't first or even primarily fixing mistakes at the word or line level.

[nwhepcat]

Wow, that's a lovely bit of feedback—congratulations!

[darkemeralds]

Thanks. It was a powerful moment for me.

[twasadark]

What a lovely response! Everything an author could dream of. And Restraint is worthy of it as well.