1. You’ve seen the audition process, right? It starts out with camera shots of stadiums in cities across the nation, filled with thousands of hopefuls, all vying for a spot on the show. Some have talent, some don’t. A few will make it, most won’t.
Now, think about RWA (Romance Writers of America). It alone boasts about 10,000 members, some published, some not. All vying for the limited number of book contracts awarded in any given year. Some have talent, some don’t. A few will make it, most won’t.
2. From those thousands of aspiring contestants in the stadiums, somehow hundreds (?) make it to the audition room to do their thing for Simon, Randy, and Paula. Some have talent, some don’t. A few will make it to Hollywood, most won’t.
Every week, zillions of pitches flood the mailboxes (both virtual and real) of agents and editors from authors all over the country. Some demonstrate talent, most don’t. A few will result in a request for pages, most won’t.
3. Finally, with auditions over, 24 young men and women perform in front of millions of viewers all over the world. Arguably, all 24 have at least a modicum of talent to have reached the TV show. But so many, in an effort to showcase their strengths, choose a song that at the same time unmasks their weaknesses. One after the other, they start off bland, sometimes off-key, barely able to reach down for the low notes−figuring the strong finish will be enough. And it’s true, most sing passably well. They vamp to the camera, they swish their hips, they sing a nice tune. Then, suddenly, ONE contestant walks on stage, and from the moment she opens her mouth, you realize the rest were a sham. Pleasant, but a sham. THIS ONE, as Simon puts it, is in a whole other league.
An editor or agent settles in to read the pages she’s requested. The writing is good but, eager to throw everything at the reader at once, the author has begun the story in the wrong place and with too much backstory. The writer has talent, but the editor or agent hits ‘send’ on that generic “not quite for me” rejection letter and goes onto the next. Same thing. Again and again…until…suddenly, ONE author hits it out of the park right from the get-go. THIS ONE is in a whole other league.
Conclusion: It’s not enough to hit the high notes. It’s not enough to write well.
It’s not enough to be better than some; you have to be the best.
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4 comments:
You scintillated your wisdom on that one.
Excellent analogy of writing. When we get our rejections, we sound just like the Idol also rans, only we have no Paula to warm our hearts while Simon says don't let the door catch you.
At least some of us are taller than Seacrest.
You are SO right Randy. Both sad and scary.
I wholeheartedly agree. Another thing that we have in common with those singers. If singers have a modicum of talent, they can learn to control their voice, air flow, intensity, etc. and become better singers. They practice and practice until they have control.
As writers, same thing happens. On our way to attaining publishable status, we MUST practice, practice, practice and all the while strive to use better description, strong image-invoking verbs and metaphors, more emotion, find just the right combination of dialogue, introspection, etc. etc. etc...
Yes, there are those who are born with beautiful voices for singing and writing. Those people stick out. For the rest of us, practice with an eye toward excellence and maximizing our strengths is our only hope of attaining that 'whole other league' status.
Ooh, Carol. Good point. Mind if I revise this post to include it...as though I thought of it in the first place...? (Ha ha)
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