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Originally Posted by Sil_liS
And I assume that 10 years ago you didn't make much out of writing.
So many new authors don't understand good plots, aren't well-read and can be lazy at times. And you think that they should make enough money from writing to be able to dedicate all of their time to this so that they can get better in time. Sure.
And you can put that up on your wall, and be able to get motivated without help. But tell me this: do you like the Disney version of Cinderella? I'm sure that from many points of view it is better than the original, but not from mine.
Your readers will only get one ending to your story, and if the editor gives it to you, it isn't your ending anymore.
So you are saying that if you are told that there won't be an editor this time, you won't say: wait, let me read it again?
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The editor didn't "give" me an ending, the editor said, 'This is a good ending, but I think it could be better."
I took it from there. I studied the problem to find out where it felt "too easy" or was "flat." I thought long and hard about why it might be too simple. And then I got inventive.
We could argue all day long about this topic, but what I am getting here is that you don't have an appreciation for teamwork or learning or changing "original" work. No writer comes out of the womb ready to write his or her best novel. Every person can learn and grow--whether as a writer or a programmer or a waitress. Input from other people helps this process, whether it's a parent teaching the child, a coach pointing out bad habits, or a friend/beta reader/editor GIVING A FRESH PERSPECTIVE. Yes, I could learn on my own--probably a slower process and I might never achieve my potential if I do not expose myself to other ideas. My ideas are not the be-all, end-all. *I* edit them multiple times until *I'm* happy with them. Then an editor might come in and push me to make better word choices. Make me think about what point I was trying to make in a particular paragraph. Point out character traits that just don't fit well or contradict.
I am not an island. Other people enrich my life--and my writing. Yes, some things might actually get worse because of input. I might change an ending that was better the first time around. But that too is part of the process. It's not a zero sum game where one answer is the end-all. When we dance, sometimes we have more energy than other times. Sometimes the dress fits, but sometimes we need a different color.
Was I good enough 10 years ago to make a living writing? There was no mechanism at that time for me to do so (even if I was good enough.) You could say, "But if you were good enough, you'd have been picked up by a trad." Yes, but that still would not have been enough money, at least not initially for me to make a living. So we could go round and round in circles arguing that the very best are plucked from the slush and make a living. But then someone would come along and say, "except for Dan Brown. I don't know why he was picked from the slush. He's not good enough."
Life is not a simple exercise of getting straight A's in school and thus guaranteeing success. I might be writing well enough now to get a trad deal--that may or may not make me enough money to make a living. I might be writing well enough now to sell several thousand copies of my books--and STILL not make a living, but come closer.
10 years ago, I was submitting manuscripts and shorts and getting an occasional sale. What changed is twofold: I kept rewriting and got better AND Amazon made it possible for me to get my work in front of the audience. If Amazon hadn't come along and did what they did, I'd still be submitting--and making only the occasional sale EVEN THOUGH I AM A BETTER WRITER.
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So many new authors don't understand good plots, aren't well-read and can be lazy at times. And you think that they should make enough money from writing to be able to dedicate all of their time to this so that they can get better in time. Sure.
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You're missing the point. Life is a journey of learning and growth. Any new graduate has to start somewhere and should always move forward, getting better, regardless of their job. I never said writers should be allowed to dedicate all their time to writing to get better. I never said how they should arrive at making a living at all. I said they should keep striving to get better. Should they be allowed to charge for their work? Yes. Is it riskier than say, a engineer, who might not be all that great as a graduate, but he gets paid anyway, just for showing up to work? Yes, writing is riskier because no matter how good or bad, we must find a buyer. The graduate, if he applies himself, gets to keep his job even if he makes mistakes. He is going to continue to learn on the job. He will learn and if he's good, he'll make even more money.
So too with writing--only we don't make much, if any money, for learning. I'm not saying we should or shouldn't. I'm just stating the way it is.
But friends and editors do not make me less motivated. I can learn from the best--and the worst. It's all how I decide to apply it.