I've written a few novels that will likely never be read by others, even though one of them is quite good. The question for me now, at 72 and childless, is what to DO with them, with the physical (and electronic) manuscripts. I long for them to outlive me, yet realize how unlikely this is. I wonder if anyone among the readers of Writer Everlasting has come up with any ideas along these lines?
I've been lucky to sell my literary papers to MSU's Special Archives so they have a lot of unfinished work or work I didn't want to publish, but that was a special case.
Did you actually "sell" them for money? That seems hard to fathom. Or did you convince them to accept your papers because you are well known in some sphere of life? (Forgive me if I don't recognize your name right off the bat.) It's hard to imagine an archive open to storing all of the unfinished work out there!
Yes, I actually sold them which is why I used the word sell, though in the link below from my author website the word is what they use: "acquired." I guess it's more formal :-) The unfinished work is part of an enormous archive that grows every year: this past Fall they took away a dozen boxes of publications + research materials for books that never got written.
The money was a huge boost and was paid out to me over ten years. I'm one of the first American writers to write about children of Holocaust survivors and am especially known in Michigan for my crime novels set here and for having been a reviewer on the Detroit Free Press as well as a handful of Michigan radio stations. https://www.levraphael.com/papers.html
PS: As a reviewer for decades, I still encounter writers I've never heard of. There are tons of us who are not in the best seller category--call us mid-list--but making a living at our craft. I've published 27 books and 100s of essays, reviews, blogs and short stories.
Thanks for the explanation. Funny, the work I'd like to see preserved happens to be a story about a child of a Holocaust survivor (a novel, though, not a memoir). Does the archive you mentioned have a particular interest in this topic, or were they only interested in your work specifically?
It's Special Archives in MSU's library and they collect many different types of writing and publications, and one of their specialties is the work of published Michigan authors. My work fits that category as well as being cross-referenced with LGBTQ writers.
Have you tried getting the novel published? Perhaps by taking sections that might be good stand-alone stories?
The best way I know to write better is close observation of writing that moves and excites you. How does it work? What inspired choices did the writer make instead of the obvious one?
I look for that, too. I think the more we get into writing the more we move from reader to deliberate observer. Why does this work? Why doesn’t this? OMG, this is brilliant! It slows things down a bit but I look forward to it now.
There’s no doubt they’ve been extremely popular. That’s the problem for me. They haven’t always done what they claim they can do. They’ve too often convinced too many non-writers that they have what it takes, and those would-be writers spend many years and many dollars chasing that dream. The authors and publishers have made fortunes off of the kind of vague advice anyone could repeat in volume after volume.
I can’t speak to the advice books you’ve worked on because I haven’t seen or read them, but I have a feeling you don’t fit into that category.
Advice for writers is often snake oil unless it's niche. For instance, books that explain how to write a mystery vs. a thriller are fact-based and worth sharing.
The best writing advice I ever got, though, was outside a book: a college mentor who said, "Read everything!" :-)
P.S.--I think too many writers feel that if a famous or favorite writer says "This is how you do X" that becomes gospel truth. I used to tell my CW students they need to find what works for them, whether it's writing every day, setting a goal of words or pages, etc. I'll have a substack related to this in July, I think.
PS: You can often learn a lot about writing by reading, or at least sampling, bad writers. When I taught CW most recently at Michigan State University, we had a lot of fun analyzing bad writing. Ditto when I taught conference workshops and master classes.
Oh, yes! I’ve thought about doing a piece on just that but don’t want to name names! Being bothered by bad writing is a mark that you’ve grown as a writer. If you see it, you won’t do it.
Mona, the title of this cracked me up and was unexpectedly relevant. I'm currently listening to a self-help book that I may or may not finish. It reminds me a bit too much of a few decades ago when every other book I took on was self-help. I finally swore them off completely and borrowed this one for the library reluctantly. I might have to go back to my previous stance. LOL!
It's one thing to read about someone else's journey and quite another to navigate your own. Nothing teaches like experience!
I've written a few novels that will likely never be read by others, even though one of them is quite good. The question for me now, at 72 and childless, is what to DO with them, with the physical (and electronic) manuscripts. I long for them to outlive me, yet realize how unlikely this is. I wonder if anyone among the readers of Writer Everlasting has come up with any ideas along these lines?
I've been lucky to sell my literary papers to MSU's Special Archives so they have a lot of unfinished work or work I didn't want to publish, but that was a special case.
Did you actually "sell" them for money? That seems hard to fathom. Or did you convince them to accept your papers because you are well known in some sphere of life? (Forgive me if I don't recognize your name right off the bat.) It's hard to imagine an archive open to storing all of the unfinished work out there!
Yes, I actually sold them which is why I used the word sell, though in the link below from my author website the word is what they use: "acquired." I guess it's more formal :-) The unfinished work is part of an enormous archive that grows every year: this past Fall they took away a dozen boxes of publications + research materials for books that never got written.
The money was a huge boost and was paid out to me over ten years. I'm one of the first American writers to write about children of Holocaust survivors and am especially known in Michigan for my crime novels set here and for having been a reviewer on the Detroit Free Press as well as a handful of Michigan radio stations. https://www.levraphael.com/papers.html
PS: As a reviewer for decades, I still encounter writers I've never heard of. There are tons of us who are not in the best seller category--call us mid-list--but making a living at our craft. I've published 27 books and 100s of essays, reviews, blogs and short stories.
Thanks for the explanation. Funny, the work I'd like to see preserved happens to be a story about a child of a Holocaust survivor (a novel, though, not a memoir). Does the archive you mentioned have a particular interest in this topic, or were they only interested in your work specifically?
It's Special Archives in MSU's library and they collect many different types of writing and publications, and one of their specialties is the work of published Michigan authors. My work fits that category as well as being cross-referenced with LGBTQ writers.
Have you tried getting the novel published? Perhaps by taking sections that might be good stand-alone stories?
Judith, I wonder if you would want to serialize them here. I've seen others doing that.
Where is "here"?
I think Elizabeth means on Substack. A lot of writers post their novels in serial form.
Yes, exactly. I know we can’t expect Substack to last forever, but it’s a step beyond a dusty bookshelf or personal computer.
The best way I know to write better is close observation of writing that moves and excites you. How does it work? What inspired choices did the writer make instead of the obvious one?
I look for that, too. I think the more we get into writing the more we move from reader to deliberate observer. Why does this work? Why doesn’t this? OMG, this is brilliant! It slows things down a bit but I look forward to it now.
They used to be called advice books which is more accurate. I've co-authored some, one of which has sold over 300,000 copies and had 15 translations.
There’s no doubt they’ve been extremely popular. That’s the problem for me. They haven’t always done what they claim they can do. They’ve too often convinced too many non-writers that they have what it takes, and those would-be writers spend many years and many dollars chasing that dream. The authors and publishers have made fortunes off of the kind of vague advice anyone could repeat in volume after volume.
I can’t speak to the advice books you’ve worked on because I haven’t seen or read them, but I have a feeling you don’t fit into that category.
Advice for writers is often snake oil unless it's niche. For instance, books that explain how to write a mystery vs. a thriller are fact-based and worth sharing.
The best writing advice I ever got, though, was outside a book: a college mentor who said, "Read everything!" :-)
P.S.--I think too many writers feel that if a famous or favorite writer says "This is how you do X" that becomes gospel truth. I used to tell my CW students they need to find what works for them, whether it's writing every day, setting a goal of words or pages, etc. I'll have a substack related to this in July, I think.
PS: You can often learn a lot about writing by reading, or at least sampling, bad writers. When I taught CW most recently at Michigan State University, we had a lot of fun analyzing bad writing. Ditto when I taught conference workshops and master classes.
Oh, yes! I’ve thought about doing a piece on just that but don’t want to name names! Being bothered by bad writing is a mark that you’ve grown as a writer. If you see it, you won’t do it.
Why should you hold back?
I shouldn’t. You’re right.
I did a big piece for Lit Mag News anout bad sex writing and named names.
Feel free to share if it’s available. I don’t mind pertinent links in the comments.
I will hunt for it, its been a while. I taught a number of bad sex writing workshops and some were SRO. 😁
Voilà! https://litmagnews.substack.com/p/bad-sex-blues
You are a wonderful writer and I am personally so glad to find you here!
Thank you, and thank you for going the extra mile for me. Your support means the world. ❤️
Thank you for this.
Mona, the title of this cracked me up and was unexpectedly relevant. I'm currently listening to a self-help book that I may or may not finish. It reminds me a bit too much of a few decades ago when every other book I took on was self-help. I finally swore them off completely and borrowed this one for the library reluctantly. I might have to go back to my previous stance. LOL!
It's one thing to read about someone else's journey and quite another to navigate your own. Nothing teaches like experience!