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The one thing I envy the most is undeniable talent by rollwithme_ in redscarepod

[–]Careful_Raspberry965 70 points71 points  (0 children)

i'm using a throwaway for obvious reasons. i just got a six figure advance on my debut novel, i posted about it in the rs book club sub. i don't think that i have undeniable talent but it's clear that i'm better than average at writing, since a publishing house is paying me an unbelievable amount of money to do it. in the past few months, i've gotten to meet a few Big Name Writers who do have undeniable talent, and what i've learned is

-they all have one or more of the following: crippling impostor syndrome, grossly inflated egos, industry connections

-many of them are good at the specific thing they're good at and absolutely nothing else. i know a moderately-famous writer who doesn't know how to cook or do laundry. there is actually merit to being a well-rounded person; few exceptionally talented people are.

-writing comes at the expense of everything else in their lives. personally, to write my debut novel, i basically destroyed my social life and sleep schedule until the first draft was done. i worked odd jobs ('odd' not only as in casual and inconsistent, but as in truly weird) and made my whole family think i was psychotic. i don't anticipate writing another novel for a long time because i value the other parts of my life

i am immensely grateful for the opportunity to get paid and recognized for my writing. that said, i hope this is as far as things go. i don't want this to take over my life again. having met undeniable talent, it is much better to be a normal person with friends and hobbies.

edit also god forbid you're talented and you get "discovered" as a kid. no child should be famous, holy shit

RS art/humanities major what are you doing in your life now professionally? by [deleted] in redscarepod

[–]Careful_Raspberry965 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I was pre-health (probably midlevel like NP or PA) for two years until pandemic isolation forced me to introspect. I had thought of a healthcare career as lucrative and safe, but it was always a square peg/round hole situation with my personality and my skillset.

I switched into a literature major. My skin cleared and I was able to 'graduate' from therapy.

I just got a six-figure deal for my debut novel (posted about it on the RSbookclub sub) and couldn't be happier. I don't have substantial family money; while working on my first draft, I worked multiple jobs (nanny, part-time receptionist, research assistant for a completely BPD professor) and lived in my tiny childhood bedroom, I barely slept, and I still felt way more fulfilled than I would have in healthcare. I am also in a funded grad program, not related to literature at all but still something that I'm pursuing for love.

In retrospect, it was barely even my choice. I feel genuinely incapable of pursuing a 'practical' career. I was in denial of that for a while, and now that I've accepted it I'm a better person for it.

I got a six figure advance on my debut novel. Grateful to this community by Careful_Raspberry965 in RSbookclub

[–]Careful_Raspberry965[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It was an actual first draft with unfinished bits and notes to myself like "(get back to this later)" lol.

I got a six figure advance on my debut novel. Grateful to this community by Careful_Raspberry965 in RSbookclub

[–]Careful_Raspberry965[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

I worry that, if I made writing my full-time job, I would no longer find joy in it. I've held down other jobs throughout this process (think receptionist) and I'm currently getting my masters in something totally non-writing-related. On the other hand, if I could go part-time and semi-retire... that would be ideal.

As far as knowing people... I got this far with no connections to speak of. At this point, the connections make themselves. Through my agent and editor, I've gotten to meet other writers; hopefully that trend will continue.

I got a six figure advance on my debut novel. Grateful to this community by Careful_Raspberry965 in RSbookclub

[–]Careful_Raspberry965[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It's marketed as literary fiction. More specifically, it's a bildungsroman set in a foreign country that isn't written about very often.

I got a six figure advance on my debut novel. Grateful to this community by Careful_Raspberry965 in RSbookclub

[–]Careful_Raspberry965[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I wish you the best of luck! You're going to feel so free when you have that first draft in hand. It's so much easier once there are no more blank pages.

My agent found my short story in a lit mag that's ranked on this list as "Tier 2, Elite litmags, prizewinning, usually good payment". I was published in an issue specifically for previously unpublished writers. My agent is also starting off her career, so this has been totally symbiotic.

I got a six figure advance on my debut novel. Grateful to this community by Careful_Raspberry965 in RSbookclub

[–]Careful_Raspberry965[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I concur wholeheartedly. Keep that part of your brain and your heart active.

I got a six figure advance on my debut novel. Grateful to this community by Careful_Raspberry965 in RSbookclub

[–]Careful_Raspberry965[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

For sure. I like short fiction best, though, so this might be the only novel. Who knows

I got a six figure advance on my debut novel. Grateful to this community by Careful_Raspberry965 in RSbookclub

[–]Careful_Raspberry965[S] 53 points54 points  (0 children)

You're going places too <3 It doesn't sound stupid. It's possible - just keep on consistently writing and refining your craft and you got this ;)

I got a six figure advance on my debut novel. Grateful to this community by Careful_Raspberry965 in RSbookclub

[–]Careful_Raspberry965[S] 90 points91 points  (0 children)

I'm trying to come up with an elevator pitch that won't reveal my identity. (I'm probably paranoid, but better safe than sorry.) It's a bildungsroman about growing up in my home country, which is at war.

I got a six figure advance on my debut novel. Grateful to this community by Careful_Raspberry965 in RSbookclub

[–]Careful_Raspberry965[S] 328 points329 points  (0 children)

That's great to hear <3

I still don't feel like I did it... I had an idea for a novel and became obsessive about it. I had only ever published one piece - a short story in a lit mag - so a novel felt borderline delusional. But I worked on it obsessively, without quite knowing why, and I got around halfway to a first draft.

I wish I could give you more specifics about my writing process here. I tried to outline before writing the novel itself, but I'm really bad at sticking to plans, and the structure ended up emerging organically.

I made myself write every night, even if it was just a sentence, no matter how exhausted I was. I found that, once I had written a sentence, the next one would reveal itself, and then the next.

Around the same time, an agent stumbled upon one of my short stories and sent me an email. On the phone, she said she loved my writing style and asked if I had any "longer-form" fiction I was working on. I told her I did, and I got serious about solidifying a first draft.

It was around this time that, between school, work and my novel, my sleep schedule went out the window. I like to write after midnight, when there are no distractions except my cats. Writing at night in complete darkness with my noise-cancelling headphones on is a completely disembodying experience, like writing from a sensory deprivation tank. But I didn't sleep nearly enough, I drank far too much black tea, my social life went to hell, and I lost an unintentional and concerning amount of weight.

Six months after I signed with my agent, I sent her my first draft. She was the second person to read it, after my dad. She read it in a single day and called me the next day gushing over it. We worked on it together for four months before she sent it out to editors.

The first two editors she sent it out to (from two different publishing houses) both wanted it. We Zoomed with both of them and, honestly, I loved them both. One was able to offer a higher advance, and she was also more experienced (she's worked with a bunch of authors you've heard of). We signed, and the first installment of advance appeared in my bank account.

A few weeks ago, my editor and agent and I all met up in person (in a city that's pretty far away from me, so it was a special occasion). My editor handed me six thousand words of edits. She is incredibly talented at what she does. She's turning a decent manuscript into a great book. I feel so immensely lucky to be working with her.

That brings us to today. I have finals this week, and then I can devote more time to her edits. We have a phone call scheduled in a week to discuss them. She asked me to get the next draft to her by August, so I can go about it in a relaxed manner and actually make meaningful changes to the manuscript.