Commercial vs. literary writing

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Welcome to another #AskMeAnything session! In this series, I'm responding to your questions about the publishing industry and how to write a better book. Leave me any additional questions in the comments and I will add them to my list for future videos!

MORE BOOK EDITOR Q&As:

RELATED VIDEOS:

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TODAY'S #ASKMEANYTHING :
01:16 - Using foreign language in historical novels
02:53 - Is it possible to get comfortable with rejection?
04:44 - How to deepen prose
07:08 - A celebration!

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ABOUT ME:
My name is Alyssa Matesic, and I’m a professional book editor with nearly a decade of book publishing and editorial experience. Throughout my career, I’ve held editorial roles across both sides of the publishing industry: Big Five publishing houses and literary agencies. The goal of this channel is to help writers throughout the book writing journey—whether you're working on your manuscript or you're looking for publishing advice.

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MUSIC:

[andyclark]

Alyssa, thank you for answering my question. It's strange to be worried about not worrying, and I appreciate your supportive response. I also want to say congratulations to Fran Fi - the last comment you read. Best wishes for all of us to have successful writing journeys!

[matt_rahn]

I second the notion of being comfortable with rejection.

I've written over a dozen full length novels at this point and have polished several to the point where I feel comfortable sending them out for submission (both to agents and to publishers directly.) So far, it's mostly been rejection across the board -- a few full MS requests, that also have ultimately led to rejection.

I let this really bother me back in my 20s. I always took it personally and started getting that Imposter Syndrome sensation. But at this point, I kinda see rejection as another phase in the polishing process and a sign that I need to keep working on query letters and my sample chapters. So hopefully when I do eventually get a shot at being published, my manuscripts will have already gone through several rounds of editing, beta reading, and re-drafting.

(Thanks again for all the great insight, Alyssa. First time commenter, long time follower. This channel has been a huge help with being able to refine my writing process over the years. Even though I still haven't lucked out with getting one of my works published, I've been lucky enough to pick up a small following of avid readers on my Substack and beta readers for my existing projects.)

[robertcoyle]

Try not to mind the rejections... think of al the adulation you will receive during book signings, once you are published.

[alfredjohnson]

Simple fact of the matter: literary agents are always looking for reasons to say no, and they accept only a tiny fraction of the manuscripts they receive. If you can't live with being constantly rejected, find something better to do. Being published is just something that might happen on the off-chance.

[rowan]

I received 3 rejections at once for my latest work i just queried last week. While I have to expect rejections, it is a bit frustrating to keep getting them. I take my time investigating the agents on making sure they are good enough for my work. Personalizing my query letter for each of them. Only to get the same response over and over saying "it's not for me". That's with four books so far.
I also pay an editor and beta readers (which isn't a small amount either) to make sure it's as polished as possible due to my dyslexia.

On a more cheerful note, your videos have been indeed very helpful. Somehow you manage to calm me down and embrace another round of rejections. Feeling not discouraged to keep on writing if I exhausted every agent who may be able to represent me. So thank you Alyssa.

[franfi]

Thank you for the good vibes, Alyssa! And for sharing my comment 🥰

[magiquephantasy]

I'm curious about when novels are broken into parts. Not the 3-Act Structure, but where there is actually a dividing page somewhere in the middle of the story, before the main story arc has concluded, that often says something like Part 2. When is the most appropriate time to use this tool and what are the potential benefits vs. cons? From what I've been able to find, it seems to be a very stylistic choice. Thank you for your time and sharing your knowledge with us.

[Headburner]

I found this channel by chance. It's very useful and informative. Last night I woke up and wrote this:
"Sea of Grass" - At sixteen he killed a man in Nantucket. By the end of the Civil War he's score was higher. He was a man, tall, scarred, lean and dry. The body of a ballet dancer. He headed west. Others too. Indian Territory. A cabin.
Is this the place to ask, what next?

[rivermay]

I was wondering if you could do a video on things authors should be aware of that could make them lose a book deal, or unprofessional behaviour. I'm curious as to what publishers think when, for example, authors state they don't like their book covers or if they tweet something and the publishers have to damage control. We don't hear alot about this sort of stuff and I think it would be interesting to hear from someone who has worked in the in a publishing company

[JL]

I would love to find a literary agent who isn't just a great business person but also someone who understands storytelling and can give me some editing/revising direction. Is that too much to ask for?

[jimgilbert]

Hurray for that author who got a manuscript request!

[emm]

Hi Alyssa, I’m trying to decide between self publishing and traditional. The only thing holding me back is understanding who owns the rights to my characters and world if it’s traditionally published. If a trad pub bus my first book but don’t want to buy another in that world, can I still sell it somewhere else or self publish? Thank you! Your content is always helpful and inspiring 😊

[donemigholzjr.]

I have a great idea that I wrote a novel for. This is my first novel. My idea could literally negate or greatly diminish 80% of all the very serious books on the subject and thus open hundreds of book ideas both pro and con on the subject.
My fear is that my writing and plot line is too simple for such an idea and it would be in any editor's or even agent's best interest to cut me out because the subject should be written by professors and people with Doctorates on the subject to make a global impact the subject deserves. It is a very simple idea that many authors have written volumes of books trying to explain.
I am not sure if I should get an agent that is well-established or get a relatively unknown agent, the thinking that they might not understand the potential and treat it as a normal novel. It has taken every fiber of my being to get this book finished (20+ years) and edited about three times.

[blessthegood]

You know how it can be annoying to read something like, "Frank walked into the kitchen. Frank picked up the coffee mug. Frank smiled and said to himself, 'Frank o'l boy, you need to give this stuff up.' Frank then..."
I was thinking maybe you could just start your videos with, "Welcome back to triple A Wednesday where each week I answer your questions." It is a little more brief than,
"Hey, hey, hey, it's triple A Wednesday which stands for Ask Akyssa Anything."
If you have to explain the acronym each video it begins to feel like you're telling us about Frank.