Aaron Michael Ritchey’s Seven-Step Gospel for Writing Success

By Aaron Michael Ritchey

So I’ve had some success in the writing game. Not a lot mind you, but enough that I’ve gotten some books published and sold some books and people seem to like some of what I write. I’ve had enough success that sometimes people approach  me to mentor them. Yeah, I’m a mentor. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Here’s the thing about me. I say a bunch of stuff, but I don’t remember anything of what I say. And heck, I have a bear of a time remembering people’s names, faces, where we met, what we talked about, what planet I’m on, who is the God-Emperor of the universe, or what I had for breakfast. No, I generally remember that. Perfect Food bars. You can get them at Costco. You’ll thank me. Eat one with an apple and some coffee, and you’ll be good to go.

Anyway, long story short, I was having breakfast with one of my mentees and he pulled out a list of seven things I told him on how to be successful at writing. I don’t remember saying them, but yeah, I have to agree with me.

inscribe.org

So here are the seven steps I laid out:

1)  Write.

2)  Write.

3)  Write.

4)  Read.  Read everything you can.

5)  Get feedback and learn how to take criticism.

6)  Finish what you start.  You can’t be a writer if you can’t finish stories.

7)  Query everything you finish.  Always have something in the mail.

Yes.  Those seven things.

Write every day and write as much as you can every day. Thinking about writing is not writing.  Planning to write is not writing. Talking on the phone or surfing kitty pictures on the Internet is not writing. Writing is writing. I will allow that editing is writing but that’s all I’ll give you.

Squeezing in time to read is tough, but I purchased a monthly plan from Audible so I am forcing at least twelve books into my mind each year. But I’ll read more than that. Stephen King suggests four to six hours a day writing and reading to be successful. I don’t hit that, Mr. King, but I try. And I also like adverbs. Greatly.

Learning how to take criticism is rough, but I’ve gotten to the point where I listen for what sinks down deep into my heart. If I can ignore criticism, I will. If I can’t, I trust it and try to follow it.

As for finishing books, well, who is going to read your unfinished book? I mean, they can’t, right?  Readers can’t read words that aren’t there.

And lastly, yeah, query agents and editors. Always having something in the mail means you are doing the deal real, as in reality, as in the real world. Pitching, talking about your book, getting it out there is hard, impossibly hard, but for me, it’s important to share what I write with the world. Writing books is a selfless act and the world is better for every book written. Yes, even that one, the one you think is total dreck.

So there you have it. My gospel. 

Can I get an amen?

Aaron Michael Ritchey is the author of Long Live the Suicide King, a finalist in the Reader’s Favorite contest. Kirkus Reviews calls the story “a compelling tale of teenage depression handled with humor and sensitivity.” His debut novel, The Never Prayer, was also a finalist in the Colorado Gold contest. His forthcoming works include a new young adult novel from Staccato Publishing and a six book YA sci-fi/western series from Kevin J. Anderson’s WordFire Press. In shorter fiction, his G.I. Joe inspired novella was an Amazon bestseller in Kindle Worlds and his story, “The Dirges of Percival Lewand” was nominated for a Hugo. He lives in Colorado with his wife and two goddesses posing as his daughters.

For more about him, his books, and how to overcome artistic angst, visit www.aaronmritchey.com. He’s on Facebook as Aaron Michael Ritchey and he tweets - @aaronmritchey.

Go For The No!

 By Aaron Michael Ritchey


I have a friend and struggling novelist, Giles Hash, who is a rising star in the Colorado writing community. He has started up a Podcast, Beyond the Trope; he has an active blog (http://gilesth.blogspot.com), and he is busy querying agents and editors with the latest book he’s been slaving over with the help of his critique group full of brilliant young guns packing wicked heat and looking for a fight.

We texted back and forth one night. He was feeling down because he was getting hammered with rejections, like an underdog boxer against the HEAVY WEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD! A left, a right, body blow, body blow, he’s up against the ropes, right cross, uppercut, body blow.

Rocky III drama ensues.

Slow-mo yelling. Spittle. An impossibly huge fist hits him and his facial features blur with the force of the publishing industry’s fist.

“Get out of there!” 

I’m texting Rocky III dialogue to him. I’ve been there. I know.

Courtesy of Chris, clker.com

But here’s the secret. It’s not the victories that are important in life. It’s not the yeses. It’s the nos.

Our job as authors is to collect as many nos as we can at every stage.

AT EVERY STAGE, COLLECTING NOS IS CRITICAL!

I wrote that in all caps. I yelled that to everyone in the ring, to everyone in the audience, to everyone.  Published, unpublished, afraid to write, everyone.

The secret to success is not in the yeses, it’s in the nos.

There is a fabulous book called GO FOR NO! by Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz. It’s about sales.  Like it or not, as writers, we have to be sales people. A little hint, and many of you will wince, or laugh, or ignore me, but if you want to improve your sales skills, find someone who has a network marketing business, and ask them to attend a sales training. Most likely it will be free, or at least cheap, and you’ll make your friend very happy. And you will learn some sales techniques. If you don’t know anyone who has a direct sales business, contact me and I can hook you up.

But back to NO. GO FOR NO! Instead of telling you what the book is about, I’ll show you how I used its ideas.

Courtesy of Yasser, clker.com

I practiced going for nos at a Pikes Peak Writers conference not too long ago. Normally, I went to a conference, pitched to one or two agents, and then if I got a yes, I stopped. I queried the agent. A yes is good, right?

Yes. Yeses are good. Nos are better.

So at the 2011 Pikes Peak Writers conference, my goal was to collect nos. I wasn’t interested in yeses. I wanted to tally up the nos. I pitched to every agent and editor there, and I got some nos, but I mostly got yeses. Which increased my odds 500%. 

But I didn’t focus on getting yeses. I focused on getting nos.

Another example: I reached out to a famous author, and I asked for a blurb. I knew she didn’t give blurbs, but I wasn’t going to her for a yes, I was going to her for a no. And I explained I was looking for a no.

This famous author said no, but then she said yes. I’m going to appear on her blog, where she helps struggling authors trying to break out into the mainstream. I went for the no, I got the yes.

Courtesy of Ahaney, clker.com

With my books out in the world, a good way to get exposure is to get reviewed by book reviewers and book bloggers. But it’s a tough market out there, saturated, and it’s as hard to get a good book reviewer’s attention as it is an agent’s. So yeah, I’m querying book reviewers, and most don’t respond, but some do, and some say yes, but others say no. 

If I stop when I get a yes, I’m cheating myself, because the victory isn’t in the yeses, it’s in the nos.

Go for the no!

Count every no as a victory. Give yourself an ice cream for every no. Run ten miles for every yes.

This is a business of nos. At every stage. 

If you train yourself to go for the no, you will be able to celebrate daily.

Don’t go for the yeses, go for the nos.

Courtesy of Agnes, clker.com

And if you get a yes?

Celebrate, celebrate, celebrate.

Then get back to writing and collecting nos.

About the Author: Aaron Michael Ritchey grew up as a garbage can for stories including way too much Robert E. Howard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Stephen King. His debut novel, The Never Prayer, was published by Crescent Moon Press in 2012. More recently, he has two new stories in the second and third issue of a new magazine, Fictionvale. Aaron’s next novel is a happy, little suicide book for young adults and anyone just this side of hopeless. Long Live the Suicide King is available now! Aaron lives in Colorado with his moviestar wife and two rockstar daughters.

Ready to Test-Drive Your Query Letter? Check Out Evil Editor

By Debbie Maxwell Allen

After spending weeks (or months) tweaking your query letter to perfection, you may want to solicit some feedback before you send it out. Evil Editor is your guy. He'll post your query on his blog, often with tongue-in-cheek comments, where other writers can chime in with their own opinions.

But Evil Editor adds a twist. He posts the titles of the manuscripts the queries represent, and invites blog readers to guess the plot based upon the titles. The most interesting (and far-fetched) plot ideas get posted along with his query critique in his Face-Lift series.

Another feature on Evil Editor's blog is the New Beginning series. Writers submit the first 150 words of their manuscript, and blog readers show how they think the piece should continue. Evil Editor posts the most interesting continuation, and invites blog readers to give the original author feedback on how the opening captured their interest.

It's nice to find a site that gives good feedback with an element of fun. If humor is not something you want to mix with your fiction, you may want to stick to more "serious" sites.

Evil Editor conducts monthly book chats, where readers discuss recently published books. There's also a weekly contest for writers to contribute captions to a posted cartoon. The best captions get published on the blog. If you need a laugh to relieve your writer's block, check out Evil Editor's short films to give you some relief. And at regular intervals writing exercises are posted, with the best examples posted on the blog.

And during the month of May, Evil Editor has posted several items in Brenda Novak's Annual Online Auction for Diabetes Research.

Does humor help to relieve tension in your journey to publication?

About the Author: Debbie Maxwell Allen writes young adult historical fantasy in the Rocky Mountains. She blogs about free resources for writers at Writing While the Rice Boils. 

Add "Submit" to Your Writing Process

By Stacy S. Jensen


Write. Revise. Repeat.

I repeat this phrase often and embrace it. This year, I’ve felt it’s a puzzle with a missing piece.

I’m inserting a fourth step in my writing process — submit. I’ve been on the treadmill of writing, revising, and repeating for too long.

One would think the submission part would be easy. We write to share our stories. We want to get published. So, why is it so difficult to hit the send button to submit my work to an agent, editor, or magazine?

Fear. There’s always a healthy dose of fear when one can get a rejection letter, or worse, no acknowledgement.

Time. I’ve found time to be my culprit. Through years of reading, talking, and practicing the art of writing whenever I can, I haven’t figured out how to apply this technique to the submission process.

When I write, I don’t have to read interviews or research industry guides for the right word. I just write. The submission process doesn’t feel that easy. There’s research, more research, and the nagging fear I haven’t found the right person, who will like my manuscript. So, I’ve been guilty of write, revise, and repeat with no submissions.

This year, through several associations, a critique group, and submission focused Facebook groups, I’m stretching out of my comfort zone and sending my work out into the universe.

It hasn’t been easy, so far. I’ve stumbled and found myself pushed up against “end of the month” deadlines more than once. It’s not an ideal technique, but for now my “babystep” is to hit send on those query letters to see what happens.

By the end of the year, I hope to look back and see the puzzle together — Write. Revise. Repeat. Submit.

Do you have a submission strategy for your work?

About the Author: StacyS. Jensen worked as a newspaper reporter and editor for two decades. Today, she writes picture books and revises a memoir manuscript. She lives in Colorado Springs with her husband and toddler.

The Secret to Querying

By Aaron Michael Ritchey

In my next life, I'm going to start off as a used car salesman, then switch careers to write romance novels. Think Nicholas Sparks in a bad suit.

Oh, the fear and gnashing I went through to find a publisher for my first novel. This is what I had to do to query agents, editors, and publishers, so I could get my book in print. Okay, this is the big freakin’ secret.

I stopped writing and I used my writing time to write query letters and ship them out. That is what I had to do. It takes about half an hour to research an agent, write the first few lines saying how you heard about them and what you like about them, and then you copy in your pitch and bio and hit send.

Thirty simple minutes.

Easy.

And yet I had to drop everything and focus on only doing query letters because it wasn’t the time commitment that made it so hard. It was the emotional work involved that left me burning into ashes and exhausted beyond belief.

Oh, the agony, the angst, the mortal terror. It’s like finding a parent for my little baby, and going door to door in a Calcutta slum to do it. Most of the time, when I knocked, no one answered. Sometimes they opened the door, said a few nice things, and slammed it shut. And sometimes they sent a robot to answer the door. They didn’t want my baby. Thank you and good luck with finding a home for your human infant.

Like most things in life, querying agents is simple. It’s the emotional baggage that makes it hard for me. That’s why, if someone wants to be a writer, they should start by going into cold call sales, door-to-door. Because querying is a numbers game.

I talked with Catharine Ryan Hyde, who is a hardcore, stone-hearted warrior, and she tried to help me overcome my fear. I asked how many agents I should query before I gave up. She said ALL OF THEM. And you know what, she’s right.

Now, let me say this. Having no agent is better than having a bad agent. Don’t go with someone who isn’t selling, who smells mildly of corruption, or with one who actually hates what you write. More and more, literary agents are becoming unnecessary, and yet, I still believe in the old system. If you wanna’ play with the big dogs, you gotta’ find a handler for your work—a home for your baby. Or did I just mix metaphors?

But it’s hard. You know what's harder? Looking a reader in the eye and trying to get them to buy your book. Same basic process, but at least with an agent, I can hide behind email. In the end, sales is a part of the game.

Now go out there and sell big!

About the Writer:  YA Paranormal author Aaron Michael Ritchey has penned a dozen manuscripts in his 20 years as a writer. When he isn’t slapping around his muse, Aaron cycles to look fabulous, works in medical technologies, and keeps his family in silks and furs. His first novel, The Never Prayer, hit the streets on March 29, 2012.