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| | Keep 13 in Play - What's Your Story Today?
by C. Hope Clark
Someone asked me what was "Keep 13 in Play" recently. Those of you who have watched FundsforWriters for a while
recognize it as a mantra I practice in submitting articles and queries. Since someone asked, I realized we had enough
new folks who might not know the phrase and enough older members who might need a booster shot of this thought.
Two years ago I started "Keep 13 in Play" and have thanked my lucky stars for doing so ever since. You start a spread-sheet and list columns entitled Title, Publisher, Date Sent,
Follow-up Date, Payment, and Notes. And I mail queries or
complete manuscripts steadily until I have thirteen "in play." When I receive a rejection or acceptance, the number reduces
and I'm prompted to immediately submit another to maintain the magical '13'. I made it an absolute necessity to keep the number at or over thirteen before doing anything else. The habit is a nice one to have.
This little goal motivates me and keeps me steadily throwing bait out there to editors and publishers. The
more I do it, the more clips I collect. I started slow,
but over the two-year period, my rate of rejection has decreased.
Why? Because each time I write, I improve. Anyone does. The little sign I posted
on my desk that says "Keep
13 in play, what's your story today?" stares at me as a constant reminder that my job is writing AND submitting. Just call me a 'writing
distributor.' Of course, I'm
a writer, but if it sits on my hard drive forever, what good is it? It needs distribution, and the more I send the more I sell. Actually, the
pace accelerates the
longer you play the game.
One week recently I submitted ten queries and articles. I was on a roll and the muse was at her best. By the
end of the week I had 29 queries and manuscripts out, and boy, did I feel excited! Each query motivated me
more until they just flowed. Cocky, I sat back and worked on other projects thinking I had enough queries
out there to last me a month.
Well, the next week in comes eight acceptances and three rejections. Someone asked me just this week what do
I do when several come in at once. The answer? I thank the heavens first, then I crank out the work. There are
worse things in life to worry about than how to do all that work for all those checks.
A few pointers in managing this type system?
1. Send simultaneous submissions. One article can mean four submissions. It helps meet your quota of '13' but
be prepared when it gets accepted by one because that knocks four off your thirteen.
2. Send some queries and some manuscripts. That way if a manuscript sells, the work is done. Sending all
manuscripts is a ton of work to do in advance when an editor might want a different twist, and sending all queries could mean a sudden
surge of writing and little
time to produce it when a bunch of acceptances occur.
3. Make '13' a number that fits your life. If you write part-time, consider '6' or '10'. Since I'm
beginning my third year of this mantra, I raised the number to '18' since I'm used to the habit, and I'm
writing fulltime. I maintained '13' for two years, so I felt it time to graduate to something more demanding.
4. Once you receive three rejections from one editor, forget him to avoid wasted mailings. I keep a second
spreadsheet sorted by Publisher instead of Title.
When that Publisher consistently denies my work, I put him on the back burner if I keep him at all. Or
you could do what I did and keep the ones you'd still love to publish in, and wait a few months to give him
and you a rest (and groom your work).
But I swear by this system. It keeps me directed, motivated and organized. And at the end of each year,
I can look back at my efforts, my rejections and my accomplishments and identify trends, strengths, and weaknesses. Call it the old
manager in me, but I like
to know where I stand when I'm earning a living, and sitting still or rolling backwards does not set well with me. "Keep 13 in Play" tells
you where you stand,
and keeps you moving forward.
copyright 2004 C. Hope Clark | |
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