Luck of the Irish

by S. L. Duncan


You've heard it all before.

There is no such thing as luck. 

You make your own luck. 

Better an ounce of luck than a pound of gold. 

As many sayings as there are clovers in a field in Ireland. In the world of publishing we often don't give enough credit where credit is due when it comes to how lucky we are when we get the agent or land the deal. But if we're being honest, we have to admit that there is a significant portion of success that comes from factors that lay outside our control, no matter how well we write or how hard we work.

Sometimes it comes down to being at the right place and at the right time. It's just a matter of getting lucky. (And isn't it always?)

You've got you're big boy/girl pants on. You know what it takes to get into a lucky situation. Make that query shine like a Real Housewife's ring finger. Have an eight karat manuscript. These things, you know. These things, you're already doing.

And if all your ducks are in a row, you've got nothing left to do but ask yourself, "Do I feel lucky?"

Well do you, punk?* Because at that point it's out of your hands. Is what you started writing a year ago still hot? Or is it about to be hot? Is it marketable? So many factors give weight to tilt the balance for and against your favor.

Just work hard and who knows? Maybe you'll catch a break. Try kissing someone who's Irish. Might help. Happy St. Patrick's Day, all!









*Sorry about that whole 'punk' thing. That was totally rude. Perhaps when we see each other again, I'll buy you a pancake and we'll call it bygones.

S. L. Duncan writes young adult fiction, including his debut, The Revelation of Gabriel Adam, releasing August 12th, 2014 from Medallion Press. You can find him blogging on INKROCK.com and on Twitter.

“Lucky!” A Friday the 13th Meditation on Authorial Luck

by Sophie Perinot

“Lucky!” The day you finally (countless queries into the process) snag an agent, you are going to hear it.  Ditto if you Indie publish something that climbs the ranks of the Kindle paid list.

 

“Lucky!”

I am not discounting for a moment the role of luck in authorial success or more broadly in life.  Sometimes it is just a matter of luck whether or not your e-query winds up in spam or in an agent’s mail box.  And I am certainly a BIG believer in BIG picture luck—constantly reminding my daughters that it wouldn’t matter how smart they were if they’d been born into a brothel in the third world.  So, no matter how unexceptional Mr. Putin thinks we are, I am profoundly glad I was born in the USA.  BUT, relying on luck can be a dangerous thing.  So can dismissing the accomplishments of others as grounded in good fortune.

Luck is a pretty passive concept folks.  And publishing . . . especially in its current change-a-minute permutation is all about action.  Yes people, we are waiting for lightening to strike in terms of sheer statistics but the truth is it is going to take more than luck if are going to fulfill your writing dreams (whether that means finishing a manuscript, getting a deal with one of the major houses).  If you are in the right place at the right time it will avail you nothing if you don’t know how to capitalize on say an agent’s interest, the six weeks surrounding the release of your first book, or being featured in O Magazine.

The answer is obvious, work.  Work like your life depends on it (your authorial life does).  And work smart—take criticism, read about the industry, set goals and meet them.

But there is something more.  Don’t fall into the “luck” trap and its ancillary belief in bad luck.  When you reach a goal (or when a friend does) do NOT dismiss it with a “lucky.”  Spend some time analyzing it—what did the author in question do that may have made the difference?  When you face disappointment don’t dismiss that either.  It is very tempting to say, “it was just not my day,” or “well it takes a lot of queries to get a request.”  Be willing to dissect failures as well.  It DOES take a lot of queries—but if you’ve sent a lot and you are not getting requests assuming that you haven’t queried the right agents or that it is all some random lottery isn’t going to help you, while scrapping that letter (or seriously considering your project’s marketability, gulp) may make a huge difference—even if you walk under a ladder on your way back to your keyboard.

So on this day—when bad luck is traditionally believed to be lurking around every corner—set your superstitions aside, cast of the crutch of “lucky” and take a positive step down your personal authorial path.  Heck, Friday the 13^th would be an excellent day to send out that next batch of queries, hit up a big name author for a book blurb, or work on that next manuscript.  Speaking of which . . . you’ll know where to find me ;)

Sophie Perinot is spending her Friday the 13th holed up in a corner of the 16th century working to finish her next novel. Her first novel, The Sister Queens, was published by NAL/Penguin in 2012 and is on sale in bookstores (brick and mortar and virtual) everywhere. Learn more about TSQ here.

Writers and the Good Luck/Bad Luck Gambit

by Darke Conteur

In honour of Friday the thirteenth, I thought I'd take a look at the one commodity all writers think they need—LUCK. One definition of the word is as follows: Success or failure apparently brought on by chance rather than through one's own actions.

Those are some pretty harsh words. Basically, it's saying that people would rather sit and dream about what could happen, instead of going out and making it happen.

I am one of the most superstitious people you will ever meet, but I have to wonder if we blame luck for our own shortcomings as writers, and hail it when we receive the reward for a job well done. Don't get me wrong, I believe in luck, but I also believe that you have to meet it halfway. Maybe that query was rejected because the author didn't follow the submission guidelines, or it was poorly written. Maybe the author got the agent of his/her dreams because they spent years learning and honing their craft. In either case, the outcome fell solely on the talent (or lack thereof) of the writer. It had nothing to do with luck and everything to do with knowledge and determination.

Relying on ourselves can sometimes put us in unfamiliar or uncomfortable positions. Self-doubt will always be with us, hiding within the small corners of our mind. My advice, never brush it away. Embrace it. Allow yourself to understand why you have this doubt about your work, but don't let it guide your actions. Remember, nothing worthwhile ever comes easy, and in the end, when things start to go in your favour, you'll know that it was more you and your hard work that helped you to accomplish your goal, than some mysterious force.

Darke Conteur is the author of stories from the darker side of life. Blogs here, Tweets here & plays Facebook games here.