Newbie Arrogance

I got into an online…um…discussion(?) with a newbie and unpublished writer the other day.  He started talking about the elements of writing and how he was so much superior because he was about to finish his first novel.  I told him that I’d already published three novels, with a fourth on the way.  When he looked me up on Amazon, he came back with some snark about how I was only self-published, and that was obviously because my work was so subpar that no one would publish me.

I spent a couple of seconds snickering before asking him if he had an agent or publisher, or if he knew how royalty rates and the right of first refusal worked.  He ignored my questions, going on to proclaim that he knew he was brilliant(yes, he actually used those words) because another published author was working with him.

My antipathy for the traditional publishing world is no secret.  However, it’s always so amusing to see the arrogance of others who haven’t yet either submitted anything to a real agent or publisher, or who have no idea how the business works.  There’s a certain blind naïveté to newbie writers who are just so certain they’re poised on the precipice of success because, gosh darn it, they’ve nearly completed writing a whole novel!  I mean, I grant some accolades for finishing the chore of writing – I’ve discussed ad infinitum the number of people I’ve run across who’ve assured me they could write a book but who’ve never managed to do so – but like so many writers, this young man didn’t get that writing is the easy part.  After belching words onto a page, there’s editing.  And then there’s rewriting(sometimes whole sections you’re attached to).  Then there’s crafting a query letter(assuming you’re going for traditional publishing).  Then there’s wading through the mounds of rejections before maybe finding that one agent who thinks you’re worth taking on as a client.  Then there’s them pitching your work to hopefully find a publisher willing to publish your work.  And on and on and on.

But little of that matters to the newbie writer who is convinced he or she is the next James Patterson who the world is just dying to read.  C’mon – we’ve all been there.  Remember your excitement over finishing your first novel?  We jealously guarded our words, so afraid someone was going to steal our brilliance and publish it as their own.  And we were equally convinced that publishers would be lining up to take our work, grateful to find someone as talented as ourselves to work with.  The world was our oyster!

Despite my disagreements with this young man, it’s still going to pain me to see his balloon pop when he realizes just how long and rocky a road he has ahead of him.  I wish I could prevent the heartache that will inevitably result from his encounter with the real world, but it seems like experience is something everyone must gain and learn from themselves.  And trust me, he’s going to learn very quickly if he summons up the courage to take the plunge.