Ask the Author: Rachel E. Pollock
Answered Questions (10)
Rachel E. Pollock
Oh ellet, i wish i knew. I think there's a misconception that once a writer signs with an agent, it's only a matter of time before that novel which drew an agent's interest is publishes. But, in fact, it's really only getting through level one in the game. :/
Thank you for your enthusiasm for the work, and I hope to have good news about it someday. :D
Thank you for your enthusiasm for the work, and I hope to have good news about it someday. :D
Rachel E. Pollock
I'm going to be teaching a new-to-me graduate class in the fall which concerns corsetry and other structured garments, as well as archival garment research for historical costume reproduction. So, i'm reading a lot of recent publications in those areas, and I guess beyond that, it's a question of what the Book of the Month choices are and what strikes my fancy. I don't really consider my reading seasonally! :D
Rachel E. Pollock
First up, sorry for the delay in responding. I didn't get a notification of your question and only just now saw it.
What led me to Boulevard first and foremost was its author--I took a class with Jim Grimsley in graduate school. But, as that graduate program was through the University of New Orleans, the setting did have an appeal as well, and in general I am drawn to works by queer writers which have an element of zeitgeist about them. In addition to Maupin and San Fransisco, i also adored Isherwood's writings about Jazz Age Berlin, and in a more modern context Zoe Whittall's novels set in Canadian cities of Quebec and Toronto at the turn of the 21st century.
What led me to Boulevard first and foremost was its author--I took a class with Jim Grimsley in graduate school. But, as that graduate program was through the University of New Orleans, the setting did have an appeal as well, and in general I am drawn to works by queer writers which have an element of zeitgeist about them. In addition to Maupin and San Fransisco, i also adored Isherwood's writings about Jazz Age Berlin, and in a more modern context Zoe Whittall's novels set in Canadian cities of Quebec and Toronto at the turn of the 21st century.
Rachel E. Pollock
Right now, i'm experimenting with something that fellow Goodreads author P.D. Workman mentioned in a thread on a group, called the Pomodoro Method, aka writing sprints. Essentially, i set a timer for 15 minutes and start writing. When the timer goes off, i stop and do something on my to-do list, or make lunch, or whatever. Because the intervals are small and finite, it really forces you to chunk out some words! And really, i can always come up with something to write for only fifteen minutes...
Rachel E. Pollock
Wow, thanks for the great question, Alice! It's hard for me to figure out how to count projects in process.
I have a novel out on submission currently, which I know will involve further revisions when it finds a home with an editor/publisher; but it's hard for me to think of it as something i'm working on, since i can't work on it at this stage of the game!
I have two other novels in progress at present, one for which i've finished the first draft and the other which i'm first-drafting. I am the sort of person who needs distance between the completion of the first draft and the revision/rewriting. (I'm also someone who sometimes comes back to a first draft and goes, "This is complete shit and cannot be rewritten into something i'm proud of." I have a couple of totally abandoned novels that fit that bill.)
I also have the long-term goal of expanding my masters thesis (creative nonfiction) into a full-length book some day, but there's a lot of time i need to spend in some far-flung archives in order to do that. So, while i consider it something i'm working on, that book's going to have to be a project that builds slowly while i also tend to the rest of my writing career.
And, i also like to continue to write short-form work (primarily essays and short stories), which I'd some day like to assemble into a collection or two; so maybe I should count those along with the thesis expansion as "eventual books," so to speak!
I have a novel out on submission currently, which I know will involve further revisions when it finds a home with an editor/publisher; but it's hard for me to think of it as something i'm working on, since i can't work on it at this stage of the game!
I have two other novels in progress at present, one for which i've finished the first draft and the other which i'm first-drafting. I am the sort of person who needs distance between the completion of the first draft and the revision/rewriting. (I'm also someone who sometimes comes back to a first draft and goes, "This is complete shit and cannot be rewritten into something i'm proud of." I have a couple of totally abandoned novels that fit that bill.)
I also have the long-term goal of expanding my masters thesis (creative nonfiction) into a full-length book some day, but there's a lot of time i need to spend in some far-flung archives in order to do that. So, while i consider it something i'm working on, that book's going to have to be a project that builds slowly while i also tend to the rest of my writing career.
And, i also like to continue to write short-form work (primarily essays and short stories), which I'd some day like to assemble into a collection or two; so maybe I should count those along with the thesis expansion as "eventual books," so to speak!
Rachel E. Pollock
Right now? Revisions.
Back at the end of August, i signed with Jonathan Lyons of Curtis Brown, Ltd. I'd queried him (and, of course, several other agents) about representation for my novel, THE DECADENCE PAPERS. So the first thing that happened after signing was that he and his assistant, Sarah Perillo, gave me a list of suggested revisions that i might consider making to the manuscript before we proceed with seeking a publisher. (Who am i kidding, before *they* proceed, since i'll mostly be twiddling my thumbs waiting to hear back and climbing the walls.)
And, i felt that all of their suggestions were totally on-point, like the kind of great feedback you get from some classmate or prof you totally respect in grad school or something, the kind of suggestions that just opened a door in my mind about where the manuscript could be improved or more deeply developed.
So, this past month i've been getting down to beeswax on those and i am SO CLOSE to being done, i can practically taste it.
Back at the end of August, i signed with Jonathan Lyons of Curtis Brown, Ltd. I'd queried him (and, of course, several other agents) about representation for my novel, THE DECADENCE PAPERS. So the first thing that happened after signing was that he and his assistant, Sarah Perillo, gave me a list of suggested revisions that i might consider making to the manuscript before we proceed with seeking a publisher. (Who am i kidding, before *they* proceed, since i'll mostly be twiddling my thumbs waiting to hear back and climbing the walls.)
And, i felt that all of their suggestions were totally on-point, like the kind of great feedback you get from some classmate or prof you totally respect in grad school or something, the kind of suggestions that just opened a door in my mind about where the manuscript could be improved or more deeply developed.
So, this past month i've been getting down to beeswax on those and i am SO CLOSE to being done, i can practically taste it.
Rachel E. Pollock
In my most recent cases, the first and foremost answer is, I know the publisher from graduate school (Bill Lavender of Lavender Ink/Dialogos). But, i think there are probably a few more factors involved than just that, and that there are things one could do to raise one's chances of being selected to receive ARCs-for-reviews on here. [Aside: ARC stands for Advance Reader's Copy, sent out before the book's released to build buzz.]
For one thing, establish a presence; it helps to be an active member of the Goodreads community. Do you add books on a regular basis to your shelves? Do you then subsequently rate them? Do you not only rate them but write about them? And do other readers Like your reviews? If you haven't added a book since 2013, you won't get ARCs from publishers for sure.
See, i use Goodreads as a tool for tracking my own reading. I rarely finish a book that i don't write at least a paragraph on my response to it. I like going back and seeing what i read over the past month, or season, or year, reminding myself of books i loved, books that disappointed me, surprised me, excited me, books i abandoned or books i loved to hate.
And i read fairly serendipitously--sometimes i'm reading for work (i read a lot of play scripts in this category) and while i was in grad school i read for classes, but nowadays i read on whim, usually several books at once. I always have a bedtime book, a commute book, a lying-on-the-couch book, all going at once. And i even also sometimes have a poetry book going, too.
So, from a publisher's perspective, all this makes me a pretty good prospect for reading and reviewing ARCs. I do read widely and frequently, across genres and types of books. I share what i read regularly, and i write about how the books struck me. Readers respond to my reviews, too, with Likes.
I think there are a few things to keep in mind if you do wind up reading ARCs on here.
I'll always start off acknowledging that i got the book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Full disclosure's a good policy on that. When i see reviews on a book that's not released yet and they don't state that kind of thing up-front, I assume they must be the author's family/friends, particularly when they're all five-star raves.
Which brings me to the point that you then need to give that honest rating and review. Did you love it five stars worth, really? Would you love it five stars worth if it hadn't been free? If you didn't know the publisher, or the author, or the subject of a CNF book, or whatever?
And, recognize that Goodreads is basically a social medium for book-readers--you are not writing a book review for the Times here, and if you put up a review for a book that reads drastically differently than, you know, every other book review you've written about the non-ARC books you've read, your friends and followers will notice and wonder WTF's up.
For example, i normally write about books in terms of how i felt about them--did i like the book, the characters, the pacing, the plot, the voice, the writing itself. I also tend to write about technical elements about the book--i like looking at books as physical objects, the font choices, the layout, the graphic design, any illustrations, and I also leap on copy-edity things like when a book is peppered with homophone errors. So, if i rave-reviewed an ARC that was full of typos but didn't even mention that? My friends and followers who are familiar with my reviews who then read the book based on my rave might wonder how honest my review was if i omitted that. And i tend to write my reviews in conversational vernacular, as if i were just holding forth my thoughts on the book at a coffeeshop or bar. I cuss and drop slang and make jokes, and so when i review an ARC, i don't suddenly pretend i'm writing an analytical paper for academia. If i thought, "This book blows chunks," or "This book would be better off recycled into toilet paper," then i'll probably put that, verbatim, in my review. Though so far, i haven't had an ARC that i thought was asswipe material, thank every single star.
For one thing, establish a presence; it helps to be an active member of the Goodreads community. Do you add books on a regular basis to your shelves? Do you then subsequently rate them? Do you not only rate them but write about them? And do other readers Like your reviews? If you haven't added a book since 2013, you won't get ARCs from publishers for sure.
See, i use Goodreads as a tool for tracking my own reading. I rarely finish a book that i don't write at least a paragraph on my response to it. I like going back and seeing what i read over the past month, or season, or year, reminding myself of books i loved, books that disappointed me, surprised me, excited me, books i abandoned or books i loved to hate.
And i read fairly serendipitously--sometimes i'm reading for work (i read a lot of play scripts in this category) and while i was in grad school i read for classes, but nowadays i read on whim, usually several books at once. I always have a bedtime book, a commute book, a lying-on-the-couch book, all going at once. And i even also sometimes have a poetry book going, too.
So, from a publisher's perspective, all this makes me a pretty good prospect for reading and reviewing ARCs. I do read widely and frequently, across genres and types of books. I share what i read regularly, and i write about how the books struck me. Readers respond to my reviews, too, with Likes.
I think there are a few things to keep in mind if you do wind up reading ARCs on here.
I'll always start off acknowledging that i got the book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Full disclosure's a good policy on that. When i see reviews on a book that's not released yet and they don't state that kind of thing up-front, I assume they must be the author's family/friends, particularly when they're all five-star raves.
Which brings me to the point that you then need to give that honest rating and review. Did you love it five stars worth, really? Would you love it five stars worth if it hadn't been free? If you didn't know the publisher, or the author, or the subject of a CNF book, or whatever?
And, recognize that Goodreads is basically a social medium for book-readers--you are not writing a book review for the Times here, and if you put up a review for a book that reads drastically differently than, you know, every other book review you've written about the non-ARC books you've read, your friends and followers will notice and wonder WTF's up.
For example, i normally write about books in terms of how i felt about them--did i like the book, the characters, the pacing, the plot, the voice, the writing itself. I also tend to write about technical elements about the book--i like looking at books as physical objects, the font choices, the layout, the graphic design, any illustrations, and I also leap on copy-edity things like when a book is peppered with homophone errors. So, if i rave-reviewed an ARC that was full of typos but didn't even mention that? My friends and followers who are familiar with my reviews who then read the book based on my rave might wonder how honest my review was if i omitted that. And i tend to write my reviews in conversational vernacular, as if i were just holding forth my thoughts on the book at a coffeeshop or bar. I cuss and drop slang and make jokes, and so when i review an ARC, i don't suddenly pretend i'm writing an analytical paper for academia. If i thought, "This book blows chunks," or "This book would be better off recycled into toilet paper," then i'll probably put that, verbatim, in my review. Though so far, i haven't had an ARC that i thought was asswipe material, thank every single star.
Rachel E. Pollock
Great question, Rajeev.
I'm a big believer in ekphrasis--that a work of art can inspire me to make my own art. I might start writing about a piece of visual or auditory art as a prompt for some initial momentum, but inertia tends to kick in and once i'm going, i can shift gears into working on whatever i've put aside.
So when i am stuck on a manuscript, first i walk away from it--put it aside, work on something else, just let it sit for a while. But when i start thinking it's time to get back to it, i begin collecting sources of inspiration.
I make playlists of songs that i think capture the mood of whatever i'm writing. I start listening to that music and it inspires me to write. I also collect images--photos, paintings, drawings, whatever looks like the world of the manuscript. I used to do this in analog-fashion with a folder of clippings or a collage, but now i use Pinterest. Looking at a moodboard of images which "feel" like my manuscript is really helpful for getting into the mental space of a work.
I don't know if what works for me would work for everyone, but it's worth a shot!
I'm a big believer in ekphrasis--that a work of art can inspire me to make my own art. I might start writing about a piece of visual or auditory art as a prompt for some initial momentum, but inertia tends to kick in and once i'm going, i can shift gears into working on whatever i've put aside.
So when i am stuck on a manuscript, first i walk away from it--put it aside, work on something else, just let it sit for a while. But when i start thinking it's time to get back to it, i begin collecting sources of inspiration.
I make playlists of songs that i think capture the mood of whatever i'm writing. I start listening to that music and it inspires me to write. I also collect images--photos, paintings, drawings, whatever looks like the world of the manuscript. I used to do this in analog-fashion with a folder of clippings or a collage, but now i use Pinterest. Looking at a moodboard of images which "feel" like my manuscript is really helpful for getting into the mental space of a work.
I don't know if what works for me would work for everyone, but it's worth a shot!
Rachel E. Pollock
It may sound like a smart-ass answer, but my best advice is, write. Write a lot. It doesn't have to be good, it doesn't have to be something you want to publish, but words on the page/screen have to exist. You can always go back and revise, rewrite, or even delete them, but you have to write in the first place. I write, no lie, every day of my life. Sometimes i work on a novel or a short story or an essay, but sometimes i just bitch in a journal or transcribe a dream. It's not always what you write that's important--it's the practice of translating thought into word and sentence and paragraph.
And my second piece of advice is, read. The more you read, the better writer you'll be. Read for pleasure, sure, but also read for inspiration, for tips and tricks and ideas. Notice when a book is a total page-turner--how did the author structure it such that you're borne along so compellingly? Pay attention to good dialogue (and bad dialogue), fantastic or florid vocabulary, beautifully well-crafted sentences or totally lame and predictable plot-twists. When i'm reading a book and a writer really pulls off something amazing with the language or the plot or the character development, i mentally high-five them, but i also make a note to come back to it, think about it at length in terms of how they crafted that successful moment of a story or essay. The more you read, the more you know, and that's never a bad thing (even when it's a bad thing).
And my second piece of advice is, read. The more you read, the better writer you'll be. Read for pleasure, sure, but also read for inspiration, for tips and tricks and ideas. Notice when a book is a total page-turner--how did the author structure it such that you're borne along so compellingly? Pay attention to good dialogue (and bad dialogue), fantastic or florid vocabulary, beautifully well-crafted sentences or totally lame and predictable plot-twists. When i'm reading a book and a writer really pulls off something amazing with the language or the plot or the character development, i mentally high-five them, but i also make a note to come back to it, think about it at length in terms of how they crafted that successful moment of a story or essay. The more you read, the more you know, and that's never a bad thing (even when it's a bad thing).
Rachel E. Pollock
I feel like there are two aspects to writing: inspiration and discipline. I'm not always inspired when i sit down to write, but i often just do it anyway. This is a practice which I really became attached to in graduate school, when i was working full time on top of my studies. I'd work a full day, and then i'd have a couple hours each evening to respond to my classmates' work from workshops, and I spent a good chunk of my Saturdays and Sundays writing my own submissions for class assignments. It didn't matter if i wasn't feeling any sort of driving inspiration on those days--it was the time i had to write, and i HAD to write, so i did.
That said, i find that going for a walk generally does result in inspirational flights of imagination. If i'm stuck on where to take something or how to write myself out of a corner, i go for a walk and that usually does it. I should probably dig up some kind of useful voice-recording app for getting down those inspirations, but what i actually do is call myself and leave a message on Google Voice.
That said, i find that going for a walk generally does result in inspirational flights of imagination. If i'm stuck on where to take something or how to write myself out of a corner, i go for a walk and that usually does it. I should probably dig up some kind of useful voice-recording app for getting down those inspirations, but what i actually do is call myself and leave a message on Google Voice.
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