Why Writers Could Give Up… And Why They Shouldn't

By Scott Reintgen, @Scott_Thought

Part of the How They Do It Series (Monthly Contributor)

This morning I spent some time reflecting on this bizarre, dream world I’ve stumbled into as a professional author. I’ve always imagined that, one day, I’d be published. It was always a back pocket thought. A maybe if I’m lucky kind of dream.

So now that my book is set to launch into the world on September 12th, I want to glance back at all the reasons I had to give up on doing the thing that I love the most. Maybe, just maybe, these will resonate with you. And maybe this post will have you pushing on to reach whatever dream you’ve always wanted to chase.

The Everyman vs. Superman Scale

By Scott Reintgen, @Scott_Thought

Part of the How They Do It Series (Monthly Contributor)

Over the past five years, I’ve seen a small transformation happening in how I think about writing. My tendency as a young writer was to take the rules offered by editors, agents, and other authors and make them into unbreakable barriers. If someone taught me that I needed to make my character more proactive, well then I would make sure to have them jumping off of a train, while saving a baby, while simultaneously ordering a club sandwich with extra pickles.

Rules aren’t without merit, but I’ve recently found scales more useful.

Writers Wear a LOT of Hats

By Scott Reintgen, @Scott_Thought

Part of the How They Do It Series (Monthly Contributor)

I was a teacher in NC public schools. No one mistook that title as "someone who solely teaches." I did not go into school, perform four lectures, and head home for the day. As with most occupations, there was far more than that front-facing role as an educator.

Being a writer is no different. You write books, of course, but there are all sorts of other hats a writer often must put on to survive in the world of publishing today. Let's take a look at a list of the different roles many writers find themselves in as they get started:

The Expansion of a Theme

By Scott Reintgen, @Scott_Thought

Part of the How They Do It Series (Monthly Contributor)

It’s easy to forget how inherently connected story aspects are. Characters are defined by their settings (what, after all, would Katniss have been if born in District 2). Plots spin on the wheels of character choices. Mood drips from the parapets of whatever dreary castle you happen to have chosen as setting. So while we often separate the categories in preparation for writing a story, it’s important to weave and analyze the web of how all your story pieces fit together.

Beta Readers Need Love, Too

By Scott Reintgen, @Scott_Thought

Part of the How They Do It Series (Monthly Contributor)

Confession: I love my beta readers.

It’s safe to say that the history of writing has not always made use of the modern beta reader. If you happened to watch the movie Genius, which highlights the relationship between editor Max Perkins and writer Thomas Wolfe, you saw a glimpse of the more traditional form. A writer writes. An editor edits. As they craft the story together, it almost seems like there isn’t room for any other voices. There’s such chemistry and magic there, why risk breaking the spell?

The Actual Timeline of a Book and Why It Matters

By Scott Reintgen, @Scott_Thought

Part of the How They Do It Series

Vampires. Are. So. Hot. Right. Now.

… is what everyone said back when Twilight came rocking into the literary world in 2005. And vampires were hot. In the literary and physical sense. Stephanie Meyer’s success, along with many other authors, attested to just how important timing can be in the world of books. It’s very likely that thousands of authors followed on Stephanie Meyer’s heels, only to find the vampire door closing in slow-motion as they ran towards it.

Traditional publishing isn’t winning the 100-meter dash. It is not Usain Bolt. Frankly, it’s not trying to be. So it’s good to know what’s in store if that’s the direction your heading. Here—from start to finish—is the timeline for the book that got me my first publishing deal:

Authors: How to Make the Most of a School Visit

By Scott Reintgen, @Scott_Thought

Part of the How They Do It Series

JH: One of my favorite things to do as an author is school visits. It's a blast chatting with younger readers (especially for a middle-grade author like myself), and getting them excited about reading. But almost any author can do a school visit and talk about books, writing, and publishing. Today, Scott Reintgen returns to the lecture hall to share some excellent tips of having a successful school visit. Scott is also joining the Fiction University faculty in 2017, so look for his articles the second Tuesday of every month.

Scott is the author of a science fiction trilogy that is forthcoming from Penguin Random House. The first book in his series, NYXIA, releases next fall. It features a group of ten teenagers who are offered million dollar contracts to go into space. As they prepare to launch, however, the contestants are informed the offered millions are not guaranteed. Their flight functions as a competition. Glory must be earned, it must be won, it must be taken. Emmett and the other contestants quickly discover one, undeniable truth: every life has a price.

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Take it away Scott...