Build your antilibrary

The books in your home should be more like your wine cellar than a to-do list.

The first time I realized my bookshelves were more of a guilt-inducing to-do list than a source of joy, I got rid of everything I hadn’t read. Once a proud display of my literary taste, the modest collection had morphed into a tower of shame, each uncracked spine a silent accusation of my intellectual failure.

It wasn't until years later, as I laboriously rebuilt a TBR collection, that it hit me: Books should be more like a wine cellar than a task list—a collection of possibilities, not obligations. The trick is to view your library not as assignments waiting to be completed but as books patiently biding their time for just the right occasion.

An unread book is like a fine bottle of wine, stashed with care for the perfect occasion and pairing. Revel in the diversity of your collection and the possibilities it presents, O Writes-ers, as you deepen your practice of The Writes of Fiction.

Umberto Eco’s antilibrary

Read books are far less valuable than unread ones. The library should contain as much of what you do not know as your financial means, mortgage rates, and the currently tight real-estate market allows you to put there. You will accumulate more knowledge and more books as you grow older, and the growing number of unread books on the shelves will look at you menacingly. Indeed, the more you know, the larger the rows of unread books. Let us call this collection of unread books an antilibrary.—Read Maria Popova’s Umberto Eco’s antilibrary.

More on reading for authors: … 8. Read a good series and a bad series. Find out how to successfully sustain an overarching story over multiple books. Find out what happens when you don’t.

9. Read the thing that everyone hates. Find out why everyone keeps reading it anyway.

10. Read different takes on your own ideas. Find out how other authors have twisted the threads and pulled them together in ways you might not have chosen.—Keep reading 10 kinds of books anyone who writes fiction should be reading.

Emotional signposting

If you share information that’s not obviously positive or negative, you must proactively tell people how they should feel. Give context to the information, data, or fact.

If there’s even a slight chance your audience might benefit from the extra clues, I would consider using signposting. It’s super fast for you, and super helpful for them.—Read Wes Kao’s Emotional signposting.

More on building story logic: We’ve all read stories where the characters didn’t seem to be doing what a reasonable person would do in that situation. Heck, they’re not even doing what an unreasonable person would do. Sometimes they’re doing something else entirely. Sometimes they don’t seem to be doing much of anything at all.

A story that lacks credibility will also fail to hook readers. Credibility relies not only on the plot but also on the characters. As long as the characters forge a fathomable path into the story through their thoughts and reactions and emotions, readers will dive in alongside them.—Read more at Will readers swallow your plot?

When your pitch gets rejected

But no, this is to let you know it is not the editor’s job to train you in your craft, especially when they do not know you, and have no vested interest in you…YET. This is where your peers should come in. People who can be brutally honest with you, people who are good at what they do and know their stuff. Not your relatives, not your bestie. Unless your bestie is a best-selling writer or artist (like mine, who reviews this substack before it goes live).

… A rejection is not a crisis. It’s an opportunity. Every favorite professional that you admire, who inspired you to do this in the first place, was once where you are. They have dealt with rejections, and moved forward to where they are today. How will you move forward?—Keep reading Editor Girl’s When your pitch gets rejected.

More on submission rejections: It’s a big, big pond, and as a debut author, you’re a wee little fish. The thing is, the necessity of making the cut is not unique to writers. It’s just reality, not the Thunderdome, so don’t make too much ado about nothing.

• Athletes don’t throw in the towel when they get cut during tryouts. They train harder and come back next season better than ever.

• Musicians and actors know that an audition is as much about the director’s vision and needs for the production as it is their own skill.

• Entrepreneurs don’t crumple when their pitches don’t generate interest or funding. They roll up their sleeves. Revision and iteration is the path new products and services take to market.—Keep reading How to cope when your manuscript is rejected.

Should your writing speak for itself?

Your creative identity is how you communicate and create connections with people, and the trust they feel with you in the process.

You are a gateway, giving people “ways in” to the themes, stories, and topics you write about. This is inherently about human connections — how you and your work speaks to one individual. I’m listening to 16 hour autobiography right now, and even though the author is famous and the book has thousands of reviews, he is speaking directly to me. When I send out my newsletter each week, even though Substack sends it to thousands of people, each person receives it alone, and if anything I say speaks to them, it becomes a connection between me and that individual, not me and an audience.—Keep reading Dan Blank’s Should your writing speak for itself?

More on getting the word out: Start where you are. Completing your first manuscript is a huge creative milestone for many aspiring authors, but the book itself is unlikely to be a publishable success without the experience you’ll gain writing your next manuscripts. If you’ve pinned all your hopes on your freshman effort, what next? Do you abandon your dream because you couldn’t accelerate from 0 to 60 in five seconds or less your first time out of the garage?

What you need now are goals fit for debut authors and emerging authors and midlist authors. Break your ultimate goals into smaller segments.

• Being signed by an agent

• Winning a literary prize

• Being published in a prestigious literary journal

• Being listed on a major book club reading list

• Getting 100 reader reviews on GoodReads or Amazon

• Earning back your editing and production costs

• Other benchmarks that compare your progress against your baseline—Keep reading The fiction writer’s guide to publishing and editing goals.

Fiction Fuel

Inspiration comes on the twenty-fifth attempt, not the first. If you want to make something excellent, don't wait for a brilliant idea to strike. Create twenty-five of what you need and one will be great. Inspiration reveals itself after you get the average ideas out of the way, not before you take the first step.—James Clear

Get the inside scoop

Join as a paid subscriber to discover even more fresh ways to advance your writing craft. Get the scoop on the best ideas I run across—the stuff I get excited about, the ideas I talk about during group coaching and pass on during consultations and edits.

Paid subscribers get Writes of Fiction twice a month, weekly Wednesday Craft emails, and monthly Office Hours calls where you can ask me anything about writing fiction. Think of your subscription as a weekly coffee date with your writing coach.

Every one of you reading this now is a plot twist in our collective narrative. Thanks for including me as part of your unfolding tale.

Onward,

Lisa

P.S. #taptap—Is this thing on? See if your manuscript is ready for prime time. A Clarity Audit can help you finish your first draft, show you where to revise, or see if you’re ready for editing. Wherever you are—start today.

---

This is The Writes of Fiction, a curated trove of old and new thinking about writing designed to help you get better at the craft of writing fiction. And here’s your editorial assistant of the week. 👇

🐾 Support your #editorialassistants via Greyhound Adoption League of Texas, now rehoming internationally from USA, Ireland, and Australia.