The Writer's Book of Hope: Getting from Frustration to Publication [Paperback]

Ralph Keyes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2003

In 1889, the editor of the San Francisco Examiner, having accepted an article from Rudyard Kipling, informed the author that he should not bother to submit any more. "This isn't a kindergarten for amateur writers," the editor wrote. "I'm sorry, Mr. Kipling, but you just don't know how to use the English language." A century later, John Grisham was turned down by sixteen agents before he found representation-and it was only after Hollywood showed an interest in The Firm that publishers began to take him seriously.

The anxiety of rejection is an inevitable part of any writer's development. In this book, Ralph Keyes turns his attention from the difficulty of putting pen to paper-the subject of his acclaimed The Courage to Write -to the frustration of getting the product to the public. Inspiration isn't nearly as important to the successful writer, he argues, as tenacity, and he offers concrete ways to manage the struggle to publish. Drawing on his long experience as a writer and teacher of writing, Keyes provides new insight into the mind-set of publishers, the value of an agent, and the importance of encouragement and hope to the act of authorial creation.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

To be clear: this is not a guide on how to write a book (Keyes covered that in his last volume, The Courage to Write). Rather, it's a tool for writers who have found their courage and now need hope: that their work is good, that it will be published despite the inevitable rejections, that readers will actually buy it. "Frustration is the natural habitat of writers at every level," writes Keyes, a trustee of the Antioch Writers' Workshop, and his goal here is to lead writers out of the darkness of despair and into the light of reassurance. Keyes offers useful advice on coping with "discouragers" (they "can be dispatched by understanding their motives and by putting them to work as goads"); "exorcising excuses" ("I have no talent"); and "rites of rejection." He introduces writers to the strange habits of the "publishing tribe" (they are, he says, slaves to the opinion of their peers), and offers many anecdotes from the experiences of A-list writers such as Ann Patchett and Tony Hillerman. Writers seeking reasons to hope should get a boost from this gently reassuring handbook.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A perfect companion for every writer. Keyes gives you solid information you can put to use while he bolsters the faith you need to keep going." -Judith Appelbaum, author of How to Get Happily Published

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks; 1 edition (October 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805072357
• ISBN-13: 978-0805072358
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #686,358 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ralph Keyes's sixteen books include the bestselling Is There Life After High School? which became a Broadway musical still produced in this country and abroad. His book Chancing It was a New York Times Notable Book, and The Courage to Write has been in print for 15 years. Keyes has discussed his work on Oprah, The Today Show, Tonight Show, ABC World News Tonight and 20/20 as well as NPR's Fresh Air, All Things Considered, Talk of the Nation, and On the Media. In addition to his books he has written hundreds of articles and essays for publications ranging from GQ to Good Housekeeping. An article Keyes co-authored for the Harvard Business Review won its prestigious McKinsey Award for Best Article of the Year. After graduating from Antioch College in 1967 Keyes spent was Assistant to the Publisher of Long Island's Newsday for two years. After that he spent a decade as a Fellow of the Center for Studies of the Person in La Jolla, California, then worked as a freelance writer in the Philadelphia area Keyes now lives in Yellow Springs, Ohio with his wife Muriel where he writes, lectures, and is a Trustee of the Antioch Writers' Workshop.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Encouraging and Informative, November 29, 2004

By 

Ron Atkins "Ron" (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Writer's Book of Hope: Getting from Frustration to Publication (Paperback)

Keyes does a great job presenting the case for finding hope in the writing process. This book specifically discusses: dealing with anxiety, frustration and despair, overcoming the discouragers in your life, exorcising excuses for not writing and pursuing a career in writing, the rites of rejection, the nature of publishers and editors, and how to keep hope alive.

Years ago I had a basketball coach who taught "if you're not getting at least four fouls in a game, you're not playing defense." He didn't like fouls, but his point was, in the process of playing the game aggressively, fouls are going to happen. Fouls are not necessarily indicators of defeat, they are indicators of effort. Likewise, Keyes' approach to rejection is that all successful writers deal with rejection. In his book he provides numerous examples, including Nobel and Pulitzer prize winners, of authors who face rejection even after winning critical acclaim. Rejection is a fact of life, Keyes say, learn to deal with it. Easily stated, but it still hurts. According to Keyes, writers who have not experienced rejection are not sending out enough material; and, writers who don't learn to accept rejection as part of the writing process, are doomed to quit writing altogether.

Keyes is the author of another book titled "The Courage to Write," which I highly recommend. Similar books by other authors which I would also recommend for the aspiring writer include: "On Becoming a Novelist," by John Gardner, and "The Forest for the Trees," by Betsy Lerner.

Ron Atkins is the author of two children's books, Abby and the Bicycle Caper, and his upcoming (January 2005) Abby and the Bike Race Mystery.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pick Up Your Pen and Step Away From the Ledge, December 26, 2005

By 

Gina Holmes "Author of DRY AS RAIN" (VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Writer's Book of Hope : Getting from Frustration to Publication (Paperback)

The Writer's Book of Hope, released in 2003, continues to be a beacon of hope to those on the long and tumultuous path to publication.

Keyes gives anecdote after anecdote on writer's rejected who went on to become best-sellers.

Excerpt:

"Ursula Le Guin sent out her first story when she was eleven. She got her first acceptance at thirty-three. James Dickey endured years of form rejections before he finally saw hand-writing on one that said, "Not bad."

According to James Lee Burke's agent, 100 editors turned down Lost Get-Back Boogie (including multipe editors at the same house) before Louisiana State University Press bought Burke's first novel for a pittance.

It's a rare writer who doesn't have to hack through a jumble of rejection slips before (and after) getting published. Some of history's best-known books were rejected many times before finally being accepted. The Ginger Man, by J.P. Donleavy--now considered one of the best 100 novels ever published--was turned down by thirty-six publishers before it found a home..."

Besides happy endings to rejected beginnings, Keyes takes us inside the world of publishing. Some of the Chapter titles:

~AFD Syndrome~ (before drinking hemlock)
~Dealing with Discouragers
~Rites of Rejection
~The Publishing Tribe (Why publishing Resembles High School)
and more...

This book is one of the few writing books I can't bring myself to give up. Every so often, I find myself discouraged beyond reason, and this book takes me back from the ledge of despair.

It's a must read for any pre-pubbed writer needing an injection of optimism.

REVIEWED ON: www.firstnoveljourney.blogpsot.com
(author interviews, book reviews, and fiction related discussion)

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every writer needs hope, August 6, 2004

By 

S. DeBow "Susan DeBow" (Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Writer's Book of Hope: Getting from Frustration to Publication (Paperback)

Every writer needs hope. And hope is what I always get when I read and reread Ralph Keyes's book, The Writer's Book of Hope.
As an experienced, many times published writer, people might think I've got this writing profession figured out. But I don't. And on those days when I'm feeling lonely, dejected and sometimes rejected, I know I can turn to Keyes's book to help me realize I'm not alone in my insecurity and feeling of flakiness.

There are days when I wonder if it isn't too late to go to plumbing school or enroll in the matchbook school of mosaic tiling. Writing does that too you. Plays games with your mind and confidence.

But when those days creep up on me, I find solace in Hope. It makes my green skin turn less bright when I read John Grisham received twenty-some odd rejections and agents turned down JK Rowlings. Yet they persisted. And that, among other things is the difference between writers who stay the distance and those who let the publishing world get the better of them.

Keyes has been there. He's one of us. He's not on a perch talking down to us wannabes. He's simply further in his journey than many of us. And that qualifies him as a leader. And the fact that he's willing to share the good, bad and ugly of this writer's world is generous.

Reading the book is like sitting in an easy chair talking to a wise sage (with a little bit of mischief in his eyes) talking about the world of writing. Eyeball to eyeball. Writer to writer...friend to friend. And by doing so, Keyes offers us that thread that tethers writers together in this profession that is not for the faint of heart. And for that I'm grateful.

Susan DeBow, writer