WOW! Women On Writing Blog: technology in writing

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

I’ve been thinking about resistance a lot lately. (And not just because Chris Hemsworth used those resistance bands to get ripped for Thor: Love and Thunder.)

I’m like that petulant kindergartener, fighting the first day back to school after a delightful summer vacation. I’m digging in my heels, whining to…well, in my case, Libs the poor dog. “I don’t want to,” I moan as I tackle the latest obstacle.

Not that Libs cares. She doesn’t understand that I resist because things change, and my lazier self gets tired of learning the new way, even though while I’m in the midst of learning, I’m also often thinking, “Oh! This is much better!”

Take a query, for example. It wasn’t that long ago when there were general query guidelines that one could reasonably follow and send in a simple email to an agent. But then every writer began throwing queries out there and inboxes overflowed like quarters spilling out of a winning slot machine.

So agents realized that they needed a new and better way to deal with queries. Many agents went with a managing platform like Submittable, which required a writer to get an account. Now, an agency may have their own query manager set-up or a client portal or I don't know...a digital mind-meld?

The point is, it’s that technology bugaboo rearing its scary head. Technology, that’s the crux of much of the change that writers face. We live in a digital age so new and better tech comes along every day and what was cutting-edge just a few years ago is now passé, right? It’s a fulltime job keeping on top of it all!

But you just want to write, you say. And writing hasn’t changed—it’s still thinking up stuff and putting words on the page.

It is, dear writer. And if you’re only concerned about the words in your journal, then you’re sitting pretty (maybe in front of your typewriter). But if you want to get your words out in the world, your poetry, your articles, your books, your podcasts, then you’re likely going to have to learn something new.

But here’s the good news: learning new things keeps your brain fit and you healthy. So even while I’m resisting—and perhaps I mentioned that’s practically a daily occurrence over here in the Hall house—I feel pretty darn good when I conquer the new thing. And the older I get, the more important it is to me to fight the good fight, to stretch beyond the “I don’t want to!” to “Okay, I got it now!”

It’s survival of the fittest in this industry, y’all. So embrace the changes that will keep you in the writing game and I promise you, it won’t be just your brain that stays sharp. Your emotional well-being will thrive as well. Yay for resistance ~~bands~~!

~Cathy C. Hall (who conquered book cover design like a Thor! So what have you conquered lately?)

4 comments Cathy C. Hall, Chris Hemsworth, querying agents, Submittable, technology in writing, Thor: Love and Thunder

This I Know 2.0

Wednesday, November 07, 2018

At a recent workshop on wordplay, I was surprised with a couple of new techniques I learned. I mean, I’ve been at this writing thing for a good while now and I’ve become a bit jaded. But just when I think I’ve seen or heard it all, someone introduces me to something brilliant and I think back to years ago, at one of my first writing conferences. I heard an attendee say, “I didn’t know what I didn’t know.”

That’s pretty brilliant in itself, that realization. Because so many writers just starting out—myself included—think they know all about writing. We’ve been writing since we were kids, after all, and we may even have degrees in writing or related fields. So we think we have this whole writing thing down. Really, we just need a little bit of information about agents or publishing. And yet, the writer who gets better at this whole writing thing is the one who realizes early on that he or she has a lot to learn.

But unless we go to conferences, sign up for workshops and/or classes, read the genre we want to write as well as read up on the craft of writing that genre, we will never know what we don’t know.

So there are a few things I’ve figured out, after being in this business for so many years, and I thought I’d share to give you a writing leg up, as it were. It’s a short list, but this I know:

That if you want to be a writer in the 21st century, you must be familiar with and use 21st century technology. I’m not saying you can’t write your first draft in longhand; I am saying that when it comes time to submit, you will need those words typed nice and pretty in a digital document. I’m also not saying that you must be signed up for every kind of social media available; I am saying that you must have an online presence somewhere so that readers and/or publishers and editors can find you. And finally, I’m not saying that you must use all the latest financial technology; I am saying that if you want to sell your books or other writing-related materials, there’s a very simple app for that. (Because seriously, y’all, no one carries cash anymore.)

That the best writers have had their work rejected way more than accepted. The thing is, we may not hear about the years of struggle; we only see the success. But very few of the best writers start out with a bang. They start out writing, revising, submitting, and getting rejected. And then starting all over again. And again. And again. And again. The best writers keep at it, even though they will still face rejection after hard-won success.

That if you want to be taken seriously in the writing profession, be professional. Ditch the cutesy email address and never use crazy fonts or colored paper to attract attention. (You will attract attention but not the kind you want.) Use proper grammar. Honor a deadline and reply promptly if you can’t. Treat others—whether you’re meeting them online or in person—with respect.

So how about you? What do you know now that you didn’t know then? I’d love to hear your thoughts because this I know: there’s always something out there I need to learn!

Cathy C. Hall writes for children and adults. Look for her latest byline in Chicken Soup for the Soul's Miracles and More. And if you're in South Korea, you can find her recent leveled readers in bookstores and schools. But if you want to catch up with Cathy herself, look for her around SCBWI conferences or at her website. She knows other stuff, too, and she's not afraid to share it.