Heidi Heilig

On Reviews and Responses, and a Personal Policy

by

In the year since the book sold, I’ve seen several instances of authors stalking or threatening reviewers. So, first off because it’s most important:

Threatening and/or stalking someone is never, ever okay.

It is so Not Okay that I don’t even have a metaphor for how Not Okay it is.

In fact, “Not Okay” is a huge understatement. It is wrong. It is illegal. It is evil. No one should ever do it.

I have never been the subject of a bad review. (Because my book isn’t out yet. I’m sure that I will get some when it starts to be available. That is life. Can’t be all things to all people/there are bad reviews for classics/etc.)

But I have been stalked and threatened.

And it is terrifying.

Is a bad review terrifying? … Maybe? But not in the same way. If someone hates my work, I do not fear for my life. And if they somehow make me fear for my life with personal threats and calling my private cell and heavy-breathing their review into my ear, then, you know, I go through appropriate channels to try to protect myself. And “Appropriate Channels” is NOT threatening or stalking.

(Nor is it using a large platform to sic fans on reviewers. I don’t have a large platform so this may never be applicable to me, but it should be said because apparently some people don’t know this?)

So, okay, with the internet the way it is, people are more accessible than ever. We can tweet and email and chat and crosstalk and argue and all that, and I love that, I love connecting with people. And as the pub date approaches and my circle widens, there is more opportunity for cool conversation but also more risk. And I never want to make anyone feel unsafe, ever.

So I want to just include a personal policy, of sorts, for social media. As time goes forward, I will be thinking about and developing this policy further, but for now this is what I’ve got.

–If you ask me questions directly online, or invite me into a conversation, I will happily and respectfully try to respond. I love talking to people (though I am awkward about it at times) and appreciate conversation.

–If you Tweet about me but do not appear to be inviting me into conversation, I will err on the side of not responding. I’m not ignoring you to be rude! But I would rather risk appearing rude than making you feel unsafe.

–If you review my work, I may or may not read it, but I will always appreciate it–even if you hate the book. Why? Because you took the time, and time is your most precious resource. Thank you, truly.

–If you review my work and loved it and rave about it and it comes to my attention, I may in fact print out your review and keep it to look at when I’m unsure of myself. It means the world to me to know I did well in the eyes of a reader.

–I will always support a better safety and harassment policy on all social media platforms.

–If I hurt someone or cause harm, I will want to apologize. I will feel sorry. I will likely make some kind of public announcement of what I did wrong (keeping names out of it) and my intent to do better and any plans I have to that effect. I may or may not apologize directly, depending on my sense of whether or not a direct apology/contact is wanted by the person I hurt. (I am aware that sometimes, when harm is caused, the person harmed wants nothing more to do with the person who has harmed them and that’s okay too. Stuff is complicated and I want to try to do the right thing.)

Okay. I think this is a good policy, though again, it is evolving. And I always want to do better so feedback is welcome.

How To Avoid Working On Your Work In Progress

by

Guess what I’m doing today!

If you guessed procrastinating, you are correct.

YOU WIN ONE MILLION INTERNETS.

I have a draft of book 2 that’s staring at me, and I’m steadfastly refusing eye contact. But my soft deadline is six weeks from today, which is coming up alarmingly fast.

Long ago*, procrastination looked like Netflix binges of crappy horror movies while I started internet fights. But now that I have deadlines and a small beeb at home, procrastination looks different. Here’s a list of things I do while procrastinating that still (hopefully) help me inch towards my deadline.

1. Research: This one’s great! Since I’m writing historical fantasy, I can still Netflix binge, but I get to watch documentaries instead of horror movies. Better for my psyche anyway. And I get so much inspiration from getting a visual on those old documents, photos, or letters they show with the slow Ken Burns zoom/pan. I’m not a visual person so watching something gets my brain firing in new ways.

2. Reading: This one can be dangerous. When I have writer’s block, reading is a godsend, but when I’m procrastinating, I’ll happily try to fool myself into thinking that my entire TBR list is vital to finish. I have to be selective because I will read and reread new books and old favorites, and I’ll never want to stop. Still, reading can help jog something that’s been stuck in my brain, so it’s vital. One thing that helps more than others is reading and critiquing for critique partners. Making my brain work on problems other writers are having is a good way to exercise my problem-solving muscles.

3. Blogging: HA HA. I actually don’t know if this one’s helpful. Obviously I should be laying down words on book 2 rather than here. Still, I can tell myself I’m being helpful to readers or getting out my angst or whatever. And there’s a limit. I can’t work on this post all day long. Eventually I’ll get annoyed with myself and go open my document.

4. Shaming myself by blogging about procrastinating: Yup. I’m annoyed. I’m opening my document.

*Before book 1 sold.

Does a Writer Have to Write Every Day?

by

Short answer: No.

If you still have a few minutes, here’s the long answer.

There are a lot of quotes around saying that a writer must write every day. Michael Connelly: “Write every day, even if it’s just a paragraph.” Ray Bradbury: “You must write every single day of your life. . . ”  Robert McKee: “Write every day, line by line, page by page, hour by hour.” Articles purporting to be habits of highly successful writers usually include this bit of advice.

But it is WRONG.

NO. BAD PINTEREST.

Writers–like humans–come in all types.

There are writers who cannot survive without writing every day. They keep slips of paper in their pockets and pens in their hair and sometimes they wake in the night and write in their journal, which is on their nightstand, open to a fresh page.

There are writers who have been into photography recently but when go on a road trip with friends, they livetweet the experience and then Storify it on the spotty wifi at the last motel before home. Then after they unpack, they take up knitting.

There are writers who just recently heard the word “NaNoWriMo” and googled it and thought “Huh. Why not me?”

There are writers who have grueling work schedules and come home to families that need feeding and have no time to wash their hair, but while they’re standing over the stove making some delicious mac n’ cheese, a thought moves in and makes a home behind one ear and eventually starts to expand into all the rooms in the head. Then one day that writer gets fired and they spend their first week freaking out and the next week helping that idea move to paper.

There are writers who find it impossible to get out of bed on very dark days, much less drag themselves three feet to the computer, but on the good days, they write hilarious stories and make their readers laugh and laugh.

This is not an exhaustive list of writers. There is no one way to be a writer. And the ways a writer writes may change over time. Frankly, I think it’s a very privileged to say that a writer must write every day, because not every writer can. Of course a highly successful (i.e. HIGHLY PAID) writer is more likely to be able to write every day. But you don’t stop being a writer when you put down your pen.

So, no. Writers don’t have to write every day. Imaginations can be boundless, time is still limited. Writers write. . . eventually.

Interview at DiversifYA

by

I’m honored to say I was interviewed over at DiversifYA. Check it out if you want to read about my crazy hapa self!

I highly recommend reading the interview archives. There are a whole bunch of diverse writers talking about their experiences, with bonus advice for authors who want to write diverse characters*.
*That’s all of us, right? RIGHT??

Four Letter Word, Rhymes with Duck

by

Luck, of course! What did you think I meant?

Recently, a friend who’s just finished a manuscript wanted to talk about my path to publication. Her first question was an interesting one:

“How much of getting published is luck?” she asked.

My immediately answer was: LIKE ALMOST ALL.



I mean, on top of accident of birth to a privileged family which resulted in, among many things, excellent schooling and lots of disposable time to read and write, I had a story in me that managed to interest both The Greatest Agent In The World and The Best Editor On The Planet. And we all work really well together. Also, I live in an apartment where 3 gourmet donut shops have opened within walking distance in the past year. This is like primo luck and I did nothing to deserve it.

Because that’s what luck is, right? The stuff we can’t control.

So I thought about that and wondered, how useful is it to talk about luck, really? Maybe instead I should talk about the stuff I know I had a hand in. The stuff I can recommend doing. 

So what isn’t luck? What can you control?

The writing, of course. You start with a blank page–you control every word that goes on it. They’re your accomplishment–or your fault. So make them good. Reread them and make them better. Then go off for a bit and read other people’s words very critically, and then come back to your words and make them the best you possibly can.

What else though? Well, it gets a little tricky there. 



You can do a lot of research and query the right people for your project. You can try to pay attention to larger trends or manuscript wish lists so your work has a better chance of being au currant. You can be your best self and a good Literary Citizen so that when it comes time for you to work with agents and editors, you’ve practiced your social graces and can make good small talk. But all of these things take luck, and also sometimes they don’t matter. 

Personally, I didn’t know much about agents before I started querying, I didn’t know what a manuscript wish list was, and I am socially very ungraceful: like I said, I’ve been very very lucky. And the nature of luck is very unfair. 

But it can also be very freeing.

Because knowing the rest is ultimately out of your hands means you can focus on those beautiful words. And–at least for me–that’s always been what I cared about most.

So fill those pages. Tell your stories. Write. 

And I wish you the very best of luck!




Critique: How do you like it?

by

Two* things power my writing, and they both start with C: Coffee and Critique.
 
You know that old joke? “I like my coffee like I like my soul: bitter, black, and cold.” (Or something like that.) You can use a similar formula for critique!  I like my critique like I like my coffee:
  • Plain, strong, and harsh enough to give me a stomachache.
  • Sweet and half hot air, but still powerful enough to reenergize me.
  • In small, concentrated servings that keep me up all night.

You get the picture.

So this is actually how I take my third+ cups of coffee:
Lukewarm and watered-down.

Just like coffee, it’s incredibly important to know how you want your critique before you ask for it, and to tell someone how you like it before they prepare it for you**. And while there is a right and a wrong in coffee (at least, according to the purists***), there is no right and wrong in critique. You need to ask for it the way it’s most helpful to you. If not, you’ll wind up with something you may not be able to stomach.

 
In fact, giving your critique partner some parameters can help them, too. No critique partner wants to give unhelpful–or even harmful–critique. And of course, a critique partner has the absolute right to say upfront “I actually can’t do that for you,” and that way, no one’s time is wasted. It’s a win all around.

So think about how you like your critique, and be aware that your critique needs will almost certainly change based on the stage of the project: on your first draft you may only want a list of things that make no sense, but by the time you get to what you hope is the final draft, you may care only about whether there are any typos.

 
Personal story time. Now, I love critique, the more incisive, the better. The most helpful critique for me is when people I trust pick apart my ideas and argue with me, making me justify each choice. The one caveat? I only like that critique once the first draft is completed.
 
Once, I was in the very early phase of a project, where I was still bubbling over, and I told a great critique partner that I had this amazing idea for a story. I started rattling off little details and funny dialogue and fascinating settings which were awesome to me but ultimately only related by invisible threads in my mind.
 
And then I was like: “So what do you think?”
 
And the friend was like: “I don’t get it.”
 
I spent literally the next month surfing the internet rather than writing, unable to regain the enthusiasm that had vanished in the face of those four little words. And of course my friend felt terrible, but they were only responding in the way they were used to critiquing my last piece, where I was on the third draft by the time they first saw it.
 
The mistake was mine, of course. I now know that, in the brainstorming phase of a story, all I want is positive energy. I don’t need lies–“Wow! You sound excited!” is perfectly acceptable–but any hint of negativity kills the early creativity. So now, before I speak to any critique partner about a project, I make sure to tell them how their response can be most helpful.

What about you? How do you take your critique?

 
 
*Okay three things, the third being cookies, but I couldn’t find a metaphor for that.
 
**For those who are thinking “But a critique partner is so much more than a barista!” don’t bag on baristas. They are friendly and sweet and they usually really care about making sure your coffee is just the way you like.
 
***My way is the right way, of course.