Bouquets & Barnacles
I love my job. I can't think of anything I'd rather do, BUT ...
There are a couple of aspects to it that frustrate the heck out of me. Firstly, there is the waiting game. A friend of mine -- also a writer -- calls it, "Hurry up and wait." You work like crazy to finish up a manuscript and send it off to a lucky publisher, and then you sit on your hands for six weeks (if you're lucky) to a year waiting for a response. If that response is a rejection (you get more of those than contracts), then you have to start all over again. Some publishers accept simultaneous submissions, but most prefer you to seek one rejection at a time. As I'm sure you can imagine, it can sometimes take years for a manuscript to find a home. There are publishers who promise a response within three months and make good on that promise. Unfortunately, there are many more who make the same promise but don't follow through. All too often, I find myself composing polite and (hopefully) tactful emails after a six-month plus wait, trying to speed up the process.
But if I hang in there long enough, somebody will buy a story.
What follows next can be "the best of times" or "the worst of times". The editorial process can be intellectually stimulating, challenging, invigorating, educational, satisfying, and fun. OR it can be aggravating, counter-productive, confrontational, unduly prolonged, and tense. Both approaches can result in an excellent finished product, but I'm not sure the ends necessarily justify the means in the latter case. Overall, I've enjoyed working with most of my editors, and I feel their input has improved my work. They have been able to COMMUNICATE their ideas to me in a TIMELY, CONVINCING manner, and have made themselves available to answer any questions I have -- whether that be through emails or over the telephone.
You might think that the larger the publishing house, the more chance there is for problems to arise, since there are more people involved and so much more going on. But that ain't necessarily so. Size has nothing to do with good business practices (or bad), but attitude does.
So bouquets to the editors and publishers who make writing a wonderful experience, and barnacles to those who need to work on their people skills.