A Publisher That Teaches

My first rejection came from an agent in the early 90’s. She had requested my manuscript to be sent to her by overnight mail. (This was back in the days of actual printed copies of manuscripts floating through the postal system.) I was excited, to say the least. But what I got in return was a stab to the heart. Her rejection note, scribbled on a pamphlet about their agency, and sent back in my SASE, said that if I ever wrote anything that actually had a plot, I could query again.

Ouch. I imagine you’ve all been there. We know the pain.

No plot? I had outlined, and poured over the plot points for too many hours to count. I knew I had a plot. (Of course I had a plot!) So, what was I doing wrong? Why couldn’t she even see it?

I’ve heard the same lament from countless writers over the years since then. As the rejections roll in, the vague phrases and reasons leave us bewildered and frustrated. We take classes, and join groups, and pour our hours into revisions.

But how can you know what a publisher wants?

At Chicken Scratch Books, we want to help writers become their best, so we can publish strong literature. How’s that for common sense?

We are a publisher that teaches. Teaching is a huge focus for us, both at the pre-acquisition stage (for writers), and at the post-publication stage (for readers). We provide online writing courses to help you write your best. Then we provide online Novel Study courses for the students of each book we publish.

We want to help you get published, and that means direct, specific instruction to guide you in improving your craft to acceptance worthy status.

The best way to reach that point is by focusing on character.

That first rejection I got? She told me my story didn’t have a plot. What it actually didn’t have was clear character motive.

It all comes back to character.

Here’s a short video where I explain why focusing on the weave of your character will fix just about every problem in a manuscript. I’ll talk about:

The 6 main elements of character
- How weaving the elements together builds a strong cord
- How shaping the cord in your own unique pattern creates a story

Click here to access the video Character is Everything.

As you look at the different strands of character in your own manuscript, and analyze what your weave looks like, you’ll probably find holes and gaps that need some attention.

Click here to access the PDF Character Weaving Checklist. This checklist will walk you through identifying the 6 main elements of character within your own story. Looking at your story from a broad, character perspective can help you organize your process and identify those gaps.

Want more?

Check out our courses at Chicken Scratch Writing School. Our free course Questions to Ask Your Manuscript: Character shows you a few more character tips and ways of looking at your weave. And coming soon is our first paid course – Clarity of Character, where we go into a lot of depth about each of these 6 main elements of character, and give you workable ideas of how to weave.

Our goal is to help you become the best writer you can.

Happy Writing!