Featured Writer on Wellness: Mark Reutlinger

When I first began writing novels, the most difficult emotional challenge was rejection.

I had recently retired from a law teaching career, during which I published several successful casebooks and legal treatises, gaining a reputation as a very good writer. I somehow assumed that kind of success and recognition would follow when I changed to writing novels.

Big mistake. It might have thirty years ago, but not today.

The Competition for the Few Available Publishing Contracts is Fierce

I sent the manuscript for my first novel, Made in China, to over a hundred agents, only to receive in return rejections, mostly form letters or postcards, with the occasional personal “no, thank you.” (I actually considered a personal rejection something of a victory!)

As I was to learn, millions of books are written each year, and both agents and publishers are inundated with query letters and manuscripts. At the same time, there’s been a major consolidation in the publishing industry, and in the bookselling market, online sellers have driven out most independent bookstores.

So the competition for the few available publishing contracts is fierce, and most submissions get short shrift.

The Greater the Angst from Rejections, the Greater the Elation from Acceptances

Now when a writer has spent months, and even years, creating a story, it becomes a very important part of their life. To have it rejected, especially by a form letter (or no letter at all, as has now become common) is a blow to one’s ego.

It doesn’t help the digestion any, either.

Of course, the flip side of all this is the elation I felt when one of my stories was finally accepted. The greater the angst from the rejections, I guess, the greater the elation from the acceptance.

In my mind, what had seemed destined for a well-deserved obscurity suddenly had all the makings of a New York Times bestseller.

Rejections Come with the Writing Territory

“Misery loves company.” I think the best therapy for the rejection of my written work was to meet other writers and learn I was far from unique in being rejected, especially when starting out.

It helped that my wife gave me a book called Rotten Rejections, with examples of editors’ rejections of well-known authors and their books, from Ambler to Yeats. (I don’t think there was a “Z” in it.)

A few examples:

• Norman Mailer’s The Deer Park (“This will set publishing back 25 years”)
• Joseph Heller’s Catch 22: (“I haven’t really the foggiest idea about what the man is trying to say”)
• Vladimir Nobokov’s Lolita (“To the public, it will be revolting. . . . I recommend it be buried under a stone for a thousand years”)
• H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds (“An endless nightmare”).

You get the idea.

Unless you’re Steven King or J.K. Rowling, rejection goes with the territory, and I’m always confident the next publisher will accept my manuscript. Or maybe the next. Or . . .

Set a Timer: When It Rings, Get Up from the Computer!

Probably the biggest physical difficulty is just sitting too long at the computer. It can be a pain, literally.

The simplest change I’ve made is to set a timer for 30-minute intervals, and when it rings to get up from the computer. Even better, I might do some simple exercises, or go for a walk outside—anything to get the blood circulating and muscles other than fingers in use.

Of course, I sometimes “cheat” and don’t get up when the timer goes off, but at least I feel guilty when I do that.

More broadly, I have many outside interests that take me away from the computer for long periods of time: tennis, music, crafts, etc.

In other words, the best way to avoid spending too much time sitting at the computer and writing is to have other, more active activities that pull you away.

Always Keep a Notebook and Pen Handy

I’d like to think I stay creative “no matter what.” I don’t, but what helps most is getting caught up in my story when I have a large block of time to devote to it. It also helps to work out a plot at times when I’m away from the computer.

It’s hard to be creative at a set time and place, as if one could turn the creativity faucet on and off at will. I get some of my best ideas when I’m walking, relaxing, or even going to sleep. My advice: Always keep a notebook and pen handy.

What ruins my creativity is the same thing that ruins my sleep: Worrying about something. It’s hard to concentrate on the fictional nuances of how Mrs. Kaplan will solve her latest murder case when also worrying about who will be elected President or how to avoid Covid-19. (Perhaps I could have Mrs. K discover that a presidential candidate deliberately sneezed on his opponent . . .)

And of course it doesn’t help to sit at the computer and worry about not feeling creative.

I guess I keep writing because I’ve been doing it most of my life, in one form or another, and it just seems to have become a necessary part of my routine. “I write, therefore I am,” as Descartes might have said. And when I have an idea for a story, I feel I not only have to write it, but I have to get it out to the world.

The Challenge with Any Kind of Book Marketing: How Effective Is It?

These days authors are expected to do most, if not all, of the marketing themselves, a lot of it on social media. I do relatively little on social media, beyond having a website and a periodic newsletter, and I recognize the tradeoff: Spend the time blogging and tweeting, or spend it writing.

That said, it’s been much easier when I’ve been published by a major (“Big Five”) publisher like Little, Brown or Random House, as a lot of the heavy lifting is done in-house. I do a fair bit of paid advertising. Although it’s seldom cost-effective, it does help sell books.

I also have business cards printed for each book. I carry them in my wallet and hand them out to friends, businesses, and any stranger willing to take one.

A significant challenge with any kind of marketing is determining how effective it is. How many books did a particular ad or review or interview actually sell? Of course, if sales double the day after an ad or media post appears, it likely was responsible for it. But it’s seldom that clear.

Even in a Busy Life, There are Opportunities for Creative Writing

Since I retired from law teaching, I’ve generally had the necessary time to write. Before that, any writing time I had was necessarily devoted to writing legal treatises, law review articles, exam questions, and the like.

I did, however, do my best to fit as much creativity into my legal writing as was possible. For example, I once asked my students to discuss all the possible torts (civil wrongs) and their defenses found in the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. (For all the non-lawyers out there, trespass, assault, and battery are just a few.)

So even in a busy generally uncreative life, there often are opportunities for creative writing to be found.

Advice for a Young Writer: Answer the Call

I would encourage that person to pursue their dream, but warn them about the realities that can sometimes be difficult to see, first and foremost the reality that relatively few people can actually earn a living as a writer.

Most of the writers I know (myself included) write for the love of it, with no real expectation of financial reward, and they would continue even if they never sold a single book. Of course, there are many who do quite well, but when you consider how many writers there are in the world (millions of books are written each year), the odds are steep.

Even those who are successful often have to wait many years before their talent is recognized and rewarded.

Artists and musicians are in much the same situation. My wife is an artist, and a very good one. She has had many successful shows in galleries, selling both wall art and jewelry. But if we had to survive on the proceeds of her artwork, it would have been a struggle.

I’m an amateur musician and play in a semi-professional concert band that includes many professional musicians. Many of them make or supplement their living by teaching music or in other professions. They play in the band just for the love of it.

All that being said, if a profession in writing, art, or music calls to a young person, they should answer the call, so long as they do so with their eyes open. And if, like me and so many others, they don’t wish to or cannot make a career of it, they absolutely should continue to write and to publish, or paint or play music, in whatever spare time they have.

It makes one’s life fuller, better balanced, and far more enjoyable.

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Mark Reutlinger is a Professor of Law Emeritus at Seattle University. He is the author of both cozy mysteries and political thrillers, as well as numerous works in the field of law. He is also a reviewer for the New York Journal of Books. He writes under both his own name and his pen name, M. R. Morgan.

Mark was born in San Francisco and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley, where he received the University Gold Medal for Scholarship. He and his wife Analee live in University Place, Washington.

When he isn’t writing, Mark enjoys biking, tennis, various crafts, and exotic cars. He is also a clarinetist with the Tacoma (WA) Concert Band.

For more information on Mark and his work, please see his website and M. R. Morgan website, or connect with him on Twitter and Goodreads.

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Murder with Strings Attached: Sometimes even the most carefully conceived burglary can take an unexpected turn.

Florence Palmer has her eye on concert violinist Aaron Levy’s priceless violin. Unfortunately, she finds it’s already been stolen. Her surprise doubles when the virtuoso she’d planned to burgle offers to hire her to help him steal it back. But they’re not the only ones looking for the missing violin.

When Flo inadvertently becomes the prime suspect in a case of murder, she and Aaron need to clear her name. Will they find the real killer and get the violin back to its rightful owner without anyone else, especially themselves, being killed?

Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and wherever books are sold.

Mrs. Kaplan and the Matzoh Ball of Death: Everyone knows that Rose Kaplan makes the best matzoh ball soup around—she’s a regular matzoh ball maven—so it’s no surprise at the Julius and Rebecca Cohen Home for Jewish Seniors when, once again, Mrs. K wins the honor of preparing the beloved dish for the Home’s seder on the first night of Passover.

But when Bertha Finkelstein is discovered facedown in her bowl of soup, her death puts a bit of a pall on the rest of the seder. And things go really meshugge when it comes out that Bertha choked on a diamond earring earlier stolen from resident Daisy Goldfarb. Suddenly Mrs. K is the prime suspect in the police investigation of both theft and murder.

Oy vey—it’s a recipe for disaster, unless Rose and her dear friend Ida can summon up the chutzpah to face down the police and solve the mystery themselves.

Available at Amazon and Black Opal Books.