Arcana • Issue #4
Hello! Welcome to Issue #4 of Arcana, a newsletter that examines the intersection of storytelling and the business of books. In these anxious and uncertain times, the tarot is determined to continue teaching us tough lessons. (This is, yet again, decidedly not the week for a “positive issue” of the newsletter.)
5 of Pentacles
So far in Arcana, we’ve confronted anxiety, destruction, and the frozen-in-place feeling that inevitably reaches us at some point in our publishing career. What does the 5 of Pentacles add to our list? Lack. Loneliness. Limitations.
The two figures on this card are bundled in rags, walking through the snow. They’re injured. They’re tired. Wecan see a beautiful stained-glass window behind them, but neither of the figures are looking in its direction. The warmth and glow offered by the window is seemingly completely out of reach to them, a drastically different reality to the one they’re surrounded by on the outside of the building.
Publishing can often feel like this. Like you’re standing on the outside, watching others achieve the things you so desperately want. You’ve done the work. You’ve written the book (or three). You’ve sent out query letters. You’ve built yourself a community of other writers with similar goals. On paper, you’ve done everything right. All the boxes are checked. And yet.
You can’t help but feel your goals are just out of reach as you scroll away on your phone and see post after post about others’ exciting publishing news. Your critique partners are getting representation offers. An influencer landed a book deal for an amount of money you can only dream about. A book that, in your opinion, isn’t very good shows up week after week on the bestseller lists. Despite your hard work and persistence, the only emails you’re receiving are rejections—or, even worse, no emails at all.
The 5 of Pentacles is brutally honest about this situation. It sucks. For most, there is real pain associated with “making it” in this industry. But, unfortunately, it is the card you’ve been dealt. So you need to work with what you have.
The most important, often over-looked part of this card is that the window is there. Help is within reach, but a single-minded focus of needing to persist through the bad times can stop us from seeing the opportunities available to us. It’s similar to the 8 of Swords, where the “stuck” feeling is a creation of our own mind. With the 5 of Pentacles, we’re not looking hard enough, outside of ourselves, to find the help we desperately need.
Like I mentioned earlier, other people can see the stained-glass window. It’s there. You just can’t see it when you’re wrapped up in certain circumstances. You’ll hear often in publishing that “it only takes one yes.” And that’s true. Your luck could change overnight. There’s no way to know. Which, if we’re being honest, is not fair. Doing all the work the way that you “should” does not guarantee success (however you want to define it). That truth stings.
Publishing is an isolating career. Most of us work independently, often in silence, and usually without immediate rewards. Instead of convincing yourself that “everyone is getting something I’m not,” consider where else you can turn to for guidance. Where and who can you ask for help?
The takeaway: Sometimes it’s ok to stop persisting through the difficult things that aren’t working for you. There might be a better way.
Let’s Talk About It
Recent topics influencing our industry and taking over conversations.
Publishers Weekly is now charging publishers for book reviews. To manage the number of books they receive for review, all titles submitted to Publishers Weekly for “review consideration” will incur a $25 fee. It has never been a guarantee that PW (or any other trade publication) will review an upcoming book, and that remains the case, even with this fee applied. They’ve outlined a few cost-saving measures for publishers—like a discounted rate if review considerations are purchased in bulk—but the reality is that this change is going to result in even fewer books being reviewed. Smaller publishers likely can’t afford the submission fee or, at the very least, will need to be selective about which books they do submit for review consideration. And while the bigger publishers won’t have as much difficulty adjusting their budgets to submit their books, I’m not confident they will actually do that. Like with everything to do with marketing, publishers only put money toward promoting a handful of books on their list. If they don’t think a PW review will help push more copies, then why would they bother with the fee just to have it considered?
Q: Do you think trade publications like Publishers Weekly should charge for book review considerations? How do you think this will impact the importance and expectation of book reviews for upcoming titles?
Upcoming Events
Based on the number of people who joined the waist list for the Query Letter Workshop, I’ve opened registration for a session in June. It will be last one for a little while, so make sure to sign up if you don’t want to miss out. These workshops include a live class, a critique of your query letter, and a Q&A session.
Lately…
📚: Beta Vulgaris by Margie Sarsfield
I’ve only just started reading, so I’ll tell you next time what I think…
📺: Pop Culture Jeopardy! (Prime Video)
I haven’t had much time for TV lately, but I’ve been watching an episode of this here and there to make me feel good about my useless pop culture knowledge.
🎶: Mayhem by Lady Gaga
The album is finally starting to grow on me. Also, her Coachella set was fantastic.
🎮: Pokémon TCG Pocket
I got jealous watching my brother-in-law open digital card packs the other day, so I’ve been back to collecting my own pocket monster cards. “Cutting” open the packs is so satisfying. Little Maria would be thrilled.
Arcana will return on the next full moon.
Are we sure the Five of Pentacles wasn’t upside down? I’d really prefer if it was upside down. 😉