Who Are You?

Watching THE WHO at the half time of the Super Bowl, I was reminded of several conversations I've had recently via email/phone/letter with various editors.

Two weeks ago, I received a book proposal rejection from an old editorial voice at JW & Sons in New York. The editor dropped me an email to say that the publisher was not interested in my proposal--a unique historical book that I have been working on for seven years. "While you have demonstrated in the proposal that you can certainly write this book," she wrote, "I'm afraid that you are best known as a health and fitness writer."

Health and Fitness? What the heck! Where did this come from? Sure, I've written a great deal on health-related issues, especially breast cancer, and I've had my fair share of articles published in fitness and health magazines, but . . . Health and Fitness?

As crazy as it sounds, I've also had editors who have rejected some of my health and fitness proposals based on the assumption that I am principally a "spiritual or religious writer" or even a "niche author." I've also been pegged as a "humor writer" at times, or a "youth ministry author". It's amazing how easily writers get pigeon-holed, and how quickly.

I also recall a few months back when, after submitting one of my mystery stories to a magazine editor, she wrote back with a terse, "Why not show me some more of your science fiction?"

The fact is I do write, and have written, in all of these genres and more. All are accurate about me. I write health and fitness. I write spiritual and religious (even pastoral, adolescent, satirical and Biblical in theme). I write memoir. I also write science fiction, mystery, romantic, and mainstream. I have book proposals in my arsenal that range from nutty-insane to, I hope, insightful, historical, practical, spiritual, and biographical. I write what moves me . . . in the moment, in the day, in the week.

Still, as one of my long-lost literary agents once asked me: "Who are you? What type of work do you want to be known by?"

My answer: just a good writer. What's wrong with that?