Hello folks, I am new on here and new to writing. I have written my fair share of poetry, but am always afraid to to and get it published. I never feel its good enough and probably never will. Any who, the questions i have might seem silly to most of you but i figure if i have them, then maybe someone else does too. 1. Whats the right thing to do about the name on the book? Should it just be your name or a pen name? 2. How do you come up with a title? Is it just from something said in the book, or did you just think of it and thought it was perfect? 3. Should family and friends read it prior, and if so how much can you take from what they say to be helpful? 4. When the book is done, what is the easiest way to find a publisher? I wouldnt even know where to start with that. Thanks in advance for any tips from all of you. I look forward to talking to all of you.
Just to clarify - are you looking to publish a book of poetry, or do you have a different project in mind? (I don't know much about poetry, but it seems to be a very distinct market, so most of the strategies for novels or even short stories probably won't apply.)
I'm very new aswell, so I don't know how much help I can be, but I'll have a go at answering a couple before the more experienced members come along. 1. I suppose it depends on what you want. I sort of use a pen name, Percy is the name I'm known by for a few different things to distinguish myself. My birth name is David and I have met about 50 other Davids and Daves myself. That along with having a fairly common surname is why I felt the need to change it for some things I might get recognition for. I did acting up until I was in my late teens and it was my stage name for a couple of productions, I also currently volunteer as a tour guide in a local heritage centre that currently has other tour guides called Dave or David (Plus about 4 more in the past) so it is my tour guide name aswell. I don't so much use it as a pen name, but a pseudonym for a variety of things honestly just for egotistical reasons. I think whether you use a pen name or your own name is something you can only answer yourself. 2. I haven't got to the point of titling that many yet, but with the ones I have some titles jump out right away and I know it before I even start the story, but most of the time I wait until I've finished the first draft, read through it again and a title will jump out at me. Then it'll probably change as I'm editing it. I'm currently editing a short story I wrote about a week ago and the title has changed at least 4 times already and probably will again a few more times. I always try to ask myself "If the main theme or the main point of this story could be summed up in a few words, what would they be?" Sometimes that is something that is said in the book, sometimes it'll be a play on words, sometimes it'll just be something to catch the readers eye. 3. I have only ever shown family my writing once, and that was only because one of my cousins found out I had written a few things and asked me to write a story for her daughter who was 7 at the time. That was real pressure, especially since it was at a time when I was only really writing a few paragraphs here and there, or a couple of character breakdowns. But I did it, her daughter enjoyed it so that was a bit of a confidence boost. I would never show them a piece of writing solely for feedback though, family and friends can be biased. Nobody wants to tell someone they care about that something they have spent time on is shit however true that might be. Plus none of my family write at all, so they wouldn't really be much help. I have one close friend who writes a bit, but he writes in a completely different style to me so I think if I were to ask him for a critique we might clash a bit. That could be good in a way and it is possible that I might ask him for feedback when I've got a bit further with my novel. (I've hit a brick wall with that at the minute though, it's turned into a right mess so that might be a while yet. Just focusing on a few short stories now to try to get my mind in the right place before I continue.) So yeah, if you have friends or family members who do write then it might be good to ask them for advice or feedback as long as you bear in mind they may be slightly biased towards you. Even if they don't write and you just want their thoughts, it's completely up to you, just bear in mind they might just be telling you what you want to hear. 4. No idea, sorry. Definitely can't help you with that one. Hope that helps a little bit from one newbie to another, if not I'm sure others with more experience will be along soon enough.
Assuming it's a novel... 1. Your choice. There's no 'right' answer. 2. Depending on your publishing method, your working title may change by the time the book is published. Treat it as a marketing decision. 3. Someone should read it, for sure. Preferably lots of someones. But friends and family are generally considered less successful in this capacity. 4. See the basics at https://www.writingforums.org/threads/so-you-wrote-a-novel-and-want-to-get-it-published.148510/
Wow! Everyone is being so helpful. I cant tell you all how much i appreciate what everyone has said to me. I am still stuck on if I should use my name (Jeremy Corwin) or if i should use Sam Webb.... I guess only time will tell!
If you decide to write a book of poetry, look at some of the newer famous poets for inspiration on how to set up your book. Pen names are great, especially if you have a few novels/ a novel out and known about already, and want to branch into a different genre. A lot of authors use a different name for different Genre's so that fans don't automatically expect the same exact style of writing.
@BayView writes under a pseudonym, as does another published author here, @Laurin Kelly Honestly, both names you give here are fine, easy to pronounce from being read, which is more than I can say about my name, it's a very Irish (and let's put it this way, Aodh, a boy's name, is pronounced 'ee-ay') so I will more likely than not use a pseudonym if I do get published. Either way, happy writing!
