So be honest, i read on here people want to publish writing and the such. I wish them all the best of luck. How hard is it to actually get publishe, i mean hit the big time like stephen king, or terry brooks,, ect. ect. ect. Like the lady that did harry potter, is that just a freak thing, or does it happen all the time that a no name author makes the big time. On average would you say 1 in 10,000 author's make it big. jim
I'd say less. It is ridiculously hard (verging on impossible) to make it big in the sense that you can live off your creative writing, in any standard of comfort. Sorry.
WOW that difficult, i thought it would be hard, but you make it sound like im beter of playing the lottery
Nah, writing is more fulfilling, and costs less It's not that it's so hard to get published, it's that it's hard to hit the big money. You can, with some perseverence and talent, get your short stories published in magazines. Novels are harder work. The getting published is hard, but possible if you're dedicated to it. I'm just asaying don't bank on making your fortune from it.
The odds of being successful like Stephen King or Terry Brooks? While there is a definite "luck factor" involved, talent, skill, and perseverance count for more than luck, I think. All the luck in the world won't make a difference if the writing is anywhere from substandard to completely pathetic (unless one happens to be a celebrity or the like). It (being successfully published such that one can not only live on the income from advances and royalties and even subsidiary rights…but live pretty darn well) does not happen all that often, but it does occasionally happen. I've read that between 0.1% and 3% of manuscripts ever submitted reach publication. I think the spread is due to the "definition” of published (self or even vanity published for example). But what percent of those published are the Kings or Clancys? Just consider some of the major fantasy publishers that still accept unsolicited manuscripts sometimes get more than 1,000 submissions in a month. How many books do they publish in a month? How many of those slots are taken by established authors with that house? Yes, the odds are very steep for making it big time. With a smaller house, not so steep, but still no "walk in the park" and highly competitive. One small to midsized house that has two 3 week submission periods each year gets around 400 submissions in each of those short spans. That doesn’t count the authors that they've already published who submit new works for consideration outside of that timeframe. Still, the odds are undoubtedly zero if one doesn't complete a manuscript, properly revise and edit, and actually submit it to a proper market according to the requested guidelines—and then write another while waiting for positive results on the first. Terry
Everything said above is true but if authors think that they have no chance in "making it" then it won't happen for them. Put yourself out there and take a chance fellow writers! You can be the next great author!
Just make sure to spread a wide net. You have an idea for a childrens story, write up a finished manuscript and send it to a childrens publisher. Sci-fi same thing. Romance why not. If you are willing and able to spread out rather then focus on a single market at least initially you stand a better chance of getting published, which will make getting recognized a whole lot easier.
I thought maybe I was doing the wrong thing by not focusing on one genre. My stories are all over the place. Horror, thriller, Sci-Fi, GF, YA and a couple of others. I'm kind of trying to weed out which one I'm best at. Would there be specific genre's that are easier to get published in?
When your beginning, I think its best to try all different kinds of genres and publishers. Weed out what you're not good at, and keep sending out manuscripts all over. Once you have been published, then you can focus more. Until then don't shut any doors. Romance I believe is the easiest to get published in. Not a lot of money involved but Romance is one of the few publishing markets that isn't losing readers.
