Not sure if this is in the right place but... Who here has gotten a book published, and if so, do you have any advice to give to aspiring writers? Thanks in advance.
I believe you might find what you are looking for in these other areas: Publishers: (A discussion forum about how to get your work published and how to deal with publishers) You might also want to check here, which is a writing resource link list for grammar and other writing issues that might provide you answers to your question. Hope some of this helps.
Well, my main point for the thread was to see who in the forum has gotten published, not necessarily on how to get published, as I'm not that far into my book yet. But thanks anyway.
Kratos, I've had short fiction published, online, print editions and in anthologies. I've not really made too much money from it (ie, 1/2 cent a word or $0.25 per anthology sold royalties, or five dollars flat fee). I've written two novels. One is sitting on the managing editor's desk of a major SF/Fantasy publisher (it's been there a while...and may continue to be) up from slush pile. My second novel, I just got an email today from a smaller publisher to send the full manuscript based on the 3 chapters/synopsis proposal. Exciting news and while I remain hopeful, I recognize that both are still long shots. There are writers/novelists that do frequent this site that have had one or more novels published and have done pretty well. But you’ve been on this site a while, so I suspect you know who they are. And there are a fair number that have had short fiction published. That being said, although it helps to hear directly from those who have successfully been published, many here are pretty sharp, knowledgeable and if nothing else, are in contact with successful writers (and editors), and have picked up knowledge from them. I know I have. So what Ungood was suggesting was useful suggestion with respect to links. There are writers on this forum who are not as far along in the process of finding their novels published as I currently am, but that doesn't mean that their insight and advice isn’t useful. I try to share what I've learned while picking up some here, and on other forum sites. Also, advice--what works for one writer, doesn't necessarily work for another. You'll have to sift through and determine what works for you. All that being said, I will give some input from my limited experience: 1. You have to write. You have to complete projects, edit and polish them, and submit. While those projects are out, you write some more. One cannot succeed if one doesn’t write and doesn’t submit. 2. Writing is hard work, and it takes time to get it right (with the vast majority of writers). It's more than grammar and spelling. It's more than plot and character development. It's more than determination and not giving up. It's more than a little bit of luck. It's all of the above combined. 3. Things in publishing (the process) take time. Submissions, waiting for acceptances or rejections can take weeks, months, years. Be aware of that going into the process. 4. Have a thick skin. Be confident in your ability, but not so haughty or self-confident that you are closed to input. I've watched editors and agents offer direct advice to an aspiring writer on their novel, and the author comes back with "Yes, but..." or even "Rolls their eyes (yes, seen by those they just asked for input) and promptly ignore because they know more. Maybe you don't agree, but if you do disagree, do it properly and politely. 5. Be professional in all communications with writers, agents and editors. That includes, for example, contacting an editor who has had your short story on their desk for eight months and their guidelines indicate 3 months for a response. It includes a blog, badmouthing publishers, editors and other writers. These things can come back to bite you--and probably will if you stay in the field long. If something is a scam, that's one thing. If an editor lost your manuscript or sent a form rejection after a long wait--or wrote comments on the rejection that you don't agree with, that is another thing. Even being professional and civil on forums is important. While influential agents, major editors and sometimes big time authors don't visit a forum often...it happens…or they may know writers who do. And don’t forget editors from smaller venues. But beyond that, some of the writers on the site may make 'it' some day. You may make 'it' someday. Who might or will end up being supporters and spread the word about your work? Hope this answers your question. Terry
Yeah, it does. Thanks for the advice! I really want to be a writer, and I know that it's hard work, not everybody makes it, and don't do it for the money. I just can't think of anything else I want to do other than write, so I want to eventually be able to support a family with writing. That's my goal. Thanks a lot.
I've had 'a' poem published. Well, it has been accepted for publication and hasn't yet appeared in the magazine, but should be appearing in the next.... century I hope! lol! But my advice to you is the same as Terry's, but one things I would like to add. Receiving a rejection is not something that you should be disappointed with. It can give a bit of a blow at times, but, having a piece rejected can be really helpful at the same time. You get some amazing feedback (not all the time, but sometimes you do) and when you get a rejection, you have the opportunity to look at the piece and say "Well they rejected it, so I can either go over it again and see if anything needs improving, or I can submit it somewhere else and see what happens." I get rejected all the time with my poetry... not because it is not good, because some of it really is. But because the contents, or style, isn't what the publishers are after. So research the genre you write in and make sure when you submit to a publisher, you are submitting to the right place. (sometimes they say they publish horror, but they aren't always accepting horror... it can be a pita)
To add to what TWErvin 2 said I would like to share a story. When I was younger I used to sing. My freshman year was my first year in my high school choir and I did well while I was there. During UIL Iwent up for a solo that I had been practicing like crazy on. After I sang my song fully memorized the judge just stared at me mouth open and her pen had hit the desk. She asked me how many years I had been singing and I told her this was my first. She asked who I had trained under before and I said no one. My heart was racing and I knew I was going to state. She told me I had the most beutiful voice she had heard all day and had hit better alto notes then the females she had seen. ( I am a guy). She told me of all the years she had heard that song noone had sung it as well. She made a few marks on the paper and She thanked me for singing to her. The next week after Solo and Ensemble I got my critique. She had written things like too much decrescendo, too much power here, voice was a little breathy there. Compared to others in my class who had been judged by the same woman she barley wrote anything at all. One guy even got knocked for reading off sheet music, usually an automatic II rating. When my teacher read that I received a II he had a fit. All the others she had judged before me got I's (including the guy reading from music). She also had been much harder on them giving them pages to fix. On mine she left a note that I did not understand till I got out of highschool. Even though I was great and deserved to go to state she said she did not want to stunt my growth as a singer. She wanted to know that I wanted to go to state and that I deserved it. She said that she wanted me to work for it and even if I came back the next year as good as I was this year should give me a one just to see me again. Needless to say I quit the choir at the end of the year and never went back. My choir director would tell me that the lady looked for me at UIL events but I did not care. These days I wish I had met her challenge and never given up. So never stop doing something you love just because someone tells you that you are not ready yet. keep fighting for it and I believe that you will succeed in some way. I hope some people understand this and take something from it.
I would tend to agree since I do photography on the side too...you get a lot of rejections there too. The thing to remember is never lose your self-confidence and keep moving forward.
Who has been published? Perhaps this is a question that has been posed before, but who in this community has been published, and what sort of success have you obtained as a writer?
the best advice is the oldest: "Keep the day job!" because, sad to say, only a comparative handful of writers among the many millions of aspiring ones and even published ones ever reach that highest plateau of making a decent living at it... doesn't mean you shouldn't try, but only that you must be realistic and learn what you're up against...
Since my post earlier in this thread, I've had one of the mentioned novels published, five more short stories and three additional articles--none best sellers or anything to retire on (or quit my day job) . As Mammamaia said: I believe she right on target. Hang in there, write, polish, research and submit. You cannot succeed unless you finish projects and submit them. Terry
