It's the "getting them an audience" part that's hard. But not impossible. My prior advice stands. Best of luck.
Writing is hard work? I find writing very fun even if I'm writing something I'm not into for example a science essay for school. Even though I don't enjoy science I will still write a 5 page essay anyways. I guess everyone has their own opinions, but to me writing is an art form that can never be perfected. There's always ways to tweak your writing to make it sound better and there's always ways to expand any writing pieces you currently you have. The only goal I have in mind when writing is that my writing makes other people happy. I guess that's just me though ._.
I think most of us enjoy the act of writing, at least some of the time or we wouldn't do it. I think quite a few of us also find parts where it feels more like hard work, but we want to pull through the tough bits so that we've produced something that is a cohesive whole. Goals can be fun too. A lot of people enjoy working hard to reach goals, but if you're using goals to pull you through the tough parts you've got to have the right sort of goals or they can end up working against you. Big long term goals are alright to have in the back of your mind, but you need some short term goals which are easily achievable at your current rate of progress. Making a finished book that is 'as good as you can make it' in eight months time seems like a problematic goal to me. It could be a moving target. You may very well keep finding ways to be able to make it better. It's pretty normal I hear. There's even plenty of published writers who continue to improve after they've been published. Honestly eight months doesn't seem all that long to me. I'm considering the state of your books right now and your lifestyle and that you've no experience of editing a book to final draft. That goal sounds too tough to be basing your happiness around. If you like to be goal orientated, I think you need short term achievable goals. Things like write 2000 words this week, (or however many you feel is sensible.) or rewrite chapter 4 by Friday. Focusing on small easy goals makes me feel like I'm making progress to my long term goal and feels fun and rewarding. Just focussing on a long term goal, makes things feel slow and like hard work. What form the goals take depends a bit on what you plan to do next. Do you plan to finish this current book and then ruthlessly weed out unnecessary subplots, chapters etc Do you have another plan? Or haven't you decided yet?
Don't give up, i had some of the most incoherent writing when i started here and now I've been able to get three poems published and win a poetry contest on here. I bet your writing is light years ahead of what i wrote in 2011.
As a first time writer trying to put together a novel I can say it is a journey. Right now I am only taking the first step but if you truly love the book you are writing, then nurture it, allow it to grow and develop as you would a child, into something that you are proud of. Do not think of it as effort and little reward, true passion does not seek a reward, it is a love, unrestrained and committed. Finish it knowing that your heart and soul has made it the best that you can make it, not for profit but for the knowledge that you have taken on a task that you have never before attempted and succeeded to your own expectations.
There is a definite element of hard work in writing, and far too often writers are portrayed as having words just flow effortlessly from their fingertips and new writers get discouraged when it doesn't happen for them. Like any task, if you enjoy doing it, it becomes easier and less of a burden, but you still have to put in the work. If the writing itself doesn't give you the amount of pleasure and reward needed to keep you going, then perhaps you need to consider whether you really want to be an author.
I've written one novel so far. Just one. 110,000 words. Took me a little over a year to accomplish. And it's garbage. Complete and total poo. I won't let anyone read it, not even my fiance. But, my goal wasn't to publish a book on my first try. I knew better than to expect that. I do, however, have the experience of one novel under my belt now, and that was the goal. Finish one. I'll begin my second one here in a month or so and I'm certainly trying to make it worlds better from the last one. And I'll keep going after the second one is done, until I'm published or die, whichever comes first. To make it as a writer you have to face down criticism, most of it your own. I know every rock band that ever made it will tell you the first songs they made, the first band they rolled with, was horrible. They'll tell you flat out, we sucked. But they kept at it, and now they're rockstars. Just...don't expect dope and girls from a published novel =P
I had a couple girls hit on me for my writing and i do not write or seek for any of that lol. I guess some people get impressed too easily cause i view my work as average.
Ah...the golden years of being an author. It was like being a loved movie star. Fishing in Key West. A weekend in Paris. The big house with servants. Sitting for lunch with your publisher who said, "I need a new book from you next week. Readers are breaking my doors down." The author smiles, "A week? You know me Joe. I'll have a new manuscript done in two days. But this time I'll want more money, and a movie contract. That young starlet who's been staying with me, what's her name? Veronica something...I told here she could have the lead role." The problem with those Golden Years...they never were. It was just a movie. The writer I love was a guy by the name of Erni Pyle. He was a great writer in the 30's, and 40's. For ten years he and his wife drove around the country in an old beat up car writing travel stories for two news papers. More times than not they had to sleep in their car, shower in the rain. and steal fruit from farmers trees. During the war (WW2) he wrote for the Stars & Strips. Erni wrote about dog faced Gi's. He ate with them, lived in their fox holes with them, and died with them. They don't make em like Erni any more.
It isn't a bad thing.....if it's done normally. Almost all of the occurrences were pretty awkward lol
"Writing is starting to feel like all effort and little reward" I think that's pretty much how it is most of the time. That's the business. Sales help.
My problem is the opposite. When I'm not doing research or fooling around on this site, all I want to do is write, and to hell with anything else. If I thought I could ever sell the blinking novel it wouldn't be a problem, but I seriously doubt it.
Love it. I would settle for half a mansion and a radio contract. I'm not greedy. I would have to politely decline the dames though, as I am married. Maybe a few broads would be alright.
I'm actually not sure. But I believe it was quite clearly specified in writer's contracts back then. Close to the section about how much 'dough' you would get and after the section where the publisher would warn you not not to 'get smart'. That was under the 'So you think you're a wise guy?' clause. It was all pretty technical.
