lisajane

You make writing novels for a bit of extra cash sound like working at McDonalds for a bit of extra cash.

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strangedaze

normally id giggle and go on a rail about how confident u r, but what the hell - ive never read anything youve written, so u might be right about your work being universally loved. regardless, id be willing to bet the barn (even tho i dont own one) on the hard part NOT being out of the way. the publishing world is a harsh mistress; unlike your writing, there are elements u have no control over that can frustrate. im sure maia, mike c, and others can share insight on that.

in terms of which agents, publishing houses, contests, journals, and so on to look into, i STRONGLY suggest turning your lens here:

http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/

in fact, im surprised nobodys mentioned it. if they have, well, it bears repeating. the personalized responses / 'insights' that u seek arent likely, especially here, where almost everyone is an amateur, but with some initiative the information can be right at your fingertips.

check out the site.

cheers.

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Mike C

If second hand vision will do... I've not published a novel, but work with a lot of writers who have to varying degrees of success from first timers to best-sellers.

If your book is all that you believe it to be (and I have no reason to doubt it), you need to acquire an agent. Start out by looking for books similar to your own, and finding who represents the authors (usually achieveable via google). Check those agents against Preditors & Editors, if all looks good, query them. Get advice on writing the best query letter you can, because it's at least as important as your first three chapters. Don't be afraid to query a whole bunch at the same time, they expect it. Make sure you follow submission guidelines, if they ask for 3 chapters, send 3 chapters. If they ask for 30 pages, send 30 pages, not 3 chapters.

If an agent asks to see more, have it ready to go. If they ask for an exclusive, (ie don't send the rest to any other agent) put a reasonable time limit on it.

Expect to get rejected a lot, and ignored more. It's part of the game. In some ways writing the novel is the easy part; you need to extend the same tenacity and determination it took to finish the book to seeing it published; the reason so many people end up self/vanity publishing is because they are too lazy or lack the will to see the job through. Make sure you aren't one of them. If the book us good enough, you WILL sell it.

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AlexanderCrane

All I said was, I'm confident in my ability to make art that people will really enjoy. Never said they'd buy it. However, my inuition and sense of reason are compelling me to follow through on this goal.

I don't need a metaphysical lesson on confidence and the slow agonizing egoic death of dissollutionment. Think of me as a brain that has a goal and requires certain information, and is always thankful for help. But, if you would like to have such a conversation, I'm very open for all kinds of interesting discussion.

All of your responses have been helpful, I will bookmark this conversation and use it as a reference point.

You guys rock, and I have no doubt you are all as or more talented than me. Perhaps I just run with my abilities more than how marketable they appear, which is always going to be in flux. The fulfillment I get from writing art from a joyful center, is constant. I will pay mind more to one than the other.

AlexanderCrane

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...ndid=153482543

Just came across this guy, he sent me a msg saying he would love to review my book if I or my publisher sent it to him.

So how you do interpret and play these situations. How much information should one give? Do I disempower myself if I don't present the work as if I were a publisher?

AlexanderCrane

Networking with the right people, and being able to see and work alongside of them, I don't think it should be too hard.

I've never taken a real crack at it, but I wouldn't ever judge how hard it is until I approach the situtation prepared.

I was a young boy when I declared I wanted to write. It was until a few years back I came back to that dream. But I found myself without any skills, or a disciplined mind which is needed to write clear stories with clear messages.

It has taken some time to build momentum and teach myself things. Obviously, I'm not done yet.

mammamaia

i wouldn't recommend sending work to anyone at 'my space'!... and you'd be foolish to pretend to be a publisher or to pretend your book was already published... what would that get you?... getting anyone to 'review' a book that isn't one yet, will not help you land either an agent or a publisher...

in trying to get published, the only 'right people' are agents and publishers and you can't 'network' with them...

'being able to see and work alongside of' a 'network' of other unpublished, aspiring authors won't make it any easier for you to get your work accepted by an agent or publisher... though, it can lead to your getting some tips on how to go about it, which is what we're doing our best to offer you here...

that's being made crystal clear...

just accept the fact that it IS 'hard'... very hard... and take the good advice that's being offered you here on how to prepare for it and DO it...

some of that seems to still be in effect, sorry to say, as witness the unclear state of your posts... if your book that you hope to have published is written in the same round-about, fuzzy style as your posts, i'd guarantee it'll either be rejected outright, or you'll be counseled to clean it up and clarify the muddled rhetoric before resubmitting...

the good news is you seem open to counsel and are willing to keep learning... i wish you only the best...

love and hugs, maia

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AlexanderCrane

Not even a 'go get um tiger'?

It isn't my fault people presume that I write novels.

Perhaps the fuzziness is a lack of context in which to judge my statements, I don't think or communicate like a lot of people, from what I've observed. It has its benefits and drawbacks, I suppose.

I appriciate the help so far, and if I have any more I'll be sure to pose them here.

Mike C

No, but you disempower yourself if you present yourself as a liar, which is the alternative. And I strongly echo what Maia says - don't send it to anyone on myspace.

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AlexanderCrane

I do various media of art, so I have my own company. Although, I've not done anything big because my printer is less than pro quality. Everything else I plan on having professionally pressed. I do all kinds of art under the company I just created Crane Publishing. But I haven't done anything with it yet I would call professional. So this is one of the things perhaps which inspired the question.

'Stay away from myspace', a definitive statement. I will be very weary of myspace for now, do you have anything to add? Are there any benefits to myspace. Do certain crowds just frown upon it?

Mike C

Ah... self publishing. If you'd said that at the outset, I'm sure the advice would have been very different.

The importance of myspace has been over-inflated. Use it to sell, never to buy. Look on it as another marketing tool, not somewhere to find professional reviewers.

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AlexanderCrane

Gotcha.

Well you see my shaky foundation here. I honestly didn't know how to represent myself.

I've been researching the benefits and disadvantages of self publishing and corporate publishing.

Do you guys have any other great resources to recommend? If you guys had to make a million dollars and someone's life depended on it, what would you do? I'm not in any such situation, but for the sake of probing your brains for information you can humor my device.

This guy pm'd me too, which is another reason why I was being cautious. You never know if people are just trying to do their thing or hinder you from doing yours.

SeattleCPA

I've said this before other places, but one of the things you should consider is what the press release for your book will look like. So go to book publisher web sites selling the sort of title that you're thinking of, grab some press releases they're using, and see how you could/would write up your book to promote it.

This seems a little backward, but your publisher needs to be able to make your title stand out in a field that numbers thousands and thousands of new titles. Many titles are from established writers. You have to have an angle, a unique slant, something that'll make your title stand out.

BTW, a deceptively close conceptual thing is having an audience that already exists. No offense to Julie Andrews of Mary Popkins fame (er, perhaps my first crush?) but she doesn't have to be that good a writer. Nor does Madonna or any other celebrity who's decided that since they can string together 100 words, they can write a children's book. Those people get published because they can appear on Larry King, tout their new book, and help the publisher sell copies.

My final comment about this (er, for now). I didn't understand this very well for about the 100 books I wrote. But after I ran a little publishing house for a while I did, and I always said to myself that any writer who could come up understanding what the press release should look like...any writer who could come in with an audience to whom a book could be promoted... that that writer would be published...

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AlexanderCrane

Well, I will go out on a limb as usual to say that I have written such a piece.

So I'll act on your advice and research the press release. I'm confident that investing energy into this book will yeild results.

I'll let you know what I find out, and maybe you can bounce a few more ideas off me. Thanks.

mammamaia

i didn't assume such, so i hope that didn't refer to my post which preceded this one of yours..

no, you don't... and the odd way you word things makes understanding what you mean hard to impossible... so, i'd have to say it has way more drawbacks than benefits, in re your writings being published by a traditional [=paying] publisher...

holy toledo, kiddo!... those 2 dummies books alone must've made you a bundle... at least i hope they did...

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