I've been trying to write a book for seven years now. Nobody has seen the drafts, not even my wife. In fact, I have panic attacks about somebody in my family seeing my writings. They might think I'm some kind of lunatic or something were they to read it. And since my book revolves around a dysfunctional family, many in my family would take personal offense. Especially since much of it is based on true events in my life. People would recognize themselves in the book and probably sue me!
The vast majority of books published fail miserably. But some hit the lottery such as J.K. Rowling, Tom Clancy and Stephen King. All three of those writers were regular people like most of us. None of those three have advanced degrees - elite members of academia. But they struck a chord and have made themselves a part of our popular culture. There are many others like them. Ken Follet, John Grisham and Khaled Hosseini just to name a few who made it big.
So I'm sure there are a few published writers here on Free Republic. How do you go about getting published? Do you just send in manuscripts to publishers or get an agent first? What can you reasonably expect in a book deal? What kind of advances? What kind of royalty schedule?
And above all, aren't we all insane? People who spend hours and hours writing are just not right in the head. Of course, that would include me. Thousands of pages written in the past 20 years and yet nothing published except what I write here on Free Republic.
Sam, you write good. Now you need to research good about getting published. I believe there are published book writers here, let’s hope one of them shows up. If not, get a leg up. From what I remember, you need to get an agent first. It’s not easy either, they get thousands of submissions, just like publishers. (Look up the sad story of John Kennedy Toole.) But some agents, I’ve heard, actually solicit submissions. I always read stories and interviews of writers in the newspaper, and what strikes me is that many of them get a leg through the door by taking writing classes or workshops and getting connections to agents through the instructors who like their work.
I like true crime stories. I’ve never published anything but I did a website about one:
http://home.earthlink.net/~chicago1946/
Yep, whiny article, but really good stories in this thread...
Kudos to you published and trying-to-get-published types!
I’ve been writing a fantasy story for the past few years. I’ve finished the draft of the first book and charged headlong into the next one. I admit I’ve been afraid to try to get anything published until everything is written, as I have a full-time job and I don’t know how long it will take. Aside from finding time to write, for me the struggle has been getting anyone to read it for the sake of getting some feedback. I hate writing in a vacuum. How do the other writers on the board deal with this?
Fascinating thread about book writing.
Worth a perusal and a bookmark to see who all the writers that FR can claim.
Writing anything is just like a real job.
I recently finished reading "The Broker" by John Grisham and, I swear, I wanted to overdose on heroin by the time I reached the end. It was horrible.
Yesterday I completed Marcus Lattrell's "Lone Survivor" (non-fiction) and hated that it ended. It had a profound message and impact.
Books are important to the reader, whether they make the author rich or not. Write for them.
The vast majority of books do not fail miserably. Their authors do. I do publishing and marketing consulting for authors and some of the biggest hurdles that I have found with many authors is their inability to realize that a successful book is 25% writing it and 75% promoting it. If you can’t stand up in front of 10, 100 or 1,000...if you can’t spit out an intelligent sentence on the set of a live national TV program (let alone a local cable production), go rob banks if you’re looking for recognition and a couple of bucks.
Building a platform is also important. Who’s going to buy the book of an unknown author? You need to establish credentials long before your first book. Write some articles for small magazines and get them published. Use that experience to move on to magazines and newspapers with bigger audiences. Build a platform, long before you write your first book.
Subject matter is important too. The “Field of Dreams” approach seldom works. Explore and understand who your audience might be. Look for similar books on Amazon. Sometimes you might mind find that your book is so “unique” that no one has ever done it before. On the other hand, the real reason might be because you’re the ONLY one interested in the subject. Sometimes you’ll find 500 books on a subject-—Chicago history-—for instance. That doesn’t mean, however, that the subject has been overdone. If you can find a different angle, maybe a unique perspective that no one else has done, you might have something.
Try ghostwriting. I’ve put words in the mouths of a number of politicians and wannabes too, some mentioned on FR. “Their” columns, blog entries or radio spots come out and I collect a check. No one knows it’s my words and I don’t care. They look good and I make another mortgage payment.
And finally, realize that a book is merely a means to an end. Standard industry royalties will never make you rich; lectures and seminars might. This week, I made more money from lectures than if I had sold 2,000 books this week. Heck, I even do consulting on different avenues of approach for getting a book published. Books are a means to an end.
Working on my seventh book, I’ve also decided to grab the bull by the horns; I going to self-publish. Not that stupid POD stuff, but an honest-to-God self-publishing effort. I’m talking to printers, lining up a distributor and I’ll be contacting every media person who ever wrote a positive review about one of my books or needed some info for a story (”Please. I’m almost on deadline!”). It’s payback time.
Writing books and getting them published falls under being a business, and until budding authors realize this, they’ll always be disappointed.
Geez, the people in this article are borderline mental cases. Do they write just to avoid having a real job?
Sam, I assume that you have a normal job?
I have the same questions.
read later
Ouch!!! At least FreeRepublic is a double-wide sitting in a nice spot. ;)
Authors are like professional athletes. Successful ones are paid large sums of money to do what the rest of us gladly do for free. But for every successful major league ball player making the serious money, there are a thousand who never made the big time.
It is the nature of the beast. So you do what you want and follow your dream. Maybe you make it, and maybe you don’t. But if you have done it right, you have a good time along the way.
Let me echo the sentiment of some other posters on here. Just finish the book and go for it. If you get it published, I’d be happy to go out and buy it. I happen to be a notorious book addict.
As for authors incorporating their own experiences into novels, that is the seed of all creation. I always think of William Styron (God rest his soul) and one of the books he wrote that moved me deeply; Sophie’s Choice. He met a woman in an apartment building he lived in and his brief encounter(s) with her were the life force that began “Sophie.” I love that.
God bless and don’t get discouraged!
Woe is the author. Snif.
If you don't know people in the industry or have an in with someone and you can get an agent, get one. Be warned, shop for your agent carefully. Make sure they work in the genre you're trying to get into and make sure you like them and that their style suits you. Some agents are hand-holders and back-patters, some are business only. My wife loves her agent, but rarely has contact with her outside of business dealings. She doesn't call to see how things are going or check in, she doesn't call a month before deadline to make sure everything is on schedule or read during the writing process and offer feedback. If you need that, make sure you get it.
Most unsolicited manuscripts get round-filed or are passed on to "readers" who skim manuscripts for the editors and try to pick out the ones they think have promise. Many readers are part-time or college kids and my wife has told me that if they don't like the query letter the manuscript goes in the trash without another look. As an example, when my wife was an editor the lines she was responsible for published 12 books per month. With the responsibility of overseeing and publishing 12 books per month, how many unsolicited manuscripts do you think she read? An agent can put your book in an editors's hands.
Forget about money, you won't make any initially. Unless there is a bidding war for your manuscript you'll be lucky to make enough to survive. Advances are half up front, half upon acceptance, which can mean anything from the day they receive the completed manuscript to when you complete revisions, which can be months later. Royalties are usually paid twice per year, but don't expect much unless the book is a big seller.
Most importantly, you're not crazy. I wish I could do it. If you can make a living at it (or don't have to) it's a great lifestyle, you can live anywhere, set your own schedule and, if lucky, make a nice living. My wife has known she wanted to be a writer since she was a child. If you do it for any reason other than the love of writing or because you have a burning, obsessive need to I would discourage you, but otherwise go for it.
If you or anyone else have specific questions that you think my wife could help with, just Freep mail me and I'll pass it along.