by Anne R. Allen
A lot of the problems new novelists and memoirists encounter stem from one thing.
I see their plaintive posts and emails all the time.
- “I self-published my novel last year and promoted it free with a Bookbub ad, but after the freebie run, I’ve only sold a handful of books.”
- “I’ve written a memoir and I’ve been querying agents, but get nothing but rejections, so I’ve decided to self-publish. A publisher has approached me. Is $12000 the right amount to pay for publishing? They say marketing will cost even more. But you have to spend money to make money, right?”
- “I’m working on a novel. I plan to self-publish it next summer. I’ve bought a domain name for my title, TheWindsweptHeart.net, but now people tell me my website should have my name in the domain. Do I have to buy a new domain name?”
- “The agent of my dreams just rejected my full manuscript. I’ve had it with writing. I’ve devoted five years of my life to this book and nobody wants it. I don’t have the money to self-publish, so I’m going to cut my losses and quit. I’ll never write another word.”
- “I having been finish my memoir. You find for me agent to publish. I need money now.”
All these people have made the same mistake: they’ve put all their emotional eggs in that one basket: THE BOOK.
They all want to publish THE BOOK right away instead of writing other stuff: another book, short stories, creative nonfiction essays, blogposts.
Here’s the thing: writing that first book is just the beginning. You need to BUILD INVENTORY before you set up shop.
One-Book Wonders
Yes, some famous writers only published one book. To Kill a Mockingbird and Gone with the Wind were one-hit wonders that made their authors rich and famous.
But they were published a long time ago. The publishing world has changed. The publishing industry is now looking for a brand rather than a title—a brand that represents a whole lot of books. They don’t want to put a huge marketing budget into an author who will fizzle after one book.
Readers are the same. If they love your characters, they’re going to want to see more of them.
That’s true of memoirs too. A good memoirist has lots of stories to tell. Look at David Sedaris.
I realized recently that I’m that kind of consumer, too—both with books and my Netflix choices. I almost always choose book in a series or a TV series that has more than one season. Getting all involved with characters who disappear after one book or one season seems like a waste of time these days.
Build Inventory Before Opening Your Business.
Sad writers # 1 and #2 above were both putting big money into their first books when they should have been writing more.
#1 was following the current advice to buy ads in bargain newsletters, but the point of those ads isn’t to sell the bargain or free book. It’s about selling your backlist. If you don’t have other books, they’re a waste of time and money.
#2 was about to be fleeced by some unscrupulous, overpriced “self publishing assistant.”
Both #1 and #2 should have been putting their energy into writing more books, not publishing and selling the first one.
Ditto #3. She bought her domain name without any thought to her future career. She’s heading for the same catastrophes as #1 and #2.
Sad writer #4 had made a common mistake: querying with only one book in your portfolio. Agent Janet Reid suggests writing and polishing at least two books before you start the query process: “After you’ve written your first novel; you wait, write a second, revise, then query.” (But only query one book at a time.)
It’s not only about holding off until you can give that first book an extra polish. It’s that writers need to take the time to educate themselves about the publishing industry before they try to join it.
Look at poor writer #5. He thought that contacting a random author (me) is the way to get representation and a book contract. If he’d spent a little more time Googling “how to get published” instead of “published authors on Facebook” he might have got a career launched by now. (There is a How to Get your Book Published page on this blog.)
The way you get that career on the road is by networking and entering the marketplace: publish short stories, get into anthologies, or start a blog. And write that next book.
Take the time to build inventory. You’re opening a business. You can’t do it with only one thing to sell.
Why New Novelists and Memorists Jump the Gun.
Unprofessional gun-jumpers waste all our time, frustrate themselves and overstuff the slushpile—or publish inferior and/or under-promoted books, ending careers before they start.
But I do understand. There are a whole lot of reasons why new novelists and memorists are eager to get published.
You’ve got the EXTERNAL PRESSURE:
- Mom, who thinks the fact you’ve written 80,000 words of anything is so noteworthy she’s already composed the press releases.
- Your significant other, who wants to know when exactly his/her years of sharing you with that damned manuscript are going to start paying a few bills.
- Friends, who are getting kind of embarrassed for you, when you keep telling them you’re a writer but have nothing to show for it. How long can it take to write a book anyway? They can type 55 words a minute!
- The critique group, who are so tired of helping you revise that WIP …AGAIN, they’re screaming “Send it! Away! Immediately!”
And the INTERNAL PRESSURE:
- Your battered self-esteem: How many more years can you take those eye-rolls you get every time you tell somebody at a party you’re “pre-published,” and you’re only delivering pizzas until you make it as a writer?
- Artistic insecurity: You won’t REALLY know you have talent unless you’re validated by the industry, right?
- Financial insecurity: It’s tough to pay off the loans for the MFA when the only paying writing gig you’ve had since you got the degree is updating the menu for your brother-in-law’s fish and chips place.
- Your muse, who says: “This is some f*&%ing amazing s#%t, man! The world totally needs this book!” (What? A muse can’t be a stoner dude?)
The Voice that Matters
The trick is learning to ignore those voices. Instead we have to learn to listen for that small inner voice that finally says:
- “I’ve got a couple of polished, print-ready books that will stand up to the snarkiest reviewer.”
- “My ego is enough under control that I’m willing to rewrite again for my agent (even though she’s dead wrong.) Then again for my editor (even though he looks maybe twelve years old and the last book he read probably had pop-ups in it.) And I will not threaten anyone with homicide when they put a shirtless man on the cover of my prequel to The Great Gatsby.”
- “I’m a professional. I know all about how the publishing industry works and I’m ready to turn out two books a year, write for blogs and magazines, promote my work, and keep up with book marketing trends.”
The Best Way to Combat the “Can’t Sell my Book Blues”
There are some things you can do besides lying in bed bingeing on Oreos and I Love Lucy reruns.
Publish smaller pieces.
Have a memoir about nursing a child with cancer? Take out some excerpts and look for inspirational anthologies, medical blogs and journals where you can submit them.
Do you write Romantic Suspense set in a vacation destination? Travel magazines and in-flight journals would be great venues for articles about those destinations.
Building an audience first is essential for publishing a nonfiction book and it helps a lot with fiction, too. You can do that by writing for magazines and anthologies.
Consider that Your First Book May be a “Practice Novel”
The sad truth is that most professional writers have at least one “practice” novel in a drawer somewhere that will never see the light of day. Why? Because we learned to be better writers with subsequent books.
Many beginning novelists and memoirists find we’ve bitten off more than we can chew with our first novels. We’ve tried to solve all the world’s problems with our fledgling author skills, when instead we should have been aiming for making our own block a little nicer.
I wrote a whole blogpost on the practice novel back on 2017. Remember no writing is wasted. You can mine that thing for short stories and characters and blogposts for years.
Start a blog.
Have a military memoir or thriller set in wartime? A blog about military memorabilia or true war stories will attract the very audience you want for your book.
Write epic fantasy? Blog about the great fantasy books and films and their authors and stars. Or blog about forgotten and overlooked books in your genre, like William L. Hahn.
Write SciFi?—Review the latest films and TV shows in the genre like Alex J. Cavanaugh.
For more on this, see my post: what should an author blog about? And, ahem, I wrote a bestselling book on the subject: The Author Blog: Easy Blogging for Busy Authors.
Network with other authors in your genre or subgenre.
Yes, who you know is important. Not because they will critique your work or find you an agent. (Please don’t ask!) But if you make friends with published authors in your genre, maybe you can guest blog for them, join in anthologies, boxed sets or blog hops, and get advice that will save you from scammers.
Getting into anthologies is a great way to build your platform, and networking is the best way to find out about contests and publications looking for your genre.
Read, read, read
This is true of any genre, but memoirists especially need to read bestselling books in their genre to see what successful authors do to draw in and keep their audiences. I see way too many unpublished memoirs that show a lack of knowledge of what a memoir is and how to structure them to keep the interest of the reader. Remember a memoir, even though it’s nonfiction, must entertain as well as inform.
And new novelists and memorists alike need to read the new books coming out in their genres. I know I read too many classic mysteries and not enough contemporary ones when I was starting out as a mystery author.
These are mistakes that a lot of new writers make. But you don’t have to. 🙂
by Anne R. Allen (@annerallen) March 8, 2020
What about you, scriveners? Did you try to start your writing career with only one book? Did you feel external or internal pressure to do so? Do you have a “practice novel” in your personal archives.
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Thank you for mentioning me! (And yes, I have three science fiction movie reviews tomorrow.)
Writing shorter fiction or taking small pieces of a whole or an excerpt and finding markets for that is smart. I know several authors who have made a career of short stories and such, and several went on to whole novels with agents.
Don’t rush it, folks. Enjoy your free writing time now.
Alex–Thanks for bringing up one thing I forgot to mention! “Enjoy your free writing time now.” Pre-publication is the most fun, free time for exploring your talents and writing to please nobody but yourself. It’s a luxurious time–don’t rush to end it!
Thanks for another fine post. I’ve always counted myself lucky that I seem o simply enjoy writing — even if it never gets out to the world. Would I like my novel-length work to be out in the world? Absolutely. At this point, though, I’ve got a couple dozen short stories out there, an article or three, and a steaming heap of blogposts. Here’s hoping I’ll soon have a novel out there being read.
CS–We really need to enjoy the process, don’t we? Writing a book to get it “out there” and “over with” is not the way to a writing career. But you’ve paid your dues. Sounds like you’re due for novel publication!
Happy Sunday, Anne. I heard some advice once – can’t remember from who (might have been myself) – that said, “If you haven’t made the mistake, then you haven’t done the work”. There’s truth to that but, fortunately, today’s upstart writers have so much information available to help them understand and avoid those time-consuming and gut-wrenching boners. A good example of learning from others is your piece last week about avoiding the crappy advice new authors get.
Everyone has to start with the first book. Most of those might belong at the back of the bottom drawer but it’s like you say – keep at it, because practice makes perfection possible. I put out a post sometime back titled The Tipping Point For Authors. I sent a questionnaire to a dozen noteworthy crime thriller writers about what point things clicked for them. Each came back with the same thing – multiple books put out with persistence. The average number was 10 with the lowest at 6 and one tenacious mother who had around 20 done by the time they got traction. Like Alex just said, “Don’t rush it, folks!”
Garry–That study you did does prove what I’m saying here: a professional writer needs inventory. I’ve heard different statistics, but I think the average writer has at least 5 books out before they get real traction. That mom who published 20 before she found her audience was indeed a persister!
All excellent points! Thanks, Anne. Want to add that a “series” does not have to be the same characters in each book. Can also be the same (or similar) genre or setting. For example, Alan Furst’s excellent historical spy novels set in Europe in the years just as WWII is about to start. Each book is a standalone. Can also think of Stephen King, John LeCarré, Ursula LeGuin who wrote mostly standalones but linked by period, genre or setting.
As to (so-far) one season TV, I want to bring your attention to Giri/Haji (Duty/Shame) on Netflix. By producers of Chernobyl, set in Tokyo/London. Yakuza thugs & bosses at war, soulful, conflicted detective, alienated female cop, OTT London rent boy, plus romance and deadpan humor. Definitely not the SOS. IMO, a must-see. Brilliant and original.
https://www.netflix.com/Title/80190519
Ruth–You’re right that a body of work doesn’t have to contain a series with the same characters. Many great writers composed a series of stand-alones. But they do have things in common that make a reader want to come back for more. With Stephen King, his recurring “character” may be his Maine settings.
I hadn’t heard of that Netflix series. Thanks for the heads-up! I’ll check it out.
and I’m testing again.
A shout-out from Anne R. Allen! No wonder I can’t get my feet to touch the floor this afternoon. What a pick-me-up!
The more I read your wise weekly words about what the pros have to be able to do, the more comfortable I get with relative anonymity… I accidentally followed some of this advice, but I don’t think I’ll ever be man enough to deal with an agent who wants me to completely change it. Pre-pubescent editors, I’ll cross that bridge; but a lot of self-pub, I’d say, is getting the critique and the meaningful reinforcement you need to know when it’s good and ready. Whether or not YOU are good and ready!
Will–Some of us aren’t the kind of artists who can trendify our work to fit the latest “wants” of the Big 5. I had an agent who wanted me to totally rewrite The Gatsby Game to take out the parts about David Whiting. His mysterious death was the reason I wrote the book. No thanks.
But if you’ve got the right editor, either freelance or in-house, they “get” you and only try to make your work the best it can be, not what a Big 5 editor happens to be looking for this week.
First novelists can’t always tell the difference between a good edit and a bad one, and that can drive them to do silly things, like publish a book before its time. Best solution? Write more novels.
Sadly, the first book I self-pubbed (via a vanity press. Yah I know, I know), should’ve been buried deep into a pile of concrete and left there. But as they say, live and learn. And learn. And learn. And learn. And learn.
Sadly, right now I’m taking a self imposed writing break while I try to get the various issues in my life resolved to my satisfaction.
G.B. You are not alone. There would be no vanity presses if new authors didn’t have such strong pressure to get that book “out there.” But as Garry said above, “if you haven’t made the mistakes, you haven’t done the work.” We learn by our mistakes.
G.B., I’m curious why you regretted self-pubbing that book. Do you feel that it hurt your reputation?
Excellent advice, Anne! I am your model case. I had 24 short stories published, and over 100 humour columns before I tried to sell a novel. And it was my third novel that sold. The publisher told me that having those short publications put me at the top of his reading pile. I also happen to know it made me a MUCH better writer 🙂
Melodie–Like so many other successful, trad-pubbed authors, you paid your dues first and really learned your craft. It still meant your first novel (and second) didn’t make it, but you persisted. That’s the key, isn’t it?
Anne,
Thanks for the non-stop nuggets of wisdom.
I have just finished writing a second book–a memoir about my time in federal law enforcement (FBI and DOJ). Time to polish it and cast about for a publisher.
However, I’m taking your advice–I’m not in a hurry and hope to begin reading some other authors who have recently sent me their books. Plus, I will take your words (and those of Alex) to heart and continue writing short stories. I thank my lucky stars I found your blog site and cannot imagine what this experience would be like without your sage advice and the erudite comments of your audience.
Ken Strange
@strangetemplars
Ken–Congratulations!! Following one memoir up with another is exactly what you should be doing. And this is the right time to be researching “comp titles” and read everything similar to your book that you can get your hands on. Your final rewrite will be great!
The internal pressure is so strong. And yes, my first novel was crap. So where my first twelve stories. All I can do is keep trying.
Ingmar–All any of us can do is keep trying. 🙂 We can also keep learning. There are still lots of things I need to work on and I’ve been at this for over 30 years. Keep at it and you’ll only get better.
Great advice, especially cues for blogging to polish your form and drive discoverability. That’s actionable advice for all of us, not just for new authors. And who knows where it can lead?!
Carmen–That is so true! Blogging can lead to all sorts of exciting career opportunities!
Thanks for the good advice here. I hope some day to be one of those writers that actually has a novel or five. Right now I’m still in the “writing smaller stuff” phase (short stories, creative nonfiction, microfiction, humor pieces, etc.), honing my skills. Oh and my muse is 100% a stoner dude who tells me stuff like, “Just go with it, man. It was meant to be!”
Jen–It sounds as if you’re doing things exactly right. Get those small successes–they’ll lead to big things. (Then you can listen to your stoner muse. 🙂 )
Superb post! One of your best. When I started out, I was hell bent on being seen as a writer one way or another, so when I could not sell the novel, I started freelancing and opened a newsletter. I spoke. I blogged. I guest blogged. I totally whored myself out as a writer. Then years into it, after my writing improved, I pulled out the novel, realized it sucked, tossed it, and rewrote it from scratch. Still took me a couple more years, but I continued working the platform while writing the novel. That was my first of now ten novels, with number 11 coming out in May. And like your suggestion says, I had a second novel under my belt when the agent called me about the first. A really meaty post I shall spread to my readers as well. Thanks!
Hope–Thanks so much! I actually learned a lot of this from you. After my first publisher went under, I subscribed to your Funds for Writers newsletter in order to start freelancing again. Your words of wisdom about selling short pieces–and your info on calls for submissions and contests–got me on my feet again. My books finally found a new home, and I started my series, but I’m not sure I would have made it that far if I hadn’t had those “Funds for Writers” to keep me going.
Thank you for this post, lots to ponder. My thirteenth novel comes out this month and I’ve yet to get a huge following, I think writing in several genres doesn’t help. My first novel was poor, seven years later I can see that. Even so, I wouldn’t change a word. It reminds me how far I’ve come and has spawned two sequels and a spin off, as well as giving me the writing bug. Nothing is ever wasted.
I’m curious, Richard–are you glad you published that first novel? Why, or why not? (I’ve recently finished my first novel and am trying to decide whether Anne’s “slow down” is good advice for me…)
Thea–I’m not telling first novelists to slow down. I’m telling them to speed up–their writing. Write more, market less. The time when marketing is going to take over your life will come, so enjoy the luxury of “just writing” for a little while.
Thea, someone once told me… WRITE. As much as you can, the more the better. And READ, a lot. Time and practice will develop your style. One day you’ll look back and see how far you’ve come.
Richard–You’re right that no writing is wasted. Practice novels can be gold mines that provide characters, short pieces and settings that you can use in lots of future work. As far as getting to #13 without major traction, read Garry Rogers comment. He found that successful novelists said they published up to 20 before things came together. Best of luck!
I agree with Gary, I’m not complaining at all, I think that success will come, my habit of writing in different genres doesn’t help me though. By his reckoning I might need to get to sixty novels before I have cracked it in one genre!! By the way, I also have a lot of short stories out as well. I blame the voices in my head.
Great blog as usual, Anne. We all pay our dues one way or another. Mine was via a shopping centre column in a local newspaper, followed by nonfic books – notably How To Do Your Own Plumbing, the catalyst that drove me into romantic fiction, or as I thought of it, desperation. Writing in a field you enjoy reading is a great place to start. I’d always loved romance, still do. Writing to a market or tongue-in-cheek is a shortcut to failure. .
Valerie–A newspaper column is a nice way to start out. I think it’s hilarious that you decided to write Romance when you were writing about plumbing. I understand why you would want to do something completely different. 🙂 I agree about writing to market. A pro can do it, when they can write fast and know how to structure a novel. But when you’re starting out, it’s a recipe for disaster.
Anne, excellent advice as always. I remember when I first started trying to become a novelist. I began with romance ‘cos they were easy. Wrong! After trying my first half -dozen novels with Mills & Boon, and failing miserably, I switched to mystery.
My first attempt at mystery, after a fair few correction and losing 20,00 words, was accepted, and published by Macmillan. They published three more in the series. Then they were taken over by a German firm, and I got dumped (along with about a third of the list).
It was another six years before I was published again. That publisher brought my published novels up to eighteen (which included a second mystery series, a biographical historical with another publisher, and the last romance, published by the same publisher as the bio).
I’ve gone the Indie way since 2010, and that first series has reached eighteen. I’ve added to my repertoire, with a blog, non-fiction, shorts, suspense, and a handful of romances.
But I wouldn’t have got as far as I have without persistence, working all the hours God sends, and my love of words. After my first published novels were accepted off the slush pile, I realised that my work was far from perfect. But I knew I’d found what I was meant to do with my life. In spite of the plentiful rejections, and also because of them, I learned from my mistakes. New novelists mus try to do the same.
Geraldine–Your writing career has been quite a saga! But the truth is, I don’t know many successful novelists who haven’t been dropped by a publisher or had their publisher go belly-up. And a lot of us do switch genres. My first two attempts were romances.
You were a perfect candidate to go indie. When you have a major backlist and an established readership, you’re probably going to make a whole lot more as an indie than with a publisher. Congrats on jumping into self-publishing at exactly the right time.
Apologies for the errors. I’m writing on my tablet, and it’s a real squinty-eyed job!
If you can write anything on a tablet, you’re doing better than me. I need a real keyboard just to write my name.
Enjoyed this post! Thank you for all the ideas : )
Cindy–Welcome! Thanks for stopping by.
Anne, I’m the quintessential impatient first-novelist, and before taking your advice to wait, I really want to understand why. If I think my novel is good, what’s the harm in querying with it now? Or if I self-publish it? If it’s judged not-great by the powers that be, will that damage my reputation in a lasting way? (Actually, I have no reputation to damage at this point.)
Thea–Most agents want to do multi-title book deals these days, so if you do get “the call” from an agent, the first thing they’ll ask is what other novels you’ve got. If you don’t have anything, they still might take it, but they’ll do at least a 2-book deal. That means you have to produce that second title while you’re promoting the first one. That’s really tough for most new writers. They may be overcome by writer’s block. That’s what happened to my friend Jay Asher after 13 Reasons Why made it big. He couldn’t write for 5 years, and he needed a co-author to get a second book out.
As for self publishing, when you don’t have another book ready to go, it’s just going to sit there. Singleton indie titles don’t sell much past family and friends. Amazon gives more weight to multi-published authors. A book with a low rank that doesn’t sell isn’t going to help you sell the next one. Indies do best who can bring out a new title at least every six months.
Anne, thanks, I hadn’t thought about that. Question: Is it different for nonfiction? Because I do have a nonfiction book that I self-published, and although it’s my only title it’s done extremely well.
Thea–Yes. It’s different for nonfiction. That’s why this post is addressed to novelists and memoirists (memoir is marketed as fiction.) A stand-alone nonfiction title can do very nicely as an indie title. It’s still really important to be writing short pieces, guest blogposts and get speaking engagements, but you don’t have to roll out new books every six months.
P.S. I don’t see much synergy between the nonfic title, which is about preparing for job interviews, and the novel, which is contemporary fantasy. Am I right about that?
Thea–Unfortunately, a successful nonfiction book doesn’t usually help sell novels. But: Delia Owens moved from a successful career writing nonfic about wetlands wildlife to a wildly successful novel –Where the Crawdads Sing. But the novel’s appeal is partly the detailed information about wetlands wildlife.
Great post, Anne, as always. I see myself every week in the posts you and Ruth write. I’m currently taking a class by Laurie Schnebly on Plot via Motivation to create the outline for my ninth novel. Has my writing changed since I began? Heck yeah. It’s much better now and I’m so happy about that. But the road to finding an agent has been a dead-end so far, so I’m going the self-publishing route for my last women’s fiction book. I’m diving into that and doing the research as we speak. Your posts have been helpful and always will be as I navigate my way through this new phase of my writing career.
Thank you for your posts.
Patricia–I’m so glad to hear our posts are helpful. Taking a class on plotting and novel structure sounds like a great idea. When you’re writing in a genre that’s as free-form as women’s fiction, you need more help with structure than with most genres. Best of luck with your new novel!
So much great advice! It’s taken me 10 years of learning the craft and the ‘way things work’ to feel like I’m finally ready to put my books out there. My nonfiction is a standalone so it’s up now, but I’m waiting to have at least 2 or 3 in my romance series done before putting any of the books into the wilds 🙂
Jemi–It sounds as if you’re doing things right. With 2 or 3 Romance novels ready to go, you can launch each one about 4 months apart. That’s supposed to be ideal for indies. Romance does very well in the indie market. Best of luck!
Another wonderful post. That being said, I started my writing journey in my late sixties, and did rather put all my eggs in one basket. My novel will be published May 6 of this year. Lucky? Maybe. A fluke? Perhaps. I do have other works in progress but who knows if I’ll ever finish any of them. There was no time to build up inventory, so I went with what I had.
Had I been in my forties, or even fifties, I might have taken more time, but the years do flash by, faster the older we get. The universe is spiteful that way. Hopefully I’ll have one more, then one more after that, who knows. For me, it was better to have published one than none at all.
Brenda–My mom published her first mystery novel at the age of 88, so you’re still a whippersnapper. 🙂 Lots of writers don’t get their start until later in life. Best of luck with your launch. But keep writing!
You’ve cheered me up Brenda. I’m also a late starter, just the last few years. Half way through my memoir. I have a blog and write some poetry, some commentary of mine have been published in magazines and papers , but not much.
gramswisewords.blogspot.com
Thank you, thank you, thank you, for your very helpful clarifications! I am grateful!
Glad to help clear things up. There’s so much conflicting information out there!
Thanks Anne, for all that useful advice. I can’t class myself as a proper writer yet, I don’t think, but I am giving it a go. I am in the middle ( I hope) of a memoir at the moment and procrastinating by reading your blog. However it was well worth it.
gramswisewords.blogspot.com
Marian–Reading blogs like this isn’t “procrastinating”–they can save you from being scammed and teach stuff for free that you might have to pay a whole lot for in a course. And if you write and you’re not a wooden puppet carved by an old Italian guy, you’re a real writer. 🙂 Here’s my post on the subject. https://selfpublishingsites.com/2017/10/are-you-a-real-writer/
Excellent advice, as always, Anne. I’ve taken this a bit too far what with saving it and letting it collect digital dust but still firmly believe it” “no writing is wasted. You can mine that thing for short stories and characters and blogposts for years.”
Also, I’ve really got to get that hearing voices thing under control. The internal pressure and insecurity keep me from hearing The Voice That Matters. Working on it!
Sarah–I have half-written stuff from 30 years ago that I’ve been able to recycle into a new novel or short story. Don’t worry about that “digital dust.” Just shut out those negative voices. You don’t need them. 🙂
Thank you for your post, Anne. (I’ve just been over to Amazon and bought your book, too!) I self-published 3 books, 2 fantasy and 1 recipe book before submitting my 3rd to a publisher. They accepted it and took over the publishing of my other 3 books. They have now published 3 more of my books, and have a couple of novellas soon to be published.
Until I had those 3 books, I had no success with publishers, except for one who asked for money. I think this endorses your comment that you need more than one book before a publisher will take a risk on you.
V.M.–Congrats! It looks as if you’ve done everything just right. You had inventory and a fan base and then started querying. Smaller publishers especially look for writers exactly like you. Thanks for sharing your story!
I was (for lack of a better word) “blessed” when I had my first book published. A friend had helped 2 family members self-publish on CreateSpace. He formatted the book interior and walked me through the Create Space maze. I found an excellent editor (who later had to find a day job).
At that time, I knew nothing about self-publishing, and I was looking up agents. One of them said, “You must have a platform of 400 before we’ll look at your work.” I asked my best friend what they were talking about and she said, “You need a blog.” She set up a blog site for both of us in 2012, and that gave me the courage to write my first post.
I have great sympathy for new writers. We’re going to make a lot of mistakes, and at times we’re going to allow our desperation to lord over our common sense. I’m certainly not an expert — I haven’t made all the mistakes possible to make in my chosen field.
Once I made it past the, “I have to make lots of money” stage and settled on the truth, “I write because I can’t stop writing,” it made writing books a lot easier, and a lot of fun.
Florida–You had good advice from that friend. I think an author blog is the best way to build platform (which is why I wrote a book about it.) Platform is essential for nonfiction, but it’s increasingly important for fiction too. I’m not sure exactly what that agent meant by “400” but it was probably the combined number of social media followers and blog subscribers. These days the number might mean subscribers to your newsletter.
It sounds as if you’ve passed the “starry-eyed” part and you’re now looking at a writing career with a realistic eye!
Yet again, you’ve delivered so many insights and struck so many chords for me. You give me a bit of hope: I’d decided that no one would buy a three-book mystery series tracing a single character’s arc based on my current credentials (five published novels many years ago, good reviews, moderate sales, a career back-burnered by 25 years in academia; two of my novels republished as ebooks–just not enough). But now the first two books of my trilogy are out with betas and I’m racing into the third, and I’m also writing a new entry for my other “brand,” mysteries revolving around horses. My main trouble so far is that I’ve tended to write slowly; my characters get into emotional and ethical messes that I only come to understand as I write about them. But you’ve helped energize me to finish both new books in a few months and go back to pitching with yet another set of ideas in production. One thing you wrote really resonated: as I considered more self-publishing, I realized how much I was counting on being “validated by the industry” instead of taking responsibility for the quality of my own work. Thanks for that nudge.
Virginia–Don’t force yourself to write fast if the depth of your characterizations is going to go down. Your muse may not be able to keep up with you! A three book mystery series is fantastic, but you don’t want to publish them all at once. Wait at least 4 months between launches. You can be writing #3 while launching #1 and #2. Then work on the horse mystery series. Elizabeth S. Craig writes a number of mystery series but manages to keep them all under the same brand. You might check out her blog and books. She’s a hybrid writer with both indie and trad pubbed series. Here’s her post for us on how to make money writing novels. https://selfpublishingsites.com/2017/02/make-a-living-writing-fiction/
Thank you so much for answering. It’s so good to get solid advice. And thanks for the great link. The industry has changed so much since I published my earlier books, and I’m so grateful for such useful info!
Great post, Anne. Will definitely share this one!
Christine–Many thanks for sharing!
In your opinion should one choose an arbitrary premise for the practice novel rather than waste their good idea on bad writing?
Emile–Of course not. Write what you’re passionate about. That’s the only way to write well. Maybe that first novel will eventually be your masterpiece, after you’ve learned more, written another, and can edit and revise the first one.
Thanks for the response! I have several related “scenes” or “sketches”, written over the past nine months or so. Based on your advice, assembling some of them into a polished unit, short story (or flash fiction?) is a good next step.