It is a truth universally acknowledged that a writer, having written, wants to be read. A lot of MBers are thinking about this topic a lot. Here’s a place to talk about it.
Patience, Please
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I’ve been published several times in the newspaper. Does that count?
I guess I’ve always thought about “getting a book published,” or something like that, but really, what I actually want is to be the editor for said published book.
I’ve been published quite a few times for being on honor roll…and twice for winning my school’s geography bee…
Well, it’s my *~d~r~e~a~m~*, does that count?
Personally, I am convinced that I am publishable, if I could only finish a book. They could pull the Holy Age Gimmick and sell millions of copies!
I’ve got a short story that I’m attempting to publish in Cricket, though.
And my name’s been put in my local newspaper several times for being a good little nerdling.
I’m interested in a variety of subjects, such as cartooning, novel-writing, manga-drawing, fantasy-stuff-drawing, etc. I’ve considered publishing several times but it will never work out, namely because I’m interested in a variety of subjects and would never finish one book, let alone a sequel.
Oh, GAPAs, I love you. Even though I bug you, you always give me the thread eventually. Thank you SO MUCH!
E2MB and Canix really really need to come here NOW. Canix has often mentioned that he wants to get published, so maybe he knows something about it. E2MB has dreams of publishing this too, so he might have done a little research as well.
I googled various things to do with publishing, but it looks like I might have to pay (!) to learn how to send it to a publisher. Help?
1- Well, you see, you edit it before you send it off, and if you’re anything like me, then you reread the whole thing about twenty times, finding mistakes the whole time. Then there is nothing for the editor to do.
And I don’t see why newspapers shouldn’t count. I’ve never been published in any form, but I had my picture in the newspaper a couple of times. Once I was on the cover!
3- Ah, but wouldn’t the Holy Age Gimmick make you what you call a New Paolini? Or maybe I’m just babbling about things I have no knowledge of.
I will finish a book. I KNOW I will finish a book, because I won’t let myself work on any of my other books until it’s done. When it is done, I will let myself work on my other one, until that’s done too.
Go to soyouwanna . com and search publishing a book, or publishing a short story, poem, etc. Quite helpful. And free.
We need to write a proposal, and then send it to an agent, according to that website. And I bet that’s how it works, too. *sigh* It’ll be a lot easier to discuss this with Canix and E2MB. Maybe I should wait. Or maybe I’ll just go off and write a proposal on my own, then submit it to them for approval. Except that we’re not done. So I really have to wait till we’re done. *tears out hair*
It’d be nice to publish something but I don’t feel ready yet. Most of you have been writing, really writing, for longer than since June 2006. I’m just not sure what I could publish. Sure, I have poems I like and some other people like them too but are they publishable? I’m starting to write prose pieces and they are not yet finished. I have a short story in my head and snippets of it down on paper. Will it be publishable?
1- ooh! I’d like to be an editor too!
Ummm… I was in our community magazine after an interview about our latest school play…does that count????
I’ve been “published” in the newspaper a lot in my life, but that’s probably because I live in this tiny little town where nothing happens so anything that anyone decides to write about and take pics and send to the newspaper office will get published (like when deer season starts, people send pictures of themselves with their first deer in to the newspaper) but this year I’m going to be my FFA chapter’s reporter, so I’ll be writing stuff myself and getting it published, and that’ll be cool!
I’ve had my picture taken and put in the St. Louis paper several times, and I’ve had my name mentioned several times in a Catholic newspaper for several different things.
Man. I’d really love to write a book and have it published, even if it didn’t come insanly popular. Actually I’d rather it didn’t, hmm.
I can’t finish what I start, though. Maybe a short story collection I could do? I don’t know if those are easier/harder to do though. Alas, my dream doth seem to die…
Forgive me is that should be dost instead of doth. I can’t remember the rule right now…
[No, “doth” is right here. “Dost” goes with “thou.” Thou hast written correctly. –Robert]
13- I agree. It doesn’t need to be insanely popular. I just want people to read it. (When I’m done, of course! And when I am not present.)
Do editors do more then spelling and grammar? II think so. I’ll have to ask my aunt, she’s one!
Does anyone have any manuscripts they’ll share? I’d love to read some!
I’m trying to write a short story about a girl with synesthesia, but I’m not too far along…
15-I have a dead Nano that’s at 10,000 words and just got the main plot going.
And a very short story-thing on the writing thread.
And some poems.
15-Yes. I met an editor in NYC when I met the author, Michael Buckley. He said they basically translate your garbledygook in to works of art that people can read. If they hate a part in your book, he said, they will tell you to change it or take it out.
When I won that contest, they wrote about me in the newspaper and published part of my story, but that is about it.
I got a short story published in the “National Anthology of Short Stories.” I had won of the best stories and I was only in 2nd or 3rd grade when I wrote that story. Not to brag. I’m just saying that “I was walking to school when demons and monsters crawled out of the earth and killed everyone” is not a good story.
I believe that if I could get a story to novel-length, I could DEFINITELY get published. I would like to be published by the time I am 16. I even sent an email to myself in the future, that will appear in my inbox when I turn 16, saying that if I am not published, my younger self(me now, I guess) will come and attack me with an army of HPBs!!! I’m scared of me!!!!
18- WHAT?!? You mean they change it?!? No! *clutches manuscripts to her chest* They mayn’t touch my precious stories! Never! I won’t let them! My precioussssss…
And so on. I really don’t need to bother you with the details. But that’s just horrible! What if you absolutely adored a book the way it was, and didn’t want to change it?
Actually, it sounds like it might be fun to be an editor, since all I do is sit on the computer editing anyways, just for fun.
I’d love to get something published. Right now a novel or collection of short stories would probably work best….
19 – Yeah, they do. But it usually ends up a lot better. Well, it’s not so much that “they” change it, but they tell you what to change and you do it yourself. Sort of. I want to be an editor when I “grow up”
Actually, Tolkien’s works were barely edited at all. He refused to let anyone make changes to his book, and they were published and made huge successes anyway.
I’ve had stuff published in the newspaper, but not many…I live in a huge city. But last month I had a poem published in the newspaper, and they paid me $25, which made me happy!
I have a publisher.
21- I’m beginning to think being an editor is looking like a better an better job. Particularly as I want a job where I read.
To be a good editor, you have to know a lot about writing. I’ve heard it defined this way: “An editor is someone who knows everything about writing but who has no desire to write.”
24- What about, “An editor is a writer who needs a day job,”?
Terraformed RRR people: We need to tell the agents that we are not about money. They can keep 90%. Getting our book published would be it’s own reward, and if the book turns out to be popular, we might only need 10% anyway, because honestly we don’t need big bucks right now. All we need to do is get our book published
, attract a lot of hype, and write a bestseller sequel that will make us all billiornares and retire young and fat.25 (Alice)- No, a burger flipper is a writer who needs a day job.
6 (Alice)- See, the difference between me and Paolini is that I can write.
I posted my “How To Publish A Book” essay on some thread or another… I’ll go hunt it down.
Ah, on Muse How-tos, Part 2. Lady Bunniful’s accompanying post is also lovely and informative, so I’ve copied it as well.
—
1. Write a good book.
2. Edit it. A lot. Edit your poor baby until you think it’s the best it can be. It won’t be, but you need to get it to as close to that point as possible.
3. Give it to at least five of the most savage critics you know. These should be people who will be cruel but fair. People who will say “OMG SOOOOO GOOD PUBLISHPUBLISHPUBLISH NOW!” or on the opposite end of the spectrum, “This sucks. Go stick your head in a toilet and stop polluting the world of literature.” are not good choices.
You need someone who is willing to sit down with you (even if you’ve only ever known them on the Internet and couldn’t sit down with them because they live halfway around the country), point out both the strengths and flaws of your story, and give you possible ways to fix the flaws. It will be hard. There will be disagreements. Sometimes you’ll be right, and sometimes your beta will. But your book will get better.
4. Do your homework. Start checking publishers. Find several that you think will be good homes for your story. If you’re writing a middle-grade fantasy, you don’t want to send it to a publisher that specializes in adult mysteries. Also, unless you’re planning on getting a literary agent (which is going to be very difficult, though not impossible), you should look for houses that take unsolicited submissions. It’ll usually say something about that on their website, under a heading like “Contact Us” or “Submission Guidelines.” Make a list of the publishers you like. It’s good if you can put them in order; it’ll save you time when it comes time to submit.
5. Pick your favorite publisher and send in whatever they want, as per the guidelines. This can range from the entire manuscript to a summary to the first three chapters or so. Usually, you’ll also be asked for a cover letter, which is basically a letter describing your credentials and your story. It depends entirely on the publisher, which is why you need to read the guidelines for each house. Very few things will make you look dumber to a publisher than sending them an entire five-hundred-page manuscript when they specifically asked for the first ten thousand words. Be smart. Don’t do it.
6. If you’re religious, now is the time to pray. Now, you have to wait while the publisher reviews your submission. Depending on the house and what you sent in, this could take between weeks and months. Usually, it’ll say how long you should expect to wait on their submissions page. Eventually, you’ll get some sort of response. If you’ve been accepted, start celebrating. You did it. You deserve it.
7. But what about if you’ve been rejected? Take it well. Don’t get discouraged and say your story sucks and waste all the hard work you did. Not every work is right for every publishing house. It’s not necessarily anything to do with your writing. Simply move on to the next publisher on your list and repeat steps 6 and 7 for as long as is necessary. Doing more revision in between submissions isn’t always a bad idea either, but the important thing is to keep going. J. K. Rowling was rejected many, many times before Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was finally accepted by Bloomsbury. Keep working. Keep plugging. Keep writing.
And there you have it. How to get a book published. in seven ridiculously hard, laborious steps. Hey, if it were easy everybody would be doing it.
—
Allow me to add to Penty’s wise words one comment from my favorite poetry professor. When it comes to criticism of your writing — assuming it’s given and received in good faith — he said, “accept only the advice you agree with.”
In other words, if you try to graft someone else’s vision onto your work for the wrong reasons, you’ll end up distorting your efforts and creating bigger problems. A corollary: Even when I disagree with other people’s diagnosis, I often find they may be right about the symptoms.
Another take on the same subject I read somewhere — be completely honest with yourself and be sure of what kind of criticism you want before you show your work to someone. Then choose a person who will provide that kind of feedback. If you really just want reassurance to keep you motivated, don’t ask the analytical critic. If you want a useful, insightful critique, don’t ask the person who will nitpick you to death.
The advice sounds obvious — until the moment of uncontainable excitement when you show your story to your best friend and she makes a casually cruel remark because she’s had a fight with her boyfriend and you end up crushing the pages into a back corner of your desk and swear you’ll never write another word for the rest of your life.
—
WE ARE BOTH RITE. ARR.
26- Okay. That works.
27- No, I don’t want to be a burger flipper. I’m going to be a librarian.
1. It’s almost done. And it is good, it just needs work.
2. See, it’s hard to edit when you have to post the whole 35000 word story every time you change a few words. But I’m doing it anyhow.
3. Are you a savage critic? I need some, if I’m going to show them the story.
4. I’m working on it.
As for 7, I don’t intend to care if I’m rejected. Sure, I’ll be disappointed, but it’s not like I expect people to love it. We’re a bunch of kids who wrote a novel in about seven months or less; it’s not brilliant.
24 (Robert) – That is a great quote. And good for me, too, because I go to an arts school and write for 4+ hours every day, and I don’t really want to do that as a living. But I do want to be an editor, so that makes me really happy
I thought you were supposed to submit your story to a bunch of different publishers at the same time, and if someone decides to publish yours, you tell everyone else you’ve already found a publisher. Right? Maybe not. Hmm…
I don’t think I could write for a living. I’m too mercurial. Sometimes I can write for hours on end, and other times I just don’t write for weeks.
4- what kind of cartooning (me and cappy do it to)
currently i’m begging to edit and rewrite my “the battle of the kathleen G’s” six part comic series. it will one day be complete. i’ve been really lazy so i haven’t even finnished the sixth part. explenation: i did 6a right before school ended and after that i had no motivation. also the reason i haven’t done much recently is because the air conditioner is in my office and i can’t close the door. i also can’t listen to anything because it’s so loud. i can’t turn it off because it is so #*@% hot. but come august i will work hard he he he.
30- me too
I have a couple stories started, but I always go back and edit and edit and edit, and I just get frustrated and give up, then later I’ll start another story when I get inspired again
I can post one of them im people want to read it, though one is really long… the other one is decent length, and I’m not even sure if it’s good or not, it’s one of the ones that I pretty much gave up on even though I still like the idea. These 2 “teens” find an old shed and go in there one day when they get lost in the woods and it starts to rain, and the start looking around, and they touch one of the things in a trunk and it transports them back in time to the Civil war and…well, I have the idea in my head, it’s just not on paper yet
Soooo… I edit too much. I’m editing Terraformed for the fourth time, and unless someone forcibly forbids me to edit it further, I’ll do it again. And again. And again. “. . . And they’ll put nanobots in you to repair you, and do it again. And again and again and again.” to quote. Except I don’t think that’s how it goes, quite… Oh well. I really should stop. I’ve got to leave the editor something to do!
33- I’m sure the eidtor will have plenty to do. He’ll take the parts you like best and pronounce them rubbish.
Heh, not really. I hope.
19-If you do, and don’t want them to suggest changes, then they won’t force you. But the editors know the market, and if you want to make tons of cash and have writing as your career, you should probably do what the editor says.
I forgot to mention I have an agent if I need it. I plan on getting published and being an author for a living, but I think just getting the book published is its own reward.
Also, in “Take Joy” by Jane Yolen, there is a very good section on reading rejection letters, since I saw a few of you talking about that. The entire book is good, but that part is great.
30-In the words of many authors, including T.A. Barron and Michael Buckley: In writing, discipline is more important than creativity and imagination.
34- Oh, thanks a million.
35- Then why write? “If you do not sing through writing, if you do not cry through writing, if you do not breathe through writing, then don’t write, because our culture has no use for it.” But, I guess, since I’m sticking to one project, I’m disciplining myself. That’s as much discipline as anyone will ever get out of me.
37- Probably more along the idea of keeping writing too, sitting down and keeping going even if you loose interest for a while.
Actually, literary agents are proving easier to find than publishers. I found a site that has an abundance of agents (though I haven’t actually tried contacting any of them), but no publishers, or at least not publishers for what I’m looking for: YA sci-fi. Maybe I’m being too specific. (Okay, okay, I am. Ugh research.)
And now for something completely different. Any savage but not malicious critics want to volunteer to critique the story? (Would E2MB and Canix and Stormwatcher even let me ask such a thing?)
39- I’d like to read it. You could send the copy to me? Or is the edited version up on MB? I think there might have been a thread…
39- I’d love to critique it realistically, but it’ll probably mean work. If you are up for it, then I’ll do my best. Where can I read it?
39- *volunteers*
39- sure, i’d loooove to.
my mom is now a published author. she’s a buisness writer but she’s had one of her short stories published. she’s currently writing a book which she has been writing for 5 years. that is why i will never be a writer. following too much in her footsteps. even if i ever get some of my stuff published (that is my dream… someday when i’m, like, 30) it will be under a pen name. probably KAG or summat.
Right. I’ll send it to Jadestone and e~a, (mind you, I haven’t finished editing it) and Vixen, (or anyone else who doesn’t have my email) (Or anyone who does have my email, if they prefer to read it on MB), you can read it here. That’s the latest version of the first chapter, just keep reading until it repeats itself or you get to the end of the thread. Unfortunately, that doesn’t include Chapter 4 of Io . . . That is available here. The entire text of Part Three is on this thread:
https://musefanpage.com/blog/?p=898
Sorry for the disorganization.
PS- Jadestone and e~a, Part Three is not included in the draft that I’m sending you, because it’s not ready to be edited yet.
DRAT! It didn’t work, because I put the links in the wrong places.
The first link (the whole edited manuscript minus chapter 4) goes here:
https://musefanpage.com/blog/?p=802#comment-211
The second link (chapter 4) goes here:
https://musefanpage.com/blog/?p=802#comment-205
The third link (part three) goes here:
https://musefanpage.com/blog/?p=898
Please don’t be put off by the confusion.
39 – Oh no, I would looove some some peer reviews!
37-Good question. But if you can’t have the discipline to force yourself to sit down at the computer and type a certain amount of words/pages/chapters or do whatever it takes you to write, then why write? If you write off and on like that, then it will take forever to finish! You might lose the momentum of the story too. (I admit to writing off and on a lot.)
39-OH OH!!! PICK ME! PICK ME! PLEEEAAASE!!!!! And on the subject of agents: I kinda sorta agree. Publishers are everywhere, if you know where to look, and if you write a book they like. Also, I have an agent, if I ever need it, if I didn’t mention it already, so I guess it is kinda easy.
We should have a list of MBers that have had work published in Muse! *idea*
47- I agree about momentum, but if you run out of ideas, your story isn’t going to get any better by you trying to write when you have no inspiration. Not only that, but you’ll burn yourself out, and start to dislike your writing and the story. this is a good example of burnout. As for it taking forever to write a book, that isn’t a bad thing. You can’t get involved in your story if it only takes a month to write. (Or maybe you can…) Susanna Clarke spent ten years writing JS&MN, and it’s a brilliant story.
Alice- I’m reading it and printing it out, then writing my comments on it. I did the first ten pages yesterday (chapters 1- most of 3 (I had it in size ten font to save paper…) and I’ve printed out up to page 40 (though I don’t have that many pages, I’m printing on backs too).
I’ve transfered a lot of my comments to the words document, which is harder since I can’t write in margins.
But basically, the story is good. I’d like to see more description of things, I have no idea what Ceres looks like. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but a few descriptions here and there would be nice.
I have a few more comments on it, but I’ll just wait till I’m done typing it and send it to you if that’s okay. I don’t want to have a mile-long post with things like ‘You’re missing a comma in line 38 page 19’ and all.
I like the story, though! It’s interesting, I’m going to read more now.
29 (Panda)- You can, if you want, but I’ve heard that it really annoys publishers when they want your story and you tell them that you’ve already sold it to someone else.
39 (Alice)- Are they good agents, though? An agent makes a lot of difference.
Ooh, send it to me. I really liked that RRR, but then RRR.1 accused me of cheating on it and I had to step aside.
I just read the story… It’s good, but what I say is that the chapters are far too short. You haven’t changed place, time, anything. In a book, those won’t even be a page long. And you could easily combine them to make two or three long chapters.
I want to study journalism in college. Does that count?
I’m sure it does, ’cause it involves getting published. I’ll probably change my mind in the next 4 years.
My mom got her rewriting of “St. George and the Dragon” published. I got to help her design the cover artwork!
50- Description . . . you’re right.
51- I’ll send it right now.
52- Not really. I mean, I have in the past typed a whole page into a Word document, just to see how long it is. I’d say a page in a book is a little more than half a page in Word. So yeah. But I will be sure to check that.
Here’s a question. Did anyone read Part Three yet? Do they think it’s a bit too violent? E2MB has brought it to my attention that it is, rather. Though that’s only the climax; it has an awful lot of killing of Containers.
54- I skimmed it and found nothing spectacularly violent. Penty’s comment on that put it much better, but just make sure that the violence has meaning and is realistic, not “just killed ab bunch of creeps let’s move on”. Giving some regret and such over it makes the characters more real, and so on.
Of course I’m unfamiliar with the RRR so take my advice with a grain of salt, etc.
55- Yeah, we’re all bad at emotion on there. My attempt was pitiful, and Canix’s was a lot better but still a tad cheesy. Actually, Kari is remarkably, “just killed a bunch of creeps let’s move on”, but that’s because she’s not human, and doesn’t feel, or not much.
I’m so redundant. *shakes head*
56- Ah no~~ I didn’t mean that it was bad, I’m just saying that’s it’s somehting to keep in mind. 8D;;
57- No, I was saying that it was bad.
{:-) User wears a toupee.
48- Good idea!
I HAVE SPESHAL CONNECTIONS XD
I do. Really. And my dad’s a professional writer. Sooo, connections are a good thing in the world of publishing. Penty can confirm that.
61 (Kiki)- COUGHPAOLINICOUGH
I didn’t say nuffin.
But yes, they are.
Today I met an author, and she told me that you could learn a lot from editors, even the bad ones. She also told me about a book she wrote, took to the editor, and the editor said, it has potential, but only if you ditch the whole thing and rewrite it in a different format. In three months. And she did!
what author? hey did you know that a whole bunch of publishers turned down harry potter? well look what happened with hp.
64- I can’t say what author, because then you could stalk me.
11- Sounds like my local paper. You don’t happen to live in Kentucky, do you? I have yet to find another Muser here. :p
I’d like to publish a novel someday. It doesn’t have to be a bestseller (although that would be nice), just published. I’m much better at writing essays than stories, though.
64-yeah. they person at disney said:this will never take off.the person that said that is now working for schoolalstic.true tale.
39–Yeah.
61- I asked this somewhere else, I think on the mag thread, but where in the tribune does your dad write? I would recognise his name if I saw it, but I don’t really read the newspaper.
Anyway. I was thinking of sending in a story or something to cricket. To see my stuff puplished and all.
Plus I’m kinda broke.
Anyway. I was thinking about expanding my story on the writing chalenge thread (Jasper, Ver, ect) and sending it in. COuldn’t hurt.
Although, I don’t get Cricket anymore. We used to but stoped. It wasn’t very interesting.
69- You really ought to expand it. ‘Twas lovely.
Oh joy. I just read about copyrighting. Firstly, it’ll cost a lot of money. $50 dollars, about. Maybe less, maybe more. Secondly, copyrighting under a pseudonym can lead to debates about the ownership of the manuscript, so one should register their manuscript under their legal name. But since none of us know the other’s legal names, that’s going to be hard. Thirdly, even the supposedly comprehensive chapter about copyrighting was pretty much gibberish. Fourthly, I feel guilty about using a lot of paper. (Pathetic, I know.) In short, I am not so very eager about publishing anymore. (The thought of printing my manuscript out on paper, or more accurately the amount of paper my manuscript will take up, has dampened my enthusiasm for a very long time.) I’m not sure how involved everyone else is in this process, but we need to discuss this. I’m posting this on the official RRR thread and the edit thread too, and if Canix and E2MB don’t reply I’ll take more desperate measures.
but the rrr is so good and sooo many people worked sooo hard on it it would be cruel to not publish it
I try not to brag much but I think I could write so much better than Cristopher Paoloni, author of Eragon. Most Musebloggers could. And I’ve come up with a fairly good storyline. But I’ve looked through this thread and it’s full of interesting stories, but never that much advice. And I know for a fact that most scripts are never even read.
73- Well, if you send in the manuscript when all they want is a query or a synopsis then it won’t be read. If they read your query and then they want to see the story and you send it in then it had BETTER be read.
I want to be published but I’ve never finished a story that’s really long. I never seem to be able to focus long enough on a plot line. Should I try harder or just write whatever?
Im not the one to ask, since that’s exactly what I do. You should try to find a subject that intrests you. And If you get bored writing the beggining, you can write the other parts, and eventually make it all come together.
75- Write short stories? Or just force yourself to focus. That’s what I have to do.