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How's the novel going?

Eighthours

By Eighthours
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Danster

Danster

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Soooo.... sent off my first 50 pages, very short synopsis and covering letter to my first agent on Saturday. Very nervous about posting but it's done now and I'll be interested to see what comes back... if anything... :)

Meanwhile, I am considering submitting to an agent how accepts email submissions.

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Atticus Stount

Atticus Stount

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If you have discovered this already, then I apologise. As a fairly experienced writer I cannot advise you enough to work intensely on more temporary projects, be these plays, screenplays, poetry or novellas. It could very well be that despite the story being intriguing as a writer you have not developed your skills enough and (as if not more importantly) you haven't experienced quite enough of life yet.

I wish to ask you, what are your motivations as a writer? And could I see some examples of your work?

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pulsemyne

pulsemyne

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Soooo.... sent off my first 50 pages, very short synopsis and covering letter to my first agent on Saturday. Very nervous about posting but it's done now and I'll be interested to see what comes back... if anything... :)

Meanwhile, I am considering submitting to an agent how accepts email submissions.

Do it!

Anyway expect to get rejected A LOT! Everyone gets rejected about a billion times before you get a success. I look on mine as badges of honour saying "well thats another agent with no brains lets see what the others think!". Simply put just keep going and going. Never give up! Trust your Instincts! (I've been playing too much starfox)

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Danster

Danster

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If you have discovered this already, then I apologise. As a fairly experienced writer I cannot advise you enough to work intensely on more temporary projects, be these plays, screenplays, poetry or novellas. It could very well be that despite the story being intriguing as a writer you have not developed your skills enough and (as if not more importantly) you haven't experienced quite enough of life yet.

I wish to ask you, what are your motivations as a writer? And could I see some examples of your work?

Sorry, were you replying to me or Argh? Or all of us? :)

I am 35 and have been writing since I was fifteen. I moved into computing when I reached university age and the writing took a seat on the back-burner (ouch) it wasn't until years later that i started to smell the smoke... ;)

So, I've got about three, maybe four, half-written novels (including a sci-fi novel of 120k words which still isn't finished...) and decided a clean slate was what was needed. So started on a genre I hadn't attempted before and gradually spluttered to the end of a novel; my first.

If you'd like to see examples do look in the Writer's Corner library, I have been contributing there for years....

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MrPogo

MrPogo

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Started a new one tonight, and think I might actually finish it instead of losing interest a third of the way through. The intitial idea stemmed from a dream I had last night, and over the course of the day I mentally fleshed it out into a full story, with a complete plot and everything! My usual problem is I come up with a great character and setting, start writing and hope the plot will come to me. But it rarely does. This time I know where I'm going from the start though! Hoorah!

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pulsemyne

pulsemyne

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Sorry, were you replying to me or Argh? Or all of us? :)

I am 35 and have been writing since I was fifteen. I moved into computing when I reached university age and the writing took a seat on the back-burner (ouch) it wasn't until years later that i started to smell the smoke... ;)

So, I've got about three, maybe four, half-written novels (including a sci-fi novel of 120k words which still isn't finished...) and decided a clean slate was what was needed. So started on a genre I hadn't attempted before and gradually spluttered to the end of a novel; my first.

If you'd like to see examples do look in the Writer's Corner library, I have been contributing there for years....

Are you my bloody doopleganger or something! Nearly the same age, did computing at uni and it wasn't until years later I started writing (something which I always enjoyed).

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Argh

Argh

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Are you my bloody doopleganger or something! Nearly the same age, did computing at uni and it wasn't until years later I started writing (something which I always enjoyed).

Nah, I'm more your Doppelganger than Dan is. Computing at Uni, 36, only started writing years later, finished a humorous sci-fi novel...

Aaaaand, my reason for posting: Submitted via email to an agent in the UK. All that can be crossed has been (apart from the streams - don't cross the streams).

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  • 3 weeks later...
pulsemyne

pulsemyne

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Well the second book is going well. I've picked up the pace over the last few days somewhat (I tend to write in bursts whereby I'll do nothing for a few days and then write a load ). I'm now upto about chapter 6 ish although I could breakup chapter 5 into about 3 distinct chapters of its own. Currently the story is taking place over three differant time periods. One is very far into the future another is slightly less furthur in the future and another is in the fifthteth century. All the time periods relate to each other so effectively they all converge at the end.

One thing I really need to do is get the first book sorted and editted. Otherwise I'll keep writing book after book and never getting it out there.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Swallow

Swallow

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Everything I've read recently points to it only being established authors, generally novelists, who have a reasonable of getting a collection published. Even then, they're held in much lower regard than 'proper' books. If you're interested, I would suggest magazine submissions as being your best option to raise the profile of your work and make it easier to have something published.

There's plenty on The Millions (other literary websites are available) about the current state of the short story, and its viability or otherwise in a world where reading short stories is apparently unfashionable. Here's one representative article:

http://www.themillions.com/2011/05/publish-or-perish-the-short-story.html

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fatoy.japa

fatoy.japa

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Sell them (where possible) individually to appropriate magazines, then collect them afterwards in a vanity publishing effort if you retain the rights to do so. If not, odds are that the magazines that pick up your stories will consider them for inclusion in chapbooks and compendia in the future.

As people have said: collections are for established authors, really.

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Danster

Danster

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I think getting published is a dream for mos tof us int his thread because it could just mean, maybe, that we could quit the day job and do what we love to do full-time.

And while the accomplishment of writing a novel is warming and fullfilling it doesn't stop me having to put in 40+ hours a week working for the man.

The main thing I do get from it though is a sense of relief that I can go to my grave happy to have accomplished a complete book! And even if it is only ever read by family and friends it exists and I made it. :)

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pulsemyne

pulsemyne

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I think getting published is a dream for mos tof us int his thread because it could just mean, maybe, that we could quit the day job and do what we love to do full-time.

And while the accomplishment of writing a novel is warming and fullfilling it doesn't stop me having to put in 40+ hours a week working for the man.

The main thing I do get from it though is a sense of relief that I can go to my grave happy to have accomplished a complete book! And even if it is only ever read by family and friends it exists and I made it. :)

Thats pretty much my motivation as well. Except I have no job. I was chuffed when I finished the first one.

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Argh

Argh

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Not entirely the right thread, but it's related and too niche to deserve its own thread, but:

I know my finished novel isn't going to get published. It's okay, it's reasonably amusing, it's 3 stars out of 5 (in my humble opinion). I sent it to one agent with an allegedly quick turnaroud time, and haven't heard anything yet. So, I've just submitted to a second agent, who also boasts a 7 day response time (if their submissions info isn't out of date!). After that, though, because I'm impatient and forever aging, I might just dump it on Amazon, for Kindle, and flog it for a quid.

Does anyone here have any knowledge or experience of Kindle publishing? It seems to me that you can go for a royalty scheme with Amazon where they take 30%, and, if your book is for sale anywhere else, they get the right to price-match, or even price-beat. My book would only be with them, but I'm not sure if they may still have some grounds for suddenly deciding to price my book the way they want to.

I do see "price set by author" when looking at books on Kindle though, but still, that doesn't mean they can't change it and remove that notice, does it?

I'll do more of my own research, but experiences of mukkers and their writing friends would be welcome.

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Rudi von Starnberg

Rudi von Starnberg

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I think getting published is a dream for mos tof us int his thread because it could just mean, maybe, that we could quit the day job and do what we love to do full-time.

And while the accomplishment of writing a novel is warming and fullfilling it doesn't stop me having to put in 40+ hours a week working for the man.

The main thing I do get from it though is a sense of relief that I can go to my grave happy to have accomplished a complete book! And even if it is only ever read by family and friends it exists and I made it. :)

Spot on.

I'd love to make my living from writing, eventually. It'll take a while to get to that point, though, even though I've got one book on its slow way to publication right now. Having to find a 'proper job' in the meantime (once I finish my postgrad) is a bit daunting.

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Argh

Argh

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Yay, my first rejection (since I tried to pimp an unfinished novel to a bunch of agents five years ago). Finished novel this time, and one I truly believe is much better than my prior, aborted attempt.

I sent an email submission off to Robin Wade at the Robin Wade Literary Agency. He turned it around in six days! I got exactly the same form rejection letter as I did 5 years ago, too. Hah, five years ago, though, I actually thought it was a personalised, encouraging "no". It uses words like "read with interest" and "just doesn't quite grab my imagination enough", "subjective viewpoint, please do try elsewhere". All very encouraging, but I have to wonder if he sends that out even for complete tosh.

Ah, I shouldn't be so crushed, I knew this was coming. An earlier submission to another guy with an alleged fast turnaround has vanished for well over a month now. I just...I just don't have the time or patience, and, coupled with a deep belief that my work, whilst being a fun little romp, actually isn't publishable, I'm so tempted to just bung it on Kindle for a quid. I asked earlier if anyone here knew about Kindle publishing. Maybe I'll be the guinnea pig for the rllmuk writers, eh? :)

Sadface...

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  • 2 weeks later...
pulsemyne

pulsemyne

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Sorry for the late reply but yeah that was it. Anyway screw them as you are far far far more likely to make money out of kindle. Put it like this I'm going to do it, screw agents and publishers wanting a crazy cut out of my hard work. Even if you sell a book on Kindle for 1.99 you make far more per book than you would if you signed with a publisher who sold it at 7.99. And not just by a little bit either. Yes it may not be as cool as seeing your book on a bookshelf but in the end who cares so long as people enjoy it.

A 70 percent royalty from amazon (so long as you allow shareing is brilliant. It's still 35 percent even if you don't. Far ebtter than the 15 percent you'd be lucky to get out of a publisher (and then theres the agents costs etc).

Now all I need is someone to correct the grammer and a little bit of editting here and there and its go time!

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Argh

Argh

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I deleted a post I was gong to make here yesterday saying I was literally on the verge of doing the same thing. I'm only 2/3 done with my 2nd edit though, and have one or two small things to change.

I was going to ask if anyone from here wanted a free read before I "kindle" it. Optional as to whether "you" provide me with feedback. It'd be nice to hear - good or bad.

I was thinking my price point would definitely be a pound. Got no idea about publicity though. I'd probably just stick a link to it in my sig here and call it a day :) (and even I have sigs turned off, hah!)

Have two, no three outstanding queries with agents. When the no's come back, it's Kindle time.

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