For any writers who are looking to get published: have you ever read a book that's so incredible you've said to yourself "there is no way that anyone would reject that"? I have, most recently The Name Of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. It is one of the most defined and interesting fantasy novels I've read in a very long time, maybe ever. And when I read it, I imagined he had no trouble in getting published.
I know that's slightly insane. I don't think there's ever been a new writer in the history of the written word that hasn't been rejected at least once. You really don't think about it until you read it, though. And I googled him in order to find the name of his follow-up novel and discovered on Wikipedia that The Name Of The Wind had been rejected "several" times. The exact number I'm not sure, but I do know Rowling earned 13 letters, until an uninteresting publisher brought it home, let his child read it--whom later antagonized him for the next chapters.
Point is, it's somewhat...inspiring. It doesn't fully take away the sting of bad news letters, but it helps in lessening the time between taking those chances. I've reached that point, hell I'm past it and I'm getting a little ansy. I haven't found a traditional publisher yet that seems like it would be a good fit, and a lot of people have made the suggestion of going the Ebook route. Part of it, yeah, is wanting to get it out there and seeing the world's reaction to it, wanting it to be read but the more I ponder on it the more positives I am finding.
Digital publishers are more apt to invest in new writers and no names, because there's far less overhead required. Most companies only buy the digital rights, allowing you to pursue traditional publication methods and in most cases, if you have good digital numbers others are far more likely to consider you. Advertising is easy, self-publication is cheaper and wait time is vastly diminished as there's no waiting for printing, or running out of stock.
I've been over some of the negatives, like not having something physical, the art form of creating a novel with the cover, flaps, etc. and still the looming feeling that I'm limiting myself. My biggest hang-up, though, comes from researching some of these companies. Most of them don't even strike me as legitimate, and a lot of their websites look no better than ones I used to build on Geocities. And most I've found require you to do all the work--marketing and editing mainly--but they seem to demand a rather high royalty for nothing more than adding a section on their website.
I'm sure it's simply a matter of finding the right one, but there are a lot, at least 10 to 1 with traditional publishers and most are so overwhelmed they're not currently taking submissions.
For now, I'm still on the fence about it. I'm definitely going to keep browsing in my free time so if anyone has some info, I would greatly appreciate it, but I'm still leaning towards the traditional way of doing things.
That being said, I mentioned earlier that I'm getting kind of twitchy and I know this has turned into a much longer post than I intended, but I wanted to say this. It is aimed at a certain person, due to something I read recently. I'm not going to name him directly, just for the sake of respect but maybe this will relate to what he's going through and--in some small way--help him.
I'm twitchy because I want to write again. I've done some reviews, blogs and previews. I even wrote an article for a genre I've never attempted before. It helps, yeah, but that demon is still there. I don't think it will ever go away and the only chance I have of quieting it for a while is with my follow up, In A Time Of Chaos.
And yeah, I've held off on it for a while baring several reasons. Want to get Darkness utterly settled before I start a new project, still have a little lingering burn out from the huge mess that came from formatting, covers and Lulu. But in truth...
I'm scared.
Yeah, I'll admit it. It freaks me out thinking about a sequel. I think it should if you actually care about something. And a thousand questions tumble through my head that only further my anxiety: what if it's not as good as the first one, what if I run out of ideas, what if I lose my touch, what if...well.
No matter how many times you do it, writing a book is venturing into the vast, dark world of the unknown. Life in general is like that. And there are a lot of intimidating shadows and glowing stares that appear menacing. Sometimes they're harmless illusions you've amplified in order to halt your progress. Other times, they're genuine dangers you have to face head-on.
There's always going to be fear. I can write a thousand fantasy books, and still not know everything there is to the genre. I can spend a decade in school, earn a doctorate in English, learn every style and technique that exists but I'm always going to be nervous before, during and after any book.
And you know what: I'm still going to try. Classes, clinics and mentors can teach you a lot of things, but they can't teach you heart, passion or determination. In the end, it's those qualities that are going to make or break a book. Not knowing everything about a genre, or going out of your comfort zone will only hinder you if you let it but that's a common problem when you care about what you're doing. Just try to remember that caring about it will make it incredible. I don't always have the right answers, nor can I tell anyone exactly how to press on but I can give you one small piece of advice:
Believe.
Sorry. That was far more dramatic than I intended it to be...
Then again, that's my style Baby.
Love that fucking song, too.
True Baby out.
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jerec - March 23, 2011 (04:42 AM) Name of the Wind and its sequel are fucking brilliant. I can't imagine how a publisher would ever reject it. It's just so readable, as soon as I open the book I'm sucked into Kvothe's story. It's amazing. |
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fleinn - March 23, 2011 (10:09 AM) :) ..there's this Norwegian author, Knut Nærum. He's written a comic.. Bloid, about a journalist, "Rita Bloid". I'm not sure how he got it published as a cartoon, but I can vividly imagine some vain journalist thought it was flattering to have a comic all about them. On the other hand, political satire has always had a market in Norway. Eventually, part of that comic was published in a book called "Sofaland", about a world a TV-watching couple falls into behind their couch. Basically, the people who live there are evolved TV-watchers who watch porn and masturbate all day. Their president exists to entertain them on the TV, etc, and has no real function as leader - and where would he lead anyway. Outside of the Sofaland lives the "lurkers", who are comically ascetic hippies whose only wish is to make extreme changes and improve everything (but they can't agree on how). It's another Norway, basically. ..well, it /is/ Norway. Some time later, after Nærum became popular as a comedian on.. yes, TV.. he publishes more of a collection of those short animated stories. And in the foreword of that book, he's written things like: "In a better country, with a better people, a release like this would not be necessary" :D Which is true. And I think that if it's possible to stake out a career on sarcastically broiling your readership - along with the ones who publish your work and review it - then most things should probably be possible. At least eventually. |
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True - March 23, 2011 (09:21 PM) So, yeah. Remember how I said I based my opinion on an Ebook publisher by how well their website is put together, and how professional they look? Don't think I'm going to publish here. They have more spam than a nuclear fall-out shelter. |
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fleinn - March 24, 2011 (03:52 AM) ..did you take a look at http://www.mobipocket.com?.. At least it still looks like they're publishing books. And the reader format is useful.. the reader client is a good one - easy to use, well supported. Available for lots of handhelds, and different OSes. Have a bunch of books on my phone from there. Also.. http://issuu.com/. This is at least another good example of how to use tech in relatively simple ways, without making everything look tacky in the process.. |
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True - March 24, 2011 (01:06 PM) Thanks, Fleinn. I'll look into those. |
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