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[Valdfellgar]

True, but the person who's telling me this is maybe not an agent but someone in administrative. It's honestly really hard to tell because their website, while pretty, doesn't have fuckall for information.

Depends on the agent but page requests are ALWAYS a positive and something a lot of writers struggle to even get, so don't go looking a gift horse in the mouth. They never request pages unless they're at least a little interested. Otherwise it would be a waste of theirs and your time.

Depending on the size of the agency you're probably dealing with one of their assistants. It is not uncommon to have junior agents do the grunt work in larger set ups.

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

Depends on the agent but page requests are ALWAYS a positive and something a lot of writers struggle to even get, so don't go looking a gift horse in the mouth. They never request pages unless they're at least a little interested. Otherwise it would be a waste of theirs and your time.

Depending on the size of the agency you're probably dealing with one of their assistants. It is not uncommon to have junior agents do the grunt work in larger set ups.

True. I actually know someone who was a junior assistant and she's basically telling me the same thing, though the place she used to work for was pretty upfront about it.

When it comes to fishing for agents, I kinda just assume the sky is always falling so I don't get my hopes up. If this is a request though, I'm back at a 1:50 ratio, which is kinda cool.

 

[Valdfellgar]

True. I actually know someone who was a junior assistant and she's basically telling me the same thing, though the place she used to work for was pretty upfront about it.

When it comes to fishing for agents, I kinda just assume the sky is always falling so I don't get my hopes up. If this is a request though, I'm back at a 1:50 ratio, which is kinda cool.

You can rest assured someone at the agency was interested. So it's a good thing. Now whether that interest pans out is what you should steady your hopes for. I had several requests for my screenplays over the years and the few times it panned out even then the companies lost interest.

So you're right to keep your hopes in check but do know that someone thought whatever query letter you sent them was intriguing enough to look at your novel at least.

 

[BiggNife]

Wrong thread sry

 

[Timu]

Sorry to hear that AngmarsKing701.

Well, 6 months are left in a year, and 5 months until Nano. I really need to get cracking on those outlines for that novel.

 

[FlowersisBritish]

Sorry to hear that AngmarsKing701.

Well, 6 months are left in a year, and 5 months until Nano. I really need to get cracking on those outlines for that novel.

Guh, I don't even want to think about how close Nano is getting. I've been meaning to edit through my old Nano novel for funsies but naaaaah.

 

[Delio]

Sorry to hear that AngmarsKing701.

Well, 6 months are left in a year, and 5 months until Nano. I really need to get cracking on those outlines for that novel.

Gosh Nano is that close. Dont even know what im doing but I will finish this year.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

This has happened to me before, but it happened again this morning: I was struck by a muse. I mean that, almost literally. I mean, I WAS TREMBLING WHILE I WROTE THE QUOTED BIT BELOW.

This was not a scene I had intended to write. But as I sat this morning, knowing the monk and Riona needed to have a little chat, it struck me it would be a very good thing to have a scene where the monk witnesses Riona doing what she has come to be doing: governing.

And so I setup this scene and my fingers are just typing away, la la la, let's get through the yadda yadda with the merchant and clear the room so the monk and Riona can have their chat.

But no. The muse hit me. Oh, My Muse came into the room and sat upon my shoulder and whispered in my ear. It said "Trump is a nationalist lunatic. Macron said wonderful things about innovation. And you should see the mirror between what they are saying and the dark ages and the Fall of Rome. Seeee itttttt, Brian. Feel it in the bones of your fingers. Share it!"

Riona's smile faded, her mouth grim. ”The former sheriff wanted to build a shell around Coccium. In fact, he wanted to hide in this fort and build a shell for himself, and leech you of your profits to allow him wealth in his isolation. We do not want that. We want to recognize the world as greater than this town. We want to share the wealth and grow it beyond Coccium, to open up new towns, new forts, new opportunities. To bring to the north builders, inventors, those who see the departure of Rome not as a dark burden we must carry on our backs, but as an opportunity to fill a blank page with our names, with our stories, with our history."

I actually wrote this paragraph this morning, in the midst of what is now one of my favorite scenes in this bloody marvelous writing challenge that has me so excited to write every single freakin' day, and when I was done writing it, I had to get up and walk around my house.

I was shook.

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

Sent out draft three of Toyland to some friends, one of which is a fellow writer. I tend to trust my friends and family really well, but most aren't writers by any stretch of the imagination. A few have dabbled, but nothing much more than that. This guy's pretty alright though. Knows his shit.

However, I tend to avoid other writers because every time I get feedback from one, it kinda boils down to them trying to rewrite the book and split hairs over words that don't much matter. It's happening again.

It's not exactly a problem because I know when i do go through his piling comments that I'll reject most of them, but the ones I don't will be really good. It is a bit annoying in a way though. Like, dude try and have some fun while you read this dumbass comedy thing. We don't need to argue over if BP6 is crazy or insane because they mean the same thing.

Draft four is gonna be rough though. First three and last three chapters are in some big need of work yet. Middle is...pretty swell though.

snip

Great passage there! Awesome when inspiration just kinda hits from nowhere and you crank out this coolass thing and be like "Man I'm a writer!"

 

[Random Human]

.

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

This is good advice. If you're querying agents and getting something other than silence or obvious form rejections, you can take that as a positive thing.

The 15 page thing sounds like a partial request to me, albeit a little short. But some agents have weird amounts they request. I remember one who wanted a query and three pages. Such a specific number. Then there was one whose partial requests were so long they were basically full requests. *shrug*

I think i've ran into that 3-pager person. It sticks out because it's so goddamned strange.

 

[Mediking]

AT LONG LAST... I FINALLY HAVE AN IDEA IN MY HEAD FOR AN INTERESTING STORY I WANNA TELL.

 

[zulux21]

AT LONG LAST... I FINALLY HAVE AN IDEA IN MY HEAD FOR AN INTERESTING STORY I WANNA TELL.

time to vomit it out

I need to work on doing that, been stalled trying to decide a few things like how much structural damage my main character would have to deal with by taking a spike to the wrist >.>

as well as needing to double check what the end result of having such a spike pierce all the way through (well just enough for the tip to poke out) would potentially be and the fallout from such things and what not.

as well as various other things, ideally will sit down tonight and vomit out a few thousand words and start the final arc of the current book. (which will require me to finalize a characters back story but that should be fine )

 

[Soulfire]

Currently in a 31 day writing streak. I've been focusing on writing everyday and I haven't really set a word goal for myself. Most days I've managed 1k easily, but there's one 200 word day and a few 500 word days. Considering I visited my in-laws during that streak I'm very happy with what I've accomplished. I was finally able to finish the first draft of the sequel to my Sci-Fi soap opera, there's an evil twin, amnesia, and a piss poor plot to take over the empire. Lots of explosions and self-loathing, though I think my heroine made some progress on that front. The first book has barely sold and I was hoping to wrap up what I had planned as a trilogy with this second book, but it didn't work out. I'm going to have to sit down and do some hardcore outlining for the next book. I'm currently editing and writing small word amounts on random other projects just to keep up my streak.

Was wondering if anyone saw this redit post by Michael J Sullivan about audio rights. I thought it was interesting, though I doubt I'll ever be working with his numbers.

 

[Mediking]

time to vomit it out

I need to work on doing that, been stalled trying to decide a few things like how much structural damage my main character would have to deal with by taking a spike to the wrist >.>

as well as needing to double check what the end result of having such a spike pierce all the way through (well just enough for the tip to poke out) would potentially be and the fallout from such things and what not.

as well as various other things, ideally will sit down tonight and vomit out a few thousand words and start the final arc of the current book. (which will require me to finalize a characters back story but that should be fine )

It's largely thanks to listening to music and daydreaming that I finally have an idea that I kinda wanna share. Presentation is everything though so I gotta read some books to remember how good presentation is executed.

And don't give up! Chase your dreams.

 

[Mediking]

I've been focusing on writing everyday and I haven't really set a word goal for myself. Most days I've managed 1k easily, but there's one 200 word day and a few 500 word days. Considering I visited my in-laws during that streak I'm very happy with what I've accomplished. I was finally able to finish the first draft of the sequel to my Sci-Fi soap opera, there's an evil twin, amnesia, and a piss poor plot to take over the empire. Lots of explosions and self-loathing, though I think my heroine made some progress on that front. The first book has barely sold and I was hoping to wrap up what I had planned as a trilogy with this second book, but it didn't work out. I'm going to have to sit down and do some hardcore outlining for the next book. I'm currently editing and writing small word amounts on random other projects just to keep up my streak.

Was wondering if anyone saw this redit post by Michael J Sullivan about audio rights. I thought it was interesting, though I doubt I'll ever be working with his numbers.

WHOA! Got an excerpt so I can read?

 

[AngmarsKing701]

Currently in a 31 day writing streak. I've been focusing on writing everyday and I haven't really set a word goal for myself. Most days I've managed 1k easily, but there's one 200 word day and a few 500 word days. Considering I visited my in-laws during that streak I'm very happy with what I've accomplished. I was finally able to finish the first draft of the sequel to my Sci-Fi soap opera, there's an evil twin, amnesia, and a piss poor plot to take over the empire. Lots of explosions and self-loathing, though I think my heroine made some progress on that front. The first book has barely sold and I was hoping to wrap up what I had planned as a trilogy with this second book, but it didn't work out. I'm going to have to sit down and do some hardcore outlining for the next book. I'm currently editing and writing small word amounts on random other projects just to keep up my streak.

Was wondering if anyone saw this redit post by Michael J Sullivan about audio rights. I thought it was interesting, though I doubt I'll ever be working with his numbers.

Awesome news!!! Way to go!!!

 

[Soulfire]

WHOA! Got an excerpt so I can read?

I'll PM you. It's a SciFi romance and the first book was light on the sex, the sequel has none, which is part of why I think it's not doing well. Romance readers must have their pleasure. Going to have to fix it with the third, or not lol we'll see what works best with the story.

Awesome news!!! Way to go!!!

Thanks

 

[Mediking]

I'll PM you. It's a SciFi romance and the first book was light on the sex, the sequel has none, which is part of why I think it's not doing well. Romance readers must have their pleasure. Going to have to fix it with the third, or not lol we'll see what works best with the story.



Thanks

Got the PM. Enjoyed what I read. I sent you a PM back. Lol

 

[SolVanderlyn]

A muse is an interesting thing. Sometimes I can be infused with passion and let five, ten pages fly off of my fingertips. I'll look back and read it and be proud of my work. Other times I struggle to write a single page, or even a single paragraph.

Also, you may remember me as "guy who was so excited to have written a book, and a long one too, 190k words!!" (I even made a map!)

The book is utter trash. I got another rejection letter for it yesterday. BUT -

I'm really glad I wrote it. I learned a lot of things while writing and re-writing and re-writing again:

-Having a good idea is only a start. You need to hone your craft before you can translate that idea well on paper.

-There is a difference between creating something for your own pleasure and creating something that is entertaining for other people to read. You need to have a hook. You can't love it just because it's your baby, because that love will blind you to its flaws.

-Oftentimes that hook comes from finding your own voice. At first, I was in great dismay in how I could have what I thought was an amazing idea in my head, only to have it fall completely flat on paper. This is because I wasn't fully aware of how I articulated my ideas.

-The best way to find your own voice is to keep writing. Without writing this failure of a novel, I would have never discovered my shortcomings and strengths. I now have a better concept of what I am capable of (shout out to AngmarsKing701. I checked out your Amazon profile, and the short paragraph you wrote about thinking you could write a better Billy Budd, realizing you were blinded by your own hubris at the time, really resonated with me, and helped me to grow as a writer).

-Re-reading what you've written is key. If it's not entertaining to you, it's not up to par.

-Flair is everything. You can describe something, or you can make the page sing. Writing a book is not writing a script.

-Good writing takes time and care. What you put in is what you get out, and this goes for what you're feeling emotionally, as well. If you're passionate and confident about a scene, it will flow onto the paper. If you're struggling how to fill in the gaps from Point A to Point B, and rush through those gaps just to get to a scene you've had in your head forever, it will come out looking rushed. Lack of passion or care will always show.

These are just the anecdotes of a rather inexperienced writer, so don't think I'm trying to sound like some wise writing sage or anything. I'm still learning how to write well.

That said, I'm hard at work on the book's prequel, which is now going to be stand-alone, and my first book is now my design bible. It's still serving a practical purpose!

TL;DR: Even failed projects serve their purpose. It's the effort that counts, and every project you undertake will help you grow as a writer and as a person. There is no such thing as a manuscript that is only dead weight.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

A muse is an interesting thing. Sometimes I can be infused with passion and let five, ten pages fly off of my fingertips. I'll look back and read it and be proud of my work. Other times I struggle to write a single page, or even a single paragraph.

Also, you may remember me as "guy who was so excited to have written a book, and a long one too, 190k words!!" (I even made a map!)

The book is utter trash. I got another rejection letter for it yesterday. BUT -

I'm really glad I wrote it. I learned a lot of things while writing and re-writing and re-writing again:

-Having a good idea is only a start. You need to hone your craft before you can translate that idea well on paper.

-There is a difference between creating something for your own pleasure and creating something that is entertaining for other people to read. You need to have a hook. You can't love it just because it's your baby, because that love will blind you to its flaws.

-Oftentimes that hook comes from finding your own voice. At first, I was in great dismay in how I could have what I thought was an amazing idea in my head, only to have it fall completely flat on paper. This is because I wasn't fully aware of how I articulated my ideas.

-The best way to find your own voice is to keep writing. Without writing this failure of a novel, I would have never discovered my shortcomings and strengths. I now have a better concept of what I am capable of (shout out to AngmarsKing701. I checked out your Amazon profile, and the short paragraph you wrote about thinking you could write a better Billy Budd, realizing you were blinded by your own hubris at the time, really resonated with me, and helped me to grow as a writer).

-Re-reading what you've written is key. If it's not entertaining to you, it's not up to par.

-Flair is everything. You can describe something, or you can make the page sing. Writing a book is not writing a script.

-Good writing takes time and care. What you put in is what you get out, and this goes for what you're feeling emotionally, as well. If you're passionate and confident about a scene, it will flow onto the paper. If you're struggling how to fill in the gaps from Point A to Point B, and rush through those gaps just to get to a scene you've had in your head forever, it will come out looking rushed. Lack of passion or care will always show.

These are just the anecdotes of a rather inexperienced writer, so don't think I'm trying to sound like some wise writing sage or anything. I'm still learning how to write well.

That said, I'm hard at work on the book's prequel, which is now going to be stand-alone, and my first book is now my design bible. It's still serving a practical purpose!

TL;DR: Even failed projects serve their purpose. It's the effort that counts, and every project you undertake will help you grow as a writer and as a person. There is no such thing as a manuscript that is only dead weight.

Glad that blurb was able to inspire! I'd actually thought about changing it recently, but I guess I'll keep it!

Also, Ahvarra was 190K words in its first draft. I worked with a writing group. I cut huge sections from it, I re-wrote sections of it, I fixed a storyline that didn't seem to go where I thought it was going to go during the initial writing process. Most of all, in working with a critique group who was heavily focused on my material over a short span of time, I learned to see those things they were seeing. I learned that when my belly got a little squeamish at certain phrases or certain places, it meant I needed to look more closely, because it was my Muse or my writing self telling the rest of me that what I was reading didn't work.

I use that today, especially in this novella challenge, because I'm doing my own editing. There's no time to plough this through a critique group. It's one reason I chose the journal format, because it's a single perspective and it's a bit easier to chum through words.

Anyway, Ahvarra wound up being published at ~125K words.

If your story has the right bones, then it's just a matter of plucking at the flesh around it to get the meat to stand out on those bones. And getting others' input is extremely helpful in determining whether it has good bones to begin with.

Edit - good points as well on the failures being important. I have a drawer full of manuscripts I've never published.

 

[Mediking]

A muse is an interesting thing. Sometimes I can be infused with passion and let five, ten pages fly off of my fingertips. I'll look back and read it and be proud of my work. Other times I struggle to write a single page, or even a single paragraph.

Also, you may remember me as "guy who was so excited to have written a book, and a long one too, 190k words!!" (I even made a map!)

The book is utter trash. I got another rejection letter for it yesterday. BUT -

I'm really glad I wrote it. I learned a lot of things while writing and re-writing and re-writing again:

-Having a good idea is only a start. You need to hone your craft before you can translate that idea well on paper.

-There is a difference between creating something for your own pleasure and creating something that is entertaining for other people to read. You need to have a hook. You can't love it just because it's your baby, because that love will blind you to its flaws.

-Oftentimes that hook comes from finding your own voice. At first, I was in great dismay in how I could have what I thought was an amazing idea in my head, only to have it fall completely flat on paper. This is because I wasn't fully aware of how I articulated my ideas.

-The best way to find your own voice is to keep writing. Without writing this failure of a novel, I would have never discovered my shortcomings and strengths. I now have a better concept of what I am capable of (shout out to AngmarsKing701. I checked out your Amazon profile, and the short paragraph you wrote about thinking you could write a better Billy Budd, realizing you were blinded by your own hubris at the time, really resonated with me, and helped me to grow as a writer).

-Re-reading what you've written is key. If it's not entertaining to you, it's not up to par.

-Flair is everything. You can describe something, or you can make the page sing. Writing a book is not writing a script.

-Good writing takes time and care. What you put in is what you get out, and this goes for what you're feeling emotionally, as well. If you're passionate and confident about a scene, it will flow onto the paper. If you're struggling how to fill in the gaps from Point A to Point B, and rush through those gaps just to get to a scene you've had in your head forever, it will come out looking rushed. Lack of passion or care will always show.

These are just the anecdotes of a rather inexperienced writer, so don't think I'm trying to sound like some wise writing sage or anything. I'm still learning how to write well.

That said, I'm hard at work on the book's prequel, which is now going to be stand-alone, and my first book is now my design bible. It's still serving a practical purpose!

TL;DR: Even failed projects serve their purpose. It's the effort that counts, and every project you undertake will help you grow as a writer and as a person. There is no such thing as a manuscript that is only dead weight.

Very inspiring to read. Thanks, man.

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

A muse is an interesting thing. Sometimes I can be infused with passion and let five, ten pages fly off of my fingertips. I'll look back and read it and be proud of my work. Other times I struggle to write a single page, or even a single paragraph.

Also, you may remember me as "guy who was so excited to have written a book, and a long one too, 190k words!!" (I even made a map!)

The book is utter trash. I got another rejection letter for it yesterday.

My current book is batting a full thousand in terms of rejections, at around 150 (had three agent bites including one that hasn't said no yet but let's be honest, she will), so you know, unless you're getting actual feedback from agents/publishers, a "NO" doesn't mean the book is trash.

Doesn't mean it isn't, but food for thought.

Your following points are all very solid pieces of advice though. Or so says someone who has never been published

 

[Random Human]

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[Conkersbadfurday]

I think the thing with rejection is that individual ones don't mean much, but patterns are always concerning. One query letter rejection, whatever. But you send out 20 and get no requests, that might be a query letter that needs work. If you get some feedback that says "The book has promise, but the opening is too slow," eh, that could be one person's opinion. If three agents tell you that, it definitely might be too slow.

I remember when I sent out my first queries (to people I found by googling "ten best agents in terms of sales", very strategic) and it was 50/50 silence and form rejections. Well, I realized my query not only was bad, but it didn't even make sense. So I reworked it, sent it out to some more, and got a few partial requests. That didn't seem great, so I reworked it again and started getting tons of full requests. I was really glad I took those breaks to re-work it because otherwise I would've kept sending out the same bad query and burning through names.

I try to stay positive by reminding myself that if you learn from your mistakes, they weren't really mistakes in the big picture. So those projects that "fail", whether they're books that just never come together or don't sell or whatever "success" means to you, you've learned something and grown and hopefully gotten a bit better. Most writers don't sell the first thing they write, after all, so maybe you need a few projects to figure things out. And even after they sell something, they don't sell everything else they write either, so maybe you need to keep figuring things out.

It's hard to determine what works and what doesn't when some agents outright say they look at 1 out of a 100 requests. I figure it's welcome to genre fiction.

I mean, my book might suck and my query might be worse, but it's also possible I'm peddling snake oil in a genre that's so filled with snake oil it's actually just snakes now.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

It's hard to determine what works and what doesn't when some agents outright say they look at 1 out of a 100 requests. I figure it's welcome to genre fiction.

I mean, my book might suck and my query might be worse, but it's also possible I'm peddling snake oil in a genre that's so filled with snake oil it's actually just snakes now.

Did you ever try that crazy query pitch I tossed out? Would love to know if that got you a look-see.

 

[Valdfellgar]

I think the thing with rejection is that individual ones don't mean much, but patterns are always concerning. One query letter rejection, whatever. But you send out 20 and get no requests, that might be a query letter that needs work. If you get some feedback that says "The book has promise, but the opening is too slow," eh, that could be one person's opinion. If three agents tell you that, it definitely might be too slow.

I remember when I sent out my first queries (to people I found by googling "ten best agents in terms of sales", very strategic) and it was 50/50 silence and form rejections. Well, I realized my query not only was bad, but it didn't even make sense. So I reworked it, sent it out to some more, and got a few partial requests. That didn't seem great, so I reworked it again and started getting tons of full requests. I was really glad I took those breaks to re-work it because otherwise I would've kept sending out the same bad query and burning through names.

I try to stay positive by reminding myself that if you learn from your mistakes, they weren't really mistakes in the big picture. So those projects that "fail", whether they're books that just never come together or don't sell or whatever "success" means to you, you've learned something and grown and hopefully gotten a bit better. Most writers don't sell the first thing they write, after all, so maybe you need a few projects to figure things out. And even after they sell something, they don't sell everything else they write either, so maybe you need to keep figuring things out.

This is good advice. Few requests often means a bad query letter. Queries, log lines, synopsis, etc. are usually the problem because those can be far more difficult to nail and you've likely spent way less time on them then you have your book. Definitely spend a lot of time on the query and summation of your novel and do just as Random is, go back and revise it if you're not seeing results.

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

Did you ever try that crazy query pitch I tossed out? Would love to know if that got you a look-see.

Still editing that particular book. I won't be done with it for another few months.

 

[Soulfire]

Hit publish yesterday, that makes nine books, two short stories, two box sets, and one novella under this pen name. Excited even though I already know this book won't sell since the first one did pretty bad and it's a year later. Oh well, working on the outline for the final installment because I don't want to leave all ten of my readers hanging. Then I've got an idea for a series that I think will do much better.
I've got an ENT ad set for one of my perma frees for the 12th, last time I had almost 2k downloads and ended up getting a few reviews as well as a number of read throughs so I'm excited to see what happens. Made back the cost of the ad and then some. Still can't get a Bookbub to save my life, oh well.
Somehow I've managed to keep my writing streak going but yesterday I just clocked in 118 words. It still counts! Today will probably be even less because I've been updating my website and sending out an email to my mailing list and updating Facebook. Fun times, but it has to be done.
One of these days I'm going to work on mailing list automation, but not anytime soon. Also thinking about trying some AMS ads, but I need to read more about them before I start throwing around money I don't have.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

Hit publish yesterday, that makes nine books, two short stories, two box sets, and one novella under this pen name. Excited even though I already know this book won't sell since the first one did pretty bad and it's a year later. Oh well, working on the outline for the final installment because I don't want to leave all ten of my readers hanging. Then I've got an idea for a series that I think will do much better.
I've got an ENT ad set for one of my perma frees for the 12th, last time I had almost 2k downloads and ended up getting a few reviews as well as a number of read throughs so I'm excited to see what happens. Made back the cost of the ad and then some. Still can't get a Bookbub to save my life, oh well.
Somehow I've managed to keep my writing streak going but yesterday I just clocked in 118 words. It still counts! Today will probably be even less because I've been updating my website and sending out an email to my mailing list and updating Facebook. Fun times, but it has to be done.
One of these days I'm going to work on mailing list automation, but not anytime soon. Also thinking about trying some AMS ads, but I need to read more about them before I start throwing around money I don't have.

Excellent! Congrats!

Can you send the link for it and I'll add it to the OP?

 

[Random Human]

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[Valdfellgar]

Sorry, I should've worded that better. I've got an agent, so I'm not currently querying. But that approach was really helpful to me in the often frustrating querying process.

I think you're spot on about log lines. It's become clear to me lately how they're secretly soooo important (at every stage of the process, from querying to post-publishing) and yet most writers, myself included, give it very little thought. The ability to pitch your book in a short, attractive way is just so valuable. I'm starting to think about this earlier on in the process than I have in the past.

Ah okay grats! I made the switch from screenwriting to novels last year. Got my first completed work. Just a few edits to go and it'll be time for me to work at crafting queries and synopses and loglines. Would love to finally have my writing finally get into people's hands for once. I only ever came close to selling a screenplay.

 

[Random Human]

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[Valdfellgar]

Heh, looks like we're moving opposite directions -- I'm going to try to sell some screenplays either at the end of the year or beginning of next. I know what you mean, though. Everything I've read about Hollywood is they don't want to read stuff... which is very discouraging. Publishing is much better in that regard.

It's pretty grueling, just fyi. Depending on the kind of stuff you're writing Inktip.com can be a bit helpful, in fact that's where I got most of my 'close calls'/'near sales.' Just write strong log lines, a good synopsis, and even scripts that would cost 10-20 mill to make have a shot of getting you a look in.

Truth is though, from what I learned, you're really just marketing yourself. Unless you're writing projects that can be made on shoe-string budgets, or by small studios, you're mostly just getting your name out there so they can perhaps hire you to write something else.

It's that, coupled with the knowledge that even if my own scripts got made I'd lose total control pretty quickly, that finally made me decide to go the other way. But if you're prepared for that, and have an in already thanks to that agent of yours, you can probably do better than I did.

Edit: Oh and I suppose just to add to my reasoning: At some point I realized I'm a bit of a control freak. I'm lazy, so I'd never be a very good director lol, but I do have stuff I want to say with my writing and I struggle with the thought of someone reworking my stuff because they don't get it/assume they can do it better.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

My book is now out https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999120107/?tag=neogaf0e-20

I am excited to finally finish my first book. Time to go out and get interviews.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

My book is now out https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999120107/?tag=neogaf0e-20



I am excited to finally finish my first book. Time to go out and get interviews.

Congrats!

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

You’ve done a great job capturing Norbert’s depression and making it vivid for the reader, and his discovery of magic was engaging, but unfortunately, we do have some concerns. The manuscript is so deeply in Norbert’s head that at times it can feel claustrophobic, which we found distancing. Given this hesitation, I cannot be of assistance in placing your work at this time.

Well that's a first. Given how little popular YA is in third person past, let alone third person subjective, I figured this would be a selling point D:

Feel good about a personalized rejection letter though. Been awhile since I got one of those.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

Congrats!

Very cool, congrats on getting it out there!

thanks guys!

 

[BorkBork]

My book is now out https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999120107/?tag=neogaf0e-20



I am excited to finally finish my first book. Time to go out and get interviews.

Congrats! For a great cause too!

 

[FlowersisBritish]

My book is now out https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999120107/?tag=neogaf0e-20

I am excited to finally finish my first book. Time to go out and get interviews.

Congrats! What a neat idea!

Well that's a first. Given how little popular YA is in third person past, let alone third person subjective, I figured this would be a selling point D:

Feel good about a personalized rejection letter though. Been awhile since I got one of those.

Yeah, Its been awhile since I got a personalized rejection too. I got a couple when I first submitted stories, but it feels like a really long time since I've got one. Still, when you do, even though it's a rejection it atleast feels nice to know you did a good enough job to make someone care just a little.

 

[SOLDIER]

As someone who really wants to break through his lack of confidence and start writing the ideas he's been dreaming in his head forever, I had a few questions that I didn't see covered in the OP (unless I missed them):

1. The OP mentions tips on self-publishing through traditional means, but what about digital publishing? I've heard crazy stories about people making money off selling their stories on Kindle, even unauthorized fanfiction on Minecraft and Zelda. How easy is it to get digitally published these days?

2. OP also mentioned a resource for sharing stories for feedback, but I can't help but ask the obvious: what would keep someone from copying and stealing your work?

3. Finally, as a bit of a personal question, is there an efficient way of determining what kind of format best suits your writing? I've long pondered whether I'm better off conceiving stories as a novel, as a movie script, a comic script, or even a visual novel. Personally I've always thought out my ideas visually, rather than written: I could never be like GRRM and write out the meticulous details of a scenery or someone's entire family history. I come from a videogame/anime/comic background where I've always loved the subtlety of a single image vs conveying that same emotion through a couple of paragraphs. Case in point, this wordless scene from Berserk:

I always felt that sends a more powerful message that wouldn't work as well if it was novelized.

But I also can't draw for crap, nor do I have the dough to commision an artist. So I continue to wonder where I should start, and in what format.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

As someone who really wants to break through his lack of confidence and start writing the ideas he's been dreaming in his head forever, I had a few questions that I didn't see covered in the OP (unless I missed them):

1. The OP mentions tips on self-publishing through traditional means, but what about digital publishing? I've heard crazy stories about people making money off selling their stories on Kindle, even unauthorized fanfiction on Minecraft and Zelda. How easy is it to get digitally published these days?

It's easy to self publish a book on Kindle. If you already have an Amazon account, you can sign in to Kindle Direct Publishing (do a Google search for it to make sure you're getting the right URL in your country). Once you make an account on KDP, you can pretty much go through a wizard to create your book, including a blurb, uploading your manuscript, using their cover creator if you'd like, setting prices, running sales, etc. The big thing, once you have it up there, is working to get people to actually read it. There are MILLIONS of books published for Kindle, so standing out is the toughest part.

2. OP also mentioned a resource for sharing stories for feedback, but I can't help but ask the obvious: what would keep someone from copying and stealing your work?

It's really not worth it for someone to try and steal something. Especially if you're working with a group of writers on feedback. How would that work? You give people a draft. You get a lot of comments back, which you then go and incorporate. Does the thief steal the original copy? The one before you do anything? It's also not lucrative. Trust me, I have several books published and I've made maybe $150 so far. (Others are way more successful.). Bottom line: it's very difficult to try and steal someone's art, because they aren't the creative force behind it.

3. Finally, as a bit of a personal question, is there an efficient way of determining what kind of format best suits your writing? I've long pondered whether I'm better off conceiving stories as a novel, as a movie script, a comic script, or even a visual novel. Personally I've always thought out my ideas visually, rather than written: I could never be like GRRM and write out the meticulous details of a scenery or someone's entire family history. I come from a videogame/anime/comic background where I've always loved the subtlety of a single image vs conveying that same emotion through a couple of paragraphs. Case in point, this wordless scene from Berserk:

Mostly trial and error. I've always tended to write novels, but a couple years ago I tried my hand at short stories and little vignettes to help sharpen/hone my writing. I actually won a local short story contest, which I was quite happy with, given most of my other writing managed to be 200K-ish novels. That also helped with this novella challenge. Although the novellas are 30K, that means I still need to scope a story in that space.

I've also been told--both directly in feedback and in reviews of my work online--that I have a very visual writing style, that my writing would translate to screen effectively. I've never tried writing a screenplay, but maybe I'll fiddle with that at some point.

In short: try different things. Take that picture you posted and try to write a few sentences on what's happening. Take any picture on the internet and write something about it. Expand it to a story on either side, with that picture at the center.

Writing is very rarely ever just one thing. Experiment. I actually put a little transcript in the middle of the 2nd novella, because a key part of the story needed to be told after the fact when the two characters had been separated.

Bottom line: write. Then write some more. Then keep writing.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

Congrats! For a great cause too!

Congrats! What a neat idea!

Thanks, a local hospital just purchased 50 copies for patients, I am really glad I fought my depression to get this done.

Now I just need a few reviews to pop up

 

[AngmarsKing701]

Thanks, a local hospital just purchased 50 copies for patients, I am really glad I fought my depression to get this done.

Now I just need a few reviews to pop up

That's excellent!

 

[Random Human]

.

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

That's great you got some personalized feedback! Am I reading too much into the "we" to think the agent also passed it along to someone else? Or it might be an assistant? Either way, congrats!

The person who sent me the rejection was not the agent I sent the email to, according to my spreadsheet. So it may have been a second agent or an assistant.

But like you said, it was nice to get personalized feedback, even if I don't plan on using said feedback

 

[Random Human]

.

 

[Conkersbadfurday]

Yeah, it does sound like a pretty subjective criticism. It's funny you've got a YA third person past -- I've got a first person present MG book on submission that's proving a tough sell. In retrospect it would've been a much easier sell as third person past, but I love the voice so oh well, screw it.

Thank god my next two books are third person past, though. :O

First person present seems to be "in" or at least it was a few years ago when I actively read YA books. Dunno if it's died down or not.

Not sure I've ever read a MG book in that tense. Seems unique there.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

I guess this is still a good place to ask this since 'Selling' is the 3rd part of this topic.

I am learning about the book market as I go.

I am seeing some weird things, I am learning about amazon sellers/resellers and why my book already has like 6 3rd Party sellers on amazon.

I was looking through youtube to see what is driving these sellers to post a book for like 2x-3x the sales price. How you gonna list a $9 book for $20.

This reseller has a lot of info on why this happens
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmMn1qC-b3g

and this guy talks about sales rank maths
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz2Whk92yn0

Have you guys gone through this? should I be worried?

Sorry if this has already been discussed, just trying to figure out if I should be a reseller of my own stuff.

 

[Soulfire]

Had a horrible migraine this morning during my normal writing time. Later I ended up writing a 706 word letter to Friendly's Ice Cream about a recent limited edition flavor they had, I think I'm going to count that so my streak continues. It's only kind of cheating, right? It was still creative writing, even though it wasn't on an actual book.