I was asked by AK to do an advice entry for new/up and coming writers. To be honest, I don’t know where to begin. There are so many things that I could tell new writers, but I’m not sure they’d believe me. *ggg* When I finish my advice, I’d like to open the comments up to all the published writers out there. Please share your own experiences and suggestions.
Let me start by saying that there is no ‘magic’ entry into the world of publishing. You don’t need to know the special handshake or verbiage. It always starts with the story. I know that’s not an exciting answer, but it’s the truth. Story is everything. It’s easy to lose track of that when your friends are getting multiple book deals and you’re seeing new sales announced daily on blogs. It’s hard, but try to stay focused.
So now onto my advice: Don’t be in a rush to get published. Explore ALL the writing genres (ie write something even if it’s a short story) before submitting your work to a publisher. You don’t want to submit a contemporary and then find out that you actually prefer/excel at writing historicals. You have to be willing to write badly, before you can produce good work. (This one comes courtesy of Lynn Viehl.) Take classes–and I don’t mean college courses. There are plenty of great online writing courses. Gotham Writer’s Workshop comes to mind. Read craft books. There are a lot of great ones out there (ie On Writing by Stephen King, Immediate Fiction by Jerry Cleaver, Scene and Structure by Jack Bickham, Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass, Setting by Jack Bickham, etc.). Take baby steps, even if you want to fly (ie don’t rush). Yes, I know I’ve already said that, but it bears repeating. Don’t be afraid to research agents AND publishers before you submit work to them. Authors don’t mind talking off the record about both. If you’re fortunate enough to be published, but aren’t happy with your representation or the publisher, don’t be afraid to leave. You WILL get another shot at the make-believe ring. Along those same lines, don’t be afraid to turn down a book deal if the offer is bad. Read that last sentence again because it’s important. You don’t have to take a bad deal out of fear that you’ll never get another offer. You did it once, you can do it again. Sarah McCarty and Sylvia Day are shining examples when it comes to turning down deals if they don’t meet their needs. Every writer can learn a valuable lesson from them.
My advice for people trying to break into publishing is read, read and read some more. When you’ve done that, then start writing. Expect to write a LOT before you’re published. Do some people get published straight out of the chute? Yes, they do. But here’s the thing, getting published ISN’T the hard part. Yeah, I know that right about now you’re sitting there with your rejection slips going ‘the bitch is out of her mind’, but it’s the truth. Getting published isn’t hard. STAYING published is. So if you’re looking at getting published as the ‘be all and end all’, YOU’RE WRONG. You have to think more long-term than that.
There are a lot of ways to get published. Enter contests, submit your work, go the e-publishing route, etc. These have all worked for various writers, although I do think it’s harder to make the leap from e-publishing to N.Y. now that the big publishers have entered the e-book game. I started out entering contests, then went on to write ebooks. Both paid off for me. I won/placed in various contests (ie the Daphne du Maurier, the Finally a Bride, the Lori Foster/Kensington Brava, and the Harlequin Blaze contest). Two of those contests got me book deals (Brava and Blaze). So never underestimate the power of contests. That said, it doesn’t pay to enter the same project multiple times in various contests. I met a girl through the Daphne du Maurier who had been entering the ’same’ book for five years and couldn’t understand why she hadn’t finaled or won. It seemed pretty obvious to me, but not so much to her. When I suggested that she write something new, she said that her book was good and that it just hadn’t landed in front of the right judges yet. Okey dokey. There’s also the other type of writer, the one who enters multiple contests, wins/places, but never finishes the books. Don’t be one of those writers. Contests are addictive. I should know. But like any addict, you have to know when to say when. In my case, my critique partner did an intervention—and threatened to hit me if I entered any more contests. *ggg*
As for e-publishing, I was fortunate to get in at the ground floor. It’s harder to get e-published by a credible publisher these days. And the truth is, the only things that really sell well in e-publishing are erotica and erotic romance. So if you don’t write in those genres, then you probably won’t make much money. That said, if you’re just trying to build your writing resume, then by all means submit to the e-publishers.
Here’s another hard fact that everyone should know. Right now, erotic romance has started to wane. Like any phase in publishing, it had its hayday. Something else is about to take over the lead spot. No, I don’t know what it will be. We’ll have to see what’s the next breakout novel. Does that mean that if you write erotic romance you won’t be able to sell your work? No, but it does mean that it’ll be MUCH harder to sell a story to N.Y. The same goes with paranormal. N.Y. is still buying paranormal stories, but it’s harder to sell them. You have to write something that stands out.
One way a new author can get noticed is to ride a trend to the top. Of course, that means waiting to see what the next trend will be. Shouldn’t take long. We’re due for the next trend any day now.
My final bit of advice is to write what you love. You won’t know what that is until you’ve sampled everything. But it’s a lot easier to build a career writing stories that move/speak to you than it is writing to a trend that you hate.
And finally, a sad, but true from Smart Bitches.
Now I’m going to open my blog to questions and advice.
April 11th, 2008
>>One way a new author can get noticed is to ride a trend to the top.
And then know when to get the heck out *ggg* (and not lose momentum). I think it’ll be very interesting to see who survives the erotica/erotic romance trend!
Submit to epubs but don’t forsake quality for quantity which I think some writers do because they’re so anxious to be published. 20 poorly written novellas is NOT going to get you very far with an agent. They aren’t going to make a lot of money off novellas and note the “poorly written”. Did that make sense?
by Amie Stuart April 11th, 2008 at 12:48 pmAmie, Perfect sense. Good advice.
by Jordan April 11th, 2008 at 1:01 pmGreat advice Jordan. I really like the part about turning deals down and getting with the right agent. All VERY IMPORTANT. As writers we have to put worth on ourselves and not jump on the first deal that comes your way. Read the contracts, ALL THE CONTRACTS, and know what you are signing. Also, don’t be afraid to look at every opportunity afforded you. It just may be your big break. I think about some of the little contests that certain agents run, like Bookends, or Nathan Bransford. You never know what can happen out of those.
by Vivi Anna April 11th, 2008 at 1:01 pmVivi, Wonderful advice. I forgot about reading (and UNDERSTANDING) the contracts. Also, good agent advice. Thanks!
by Jordan April 11th, 2008 at 1:03 pmDefinitely think in terms of “career” and not “getting published”. The biggest thing is probably to know yourself and your goals and keep the long view in mind. As for trends, I figured the erotic trend had peaked two years ago. *g*
by Charli April 11th, 2008 at 2:27 pmCharli, Great advice! I thought it peaked last year. *ggg*
by Jordan April 11th, 2008 at 2:58 pmDon’t have a lick of advice, but much appreciate the way you put it out there, Jordan. But I must say, I do think getting published is, more often than not, hard. Staying published is probably harder though–yup.
by raine April 11th, 2008 at 11:31 pmHey Jordan,
Very comprehensive post. You didn’t leave much for me to add.*G*
I found a little something. It won’t apply to everyone, but might help some. Study the market, what’s hot what’s not, what are readers clamoring for, etc. Not so much to write to it, but to see if there’s momentum you can catch in it and ride for the genre in which you want to write.
I wanted to write western historical. I had a strong series that I knew had legs. It also had great editor interest, but I couldn’t sell it because, well, pretty, much the genre. However, WH used to be THE genre. (paranormal grew out of it) It had a lot of readers dying for more, but no one was writing it. To me that screamed hungry niche. A hungry niche is an opportunity to create a market. So, I built a marketing plan and went forth.
FWIW, I see the current hungry niche being big contemps (heat level immaterial) with deep characterization and strong romance. Think Sandra Canfield’s Night into Day. The next trend I think will be futuristics as that’s are a natural out growth out of paranormal and urban fantasy and takes those elements to the next level. I think we will also see a return to popularity of more books where the characters are bigger than the world. That’s just a natural swing.
There, *putting my crystal ball away* my input and predictions.
All before coffee. (so please forgive typos)
by Sarah McCarty April 12th, 2008 at 3:10 amSome people don’t like them, but a GOOD critique group can really help you hone your craft. Finding one that’s supportive, that has members who are more skilled that you is the trick. Of course, ditch a group that tries to dilute your voice.
You might find that kind of support in an RWA (Romance Writers of America) chapter.
I’d emphasize experimenting with writing different genres when you start to write. When you find one that seems more natural or where the words come faster, that’s probably where you ought to be. If you’re struggling to write a book in a genre you think will sell, you’re spinning your wheels. Jordan’s absolutely right about not getting stuck writing something you really don’t enjoy just because you think it will sell. You have to be able to repeat it again and again.
by Delilah Devlin April 12th, 2008 at 2:43 pmRaine, Take my word for it, staying published is MUCH harder than getting published.
by Jordan April 12th, 2008 at 4:54 pmSarah, I sure hope your crystal ball is right.
by Jordan April 12th, 2008 at 4:55 pmDelilah, ***Finding one that’s supportive, that has members who are more skilled that you is the trick.*** This is a trick, but well worth pursuing. It’s hard to find writers who are more skilled who are willing to take less skilled writers into a critique group, but it does happen. Great suggestion.
by Jordan April 12th, 2008 at 4:58 pmJordan…I was about to say the same thing about Sarah’s post! *ggg*
by Amie Stuart April 13th, 2008 at 10:49 amAmie, Great minds.
by Jordan April 13th, 2008 at 2:31 pm