I finished the book that I was working on in a rough draft status as of January. Understanding that I'm not the best writer, I started doing a lot of reading on folks that I appreciate along with borrowing books from the library on writing itself (tensing and pacing being what I studied the most).
So six months of me trying to find a friend that would help me proofread (as Kroger's does not pay enough for you to afford a brake job, much less a proofreader/editor) and finding part-time help with that, I started writing the other books in the series.
I'm writing as much as I can when I can (like gaming, but it is easier) and I found that a website called, Smashwords.com.
They have my book now, for sale, in e-book format, for a dollar. All 82,000 words are possibly yours for that low price.
Why that low price? Because if I sell 5,000 books, I just paid my rent for the year as I get 85% of that dollar. And I know that I don't have the staff to afford a true team of editors and proof-readers, my readers will find errors.
At the same time, I know that other published and famous authors, have the same problems as I do. Creative people do not appreciate the time spent in minutia.
So if anyone wants to know how they could find Shift: Election Weekend...
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/205823
It says Not Found.
Edit: Where do you live that you pay $355/mo in rent? I want to move there!
It says Not Found.
Edit: Where do you live that you pay $355/mo in rent? I want to move there!
Deer Creek, IL. Lovely town situated right off Interstate 74 betwixt Peoria and Bloomington. The weather is extreme; excessively hot in the summer, very cold in the Winter. Just a precaution.
Deer Creek, IL. Lovely town situated right off Interstate 74 betwixt Peoria and Bloomington. The weather is extreme; excessively hot in the summer, very cold in the Winter. Just a precaution.It says Not Found.
Edit: Where do you live that you pay $355/mo in rent? I want to move there!
All of the interior videos of mine on youtube were shot in the apartment, so it isn't horrid living.
The link still says "The book you are looking for could not be found." Am I missing something?
The link still says "The book you are looking for could not be found." Am I missing something?
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/20582
also, try looking for Shift: Election Weekend in google. That is how I found it on the smartphones at work and the little internet we have here.
The link still says "The book you are looking for could not be found." Am I missing something?http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/20582
also, try looking for Shift: Election Weekend in google. That is how I found it on the smartphones at work and the little internet we have here.
Any critics on this? Please, folks...I want someone to do what critics do with this.
As soon as I have some free $ (being the good samaritan is expensive!) I plan to get River Kings' Road too. Thanks for writing this Pathfinder piece, and thanks to Paizo for letting us see this writer's talent for free!It's kind of you to say so. This post was the kick in the pants that I needed to get back to work on the next one. Much appreciated (and I'm sure my editor would thank you too!).That was a really good read, I'm definitely going to be keeping an eye out for chapter 2 next week! Might have to find out if any of the book stores here carry The River Kings' Road too...I just finished reading the The River Kings' Road and that it was well written. I finished it in three days!!
Matt, I don't remember ever saying this, but I have yet to disagree with you.
+1
I know this isn't what the thread is really about, but do you have any advice for someone wanting to publish their book?
Either you decide to get an agent which is time consuming and irritating 400 rejection slips later, or you can be like the thousands that found self-publishing to be more satisfying than waiting weeks for someone to actually read more than the opening sentence of your inquiry letter.
That might sound a bit snippy, but I found myself actually personally offended by agents who wouldn't give any constructive criticism for why they were rejecting the book but yet the bungmunch Robert Jordan died with nine or so craptastic novels (not opinionated here) on store shelves! I wondered more than my share of nights how he could have been published due to the fact that many people find him akin to Lovecraft of fantasy (lots of good description, poor dialogue, never wraps up the series or story at hand).
I found just get your book made into something that you can look at a finished product long enough to start typing a sequel or two. And if someone likes your book enough to give you a deal, awesome! If you enjoyed writing the product, then really that is what matters.
Either you decide to get an agent which is time consuming and irritating 400 rejection slips later, or you can be like the thousands that found self-publishing to be more satisfying than waiting weeks for someone to actually read more than the opening sentence of your inquiry letter.
If your book is being constantly rejected, especially 400 times, that is an indication that it might need more work. As long as you haven't burned any bridges, agents will have no problem reading re-submitted fresh drafts of a work previously submitted, though they might ask you leave it several months to a year between submissions. Yes, to a certain degree luck plays a factor. An agent might have an informal quota of how many writers per genre they take on per year and you might simply have fallen outside of that, but if the work was exceptional they would also make an exception for it. The tone of the cover letter (publishers will immediately feed into the shredder unread any book without a cover letter, or one that is not presented wel), the detail of the synopsis and so on will also play a role in how your work is examined.
It's true that thousands have found self-publishing a reasonable route to getting their books sold, even getting their books on local bookshelves and so on. But, generally speaking, most readers of SFF will not touch a self-published novel that has not been proof-read with a fifty-foot bargepole, fair or unfair as that seems.
In my case, I run an SF blog with fifty thousand vists a month and receive two-to-three dozen professionally-published books a month to review, of which I will manage to read a small fraction. Neither I nor most other bloggers (who start a lot of buzz) will review self-published books that have not seen a professional editing team. There simply isn't enough time.
That might sound a bit snippy, but I found myself actually personally offended by agents who wouldn't give any constructive criticism for why they were rejecting the book but yet the bungmunch Robert Jordan died with nine or so craptastic novels (not opinionated here) on store shelves!
Agents receive several hundred manuscripts per year and don't have time to respond in detail to each one submitted with a full reason why they didn't accept it. If the work had a lot of promise but fell short, they'd likely give you a more detailed explanation of why they didn't take it on board and urge a rewrite and re-submission, but even that is not guaranteed. Definitely do not take it personally. If you don't have a thick skin, you will find the publishing industry very hard to break into.
I wondered more than my share of nights how he could have been published due to the fact that many people find him akin to Lovecraft of fantasy (lots of good description, poor dialogue, never wraps up the series or story at hand).
He was published because he had written four historical novels and six books set in the CONAN mythos which had sold very well for his publishers. When he proposed a more ambitious epic fantasy project, they agreed to publish it, even insisting that he make it more commercial during the writing process. But mainly he had already built up a reputation for delivering solid books on a reliable schedule and had established a (then) small fanbase. Combined with his good working relationship with the publishers, that's what got the books published, not to mention selling in their hundreds of thousands almost from the off.
I found just get your book made into something that you can look at a finished product long enough to start typing a sequel or two. And if someone likes your book enough to give you a deal, awesome! If you enjoyed writing the product, then really that is what matters.
This certainly is true, but the chances of someone finding your self-published book and giving you a deal are vanishingly small. Christopher Paolini is the sole exception I know of, and that was a long time ago when far less people were doing it. I know of a couple of other authors who followed the self-publishing route but also kept up submitting the work to professional publishers and they were picked up eventually. This isn't an either/or situation, you can do both.
I know this isn't what the thread is really about, but do you have any advice for someone wanting to publish their book?
My very rough advice, for what it's worth, would be as follows:
1. Finish the book. No-one will read your unfinished book unless the circumstances are exceptional.
2. Target the right agents. Crime agents will not publish romance novels and romance agents will not publish SF. Don't blanket-send your manuscript with an obviously cut-and-pasted cover letter. Personalise your queries, be polite and for the love of everything, don't take the sarky route ("You probably won't be interested in something this radical," etc).
3. Don't include your life story or try to show off your knowledge of the genre in the initial cover letter. Keep it brief, simple and to the point.
4. Don't send in the full manuscript straight away. It varies by agent (check their submission guidelines on their website), but most will want the first 3-4 chapters and a synopsis of the full novel, as well as a word-count of its length. If targetting the SF&F genre, you can get away with slightly longer books and include the fact it's the first in a series if this is the case. In this case let them know you know how many books in the series and that they are planned out already.
5. If asked for the full manuscript, look at the agents' website to see how they want to receive the manuscript. Some will accept email-and-attachements, some will want physical copies. If sending in a physical copy, include a post-paid return envelope unless you want to lose it.
6. Be prepared to be rejected. A lot. Brandon Sanderson spent ten years submitting books before any were published. His first novel published was his seventh completed novel. His second novel published was his thirteenth. Pat Rothfuss spent fifteen years shopping his book around, three of them after winning prizes for his short fiction, before it was picked up.
7. If you do consider self-publishing, don't let up on the submissions to reputable publishers, unless you don't want to write fiction for a living or are pursuing it as a sideline or hobby only.
8. There are authors who break all of the above rules and got published almost immediately (in the case of Terry Goodkind, unbelievably so). So don't take any rules or guidlines as being depressing or negative. Exceptions happen, even if rarely so.
Good luck! :-)
Either you decide to get an agent which is time consuming and irritating 400 rejection slips later, or you can be like the thousands that found self-publishing to be more satisfying than waiting weeks for someone to actually read more than the opening sentence of your inquiry letter.If your book is being constantly rejected, especially 400 times, that is an indication that it might need more work. As long as you haven't burned any bridges, agents will have no problem reading re-submitted fresh drafts of a work previously submitted, though they might ask you leave it several months to a year between submissions. Yes, to a certain degree luck plays a factor. An agent might have an informal quota of how many writers per genre they take on per year and you might simply have fallen outside of that, but if the work was exceptional they would also make an exception for it. The tone of the cover letter (publishers will immediately feed into the shredder unread any book without a cover letter, or one that is not presented wel), the detail of the synopsis and so on will also play a role in how your work is examined.
It's true that thousands have found self-publishing a reasonable route to getting their books sold, even getting their books on local bookshelves and so on. But, generally speaking, most readers of SFF will not touch a self-published novel that has not been proof-read with a fifty-foot bargepole, fair or unfair as that seems.
In my case, I run an SF blog with fifty thousand vists a month and receive two-to-three dozen professionally-published books a month to review, of which I will manage to read a small fraction. Neither I nor most other bloggers (who start a lot of buzz) will review self-published books that have not seen a professional editing team. There simply isn't enough time.
That might sound a bit snippy, but I found myself actually personally offended by agents who wouldn't give any constructive criticism for why they were rejecting the book but yet the bungmunch...
Awesome information and quite encouraging. Thanks Wert!