Alex
Troubadour
Ever since I've started writing, I've thought about publishing one day, but I've always been nervous wondering if anyone would enjoy it. Any tips on getting over that "fear" of publishing?
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Nervous about publishing
- Thread starter Alex
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sashamerideth
Maester
I am guessing you haven't actually tried getting published yet. It can take years and when it finally does, you will have had so may rejection letters and so many broken hopes that getting a publisher will be a relief. Or is it the finding that you fear?
Self pub is still an option and my preference.
Self pub is still an option and my preference.
TWErvin2
Auror
I just try to write the best story I can, one that I'd like to find on the shelf (if I hadn't written it). If you're happy with it, that's more than half the battle. Will everyone love it? No. Realizing that, it's easier.
For everyone the path is different. For everyone the concerns and worries are a bit different. Just hang in there, finish your work and give it a shot. And remember, if you submit your book and it's rejected, they're not commenting upon you. The works isn't right for them (for a variety of reasons). And if a publisher accepts it, great, but it doesn't make you a better person, just that you wrote something the publisher thought they could make a profit from it.
For everyone the path is different. For everyone the concerns and worries are a bit different. Just hang in there, finish your work and give it a shot. And remember, if you submit your book and it's rejected, they're not commenting upon you. The works isn't right for them (for a variety of reasons). And if a publisher accepts it, great, but it doesn't make you a better person, just that you wrote something the publisher thought they could make a profit from it.
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Alex
Troubadour
I appreciate the answer, I guess I just need more faith in myself. Thanks so much
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- #5
Alex
Troubadour
@Sasha Yes, I was going to self publish, my fear is that nobody will buy the book in the first place...
If you self-publish, odds are not many people will buy it. That's just the reality. But if even one person buys it, that's one more person than would have bought it had you not published. No book can appeal to everyone, so you have to be prepared for negative comments and reviews as well as positive ones.
MichaelSullivan
Maester
You may not like my answer...if you are timid this early in the process then "writing for a living" may not be your cup of tea. That's not a problem...go ahead and continue to write for your own enjoyment and share with friends or even on your website to others. Just keep your goals in line with your comfort level. To be a "professional writer" is TOUGH....really, really TOUGH and you have to be self-confident, thick skinned, and have persistence and determination that would put a honey badger to shame. If that doesn't describe you...then you'll just have disappointment after disappointment and in the end you may grow to hate writing. It's not a character flaw to not be able to survive in that envirnonment. Those that do aren't "better" than those that don't are "bad or losers" they are just wired differently.
The important thing is to have your expectations aligned, and a "go-getter" self-published author can make a good living if they produce good product. If you aren't going to be out there fighting for your project...yeah you'll likely see few sales - but if you can "be all right" with that - then why not?
The important thing is to have your expectations aligned, and a "go-getter" self-published author can make a good living if they produce good product. If you aren't going to be out there fighting for your project...yeah you'll likely see few sales - but if you can "be all right" with that - then why not?
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I agree with Michael. Being timid will give anyone trying to write for a living problems. You almost have to get rejected. Just because someone rejects you though doesn't mean you're bad. I think too many new writers equate rejection with failure or not being talented enough. Sometimes people just find the wrong editor or publisher or agent or whatever. There's definitely a "synergy" that goes with getting published. About 80 percent of getting published is persistence. Make a suit of armor out of rejection letters and go wading into the Ocean of Fear.
Start small though. I wonder why so many writers start off writing 900 page novels. Write short stories first. There are tons of markets for them. Once you get some pub credits, you'll build confidence. Most everyone will tell you don't give up. But writing is becoming a more and more social thing. Getting published is just the beginning. You have to develop your brand, meaning touring to promote books, doing readings, using social networking or blogging to connect with fans, etc.
I could go on, but find ways to build your confidence or it'll be really difficult to write otherwise.
Start small though. I wonder why so many writers start off writing 900 page novels. Write short stories first. There are tons of markets for them. Once you get some pub credits, you'll build confidence. Most everyone will tell you don't give up. But writing is becoming a more and more social thing. Getting published is just the beginning. You have to develop your brand, meaning touring to promote books, doing readings, using social networking or blogging to connect with fans, etc.
I could go on, but find ways to build your confidence or it'll be really difficult to write otherwise.
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Kevin O. McLaughlin
Sage
I used to play pvp mmorpgs when I was younger...and I had a little routine I did for new games. Used to recommend it for folks who were worried about their character getting "killed". (Pvp means player vs player, which means lots of players fighting and killing each others characters.)
Go pick a fight. Get killed. Do it again. Repeat until it doesn't bother you any more.
I'll echo this for writing. Go write something. Short, long, don't care, but short stories are faster so they tend to work better here. I can write and revise a 3k word short story in four or five hours. Easy sauce.
Great. Now take the story and either submit it to a paying market or self publish it as an ebook. Your choice which.
Repeat. Continue repeating until it doesn't bother you anymore.
The thing is, you'll probably find it's kinda fun after a while! If you're self publishing, there's a rush every time you put something up. And short stories are low investment efforts, so when sales are slow it doesn't feel bad. If you're submitting to paying markets, make a game of it: give yourself a point for every work you have out on submission someplace. Something comes back, send it back out. Try to keep your point score as high as you can ( which means writing more stuff to replace things that sell, AND continuing to resubmit work as it comes back).
You have no control over when a magazine or publisher will buy your work, and very little control over when readers will buy self published stories. So don't worry about those parts; focus on what you CAN control - writing new work and putting it where it can sell
Go pick a fight. Get killed. Do it again. Repeat until it doesn't bother you any more.
I'll echo this for writing. Go write something. Short, long, don't care, but short stories are faster so they tend to work better here. I can write and revise a 3k word short story in four or five hours. Easy sauce.
Great. Now take the story and either submit it to a paying market or self publish it as an ebook. Your choice which.
Repeat. Continue repeating until it doesn't bother you anymore.
The thing is, you'll probably find it's kinda fun after a while! If you're self publishing, there's a rush every time you put something up. And short stories are low investment efforts, so when sales are slow it doesn't feel bad. If you're submitting to paying markets, make a game of it: give yourself a point for every work you have out on submission someplace. Something comes back, send it back out. Try to keep your point score as high as you can ( which means writing more stuff to replace things that sell, AND continuing to resubmit work as it comes back).
You have no control over when a magazine or publisher will buy your work, and very little control over when readers will buy self published stories. So don't worry about those parts; focus on what you CAN control - writing new work and putting it where it can sell
SeverinR
Vala
I started with the book that was exploding inside me, no goal for size, just write it. I have since been able to write a few SS, but the first SS was after three full length novels.
If I could have, I would have gone with SS first.
In fact I put editing of the three books aside to enter a SS in a contest.
There is also the possibility of epublishing, throw it out there and see if it flies.
boboratory
Minstrel
I actually started with Poetry, then moved to prose... still write poetry. Kevin is right on, you just have to do it, accept the results, pay attention and be objective, and move on to the next thing. Just keep at it.
Rikilamaro
Inkling
Write what you would want to read. Be happy with it, because you are a unique individual. Not everyone will love it, but then again not everyone's opinion matters. Only yours.
A helpful suggestion (hopefully) is to share it with a friend or ten that can read through it and tell if you're making sense. Even if it's just a section of the story, that will give you something to go off of.
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