i'm enjoying your writer's posts / allow me to make a request of you and your readers / i have a finished manuscript that i've been submitting to publishers / 8 carefully chosen publishers so far - 3 declines 5 pending / some for several months some for just a few days / i have no previous experience with publishers but persist in believing (maybe naively) that my book has value / it seems to me that there would be some kind of positive response by now if it really does / is anybody interested in looking at 'the ancient book of magic secrets' and commenting ?? you wouldn't necessarily have to read the whole thing but enough to play publisher and tell me if it works or not / PM me at kiospirit@gmail.com if you are interested / please don't respond unless you're serious (as opposed to curious) i've shown this manuscript to so many people who didn't even respond / thanks
Congratulations on having a completed book! 'An Ancient Book of Magic Secrets' sounds intriguing. Is it fiction or non-fiction? Who is your audience? Who would it appeal to?
I wonder, though, if cold-sending it to publishers is the best route. Most writers will tell you the publishing industry is a cruel beast these days, with fewer over-the-transom books being published in favor of the splashy books that will actually make them some money. Fewer and fewer publishers are accepting un-agented books.
So have you thought about trying to get an agent, instead? I really don't want to rain on your parade. It's exciting to finally finish a book and get it ready to send out into the world (I wouldn't know. I still haven't finished a book!), but the bigger part of its success is finding someone on the inside who will help you open doors. An agent might be easier to find than an actual publisher.
How about publishing a chapter at your blog and asking your readers what they think? You could preface it with a short section describing the book and who its readers might be.
The danger in sending out a blanket request for first readers is that not all readers are equal. Some may love it and some may not, and some may give you advice that's directly opposite from what someone else has told you. They'll all come at it from different perspectives, and, yes, different biases. Maybe choose one person you trust and ask that person to give you an honest reading.
It's such hard work to complete an entire book and it deserves the very best aftercare. But the reality these days is that it's harder and harder to find a home for your baby. You need all the professional help you can get. I wish it wasn't this way, but with fewer and fewer books being published, and more and more bookstores closing, it's a tough business and it's only getting tougher. One bright light on it all is that self-publishing is becoming more and more legit and writers are finding success there. It's often more satisfying to do it yourself then to be at the mercy of publishers. Going that route can take years out of your life, while self-publishing can often take just months.
I'll always advise writers to do it their way--but to be flexible and look for other opportunities if you hit a brick wall. The object is to get your work out there, but the imperative is to believe in yourself.
I'm on your side and wish you so much luck! So stick around. Our job and our joy here is to talk about just these things.
So true. I'm glad that I'm not the only one who grew up believing that people who got their writing published were special geniuses, and therefore I shouldn't even imagine or want to be a writer as I wasn't good enough.
I'm sure it held a lot of would-be writers back. What changed it for me is I began to meet real life writers and they were just...people. I never forgot that they were people with exceptional talent, but I also realized they didn't get there by magic. They talked about the work it took, and as they did they became more and more human, Maybe I could do that!
I'm still battling it. I've got to the point of thinking I can write something that's decent, but still don't really feel as if it's something that people want to read, or that I've got anything to say that's unique enough to get people's attention.
We have to please ourselves first. You got the idea, you figured out where you wanted to go with it, you worked on it and you got there. Now it's time to look at your finished piece from a reader's POV. If you knew nothing about it, would it hold your interest? Does it read smoothly, with a rhythm that will draw readers in and hold them until the end? Is the ending satisfying? Does it complete the story you just told?
If you can answer 'yes', you're half way there. When you read it again--after you've set it aside for a day or more--are you still happy with it? All right! Don't look back! Go for it!
This is great advice. Perfectionism does not work for me, I find it absolutely crippling. I'd much rather move and get something out that's "good enough" than continue to agonize over a word or sentence or comma. This doesn't mean that I don't care or don't want my work to be good - rather I have accepted that "perfect" is subjective and therefore not something I need to strive for.
I think that's why "Bird By Bird" is still a best-seller. She gives us permission to write in a way that's best for us. If we wait for it to be perfect, we'll wait forever.
I read her book at the exact time I needed it. I came away from it breathless with the possibilities, now that I was free to be me. (One of my favorite cliches!)
perfect !!
Hmmm.
I loved this! I love Anne Lamott. Thanks for the reminders.
My wife tells me, “You may not be perfect, but you’re perfect for me!”
I’m good with that. 😊
i'm enjoying your writer's posts / allow me to make a request of you and your readers / i have a finished manuscript that i've been submitting to publishers / 8 carefully chosen publishers so far - 3 declines 5 pending / some for several months some for just a few days / i have no previous experience with publishers but persist in believing (maybe naively) that my book has value / it seems to me that there would be some kind of positive response by now if it really does / is anybody interested in looking at 'the ancient book of magic secrets' and commenting ?? you wouldn't necessarily have to read the whole thing but enough to play publisher and tell me if it works or not / PM me at kiospirit@gmail.com if you are interested / please don't respond unless you're serious (as opposed to curious) i've shown this manuscript to so many people who didn't even respond / thanks
Congratulations on having a completed book! 'An Ancient Book of Magic Secrets' sounds intriguing. Is it fiction or non-fiction? Who is your audience? Who would it appeal to?
I wonder, though, if cold-sending it to publishers is the best route. Most writers will tell you the publishing industry is a cruel beast these days, with fewer over-the-transom books being published in favor of the splashy books that will actually make them some money. Fewer and fewer publishers are accepting un-agented books.
So have you thought about trying to get an agent, instead? I really don't want to rain on your parade. It's exciting to finally finish a book and get it ready to send out into the world (I wouldn't know. I still haven't finished a book!), but the bigger part of its success is finding someone on the inside who will help you open doors. An agent might be easier to find than an actual publisher.
How about publishing a chapter at your blog and asking your readers what they think? You could preface it with a short section describing the book and who its readers might be.
The danger in sending out a blanket request for first readers is that not all readers are equal. Some may love it and some may not, and some may give you advice that's directly opposite from what someone else has told you. They'll all come at it from different perspectives, and, yes, different biases. Maybe choose one person you trust and ask that person to give you an honest reading.
It's such hard work to complete an entire book and it deserves the very best aftercare. But the reality these days is that it's harder and harder to find a home for your baby. You need all the professional help you can get. I wish it wasn't this way, but with fewer and fewer books being published, and more and more bookstores closing, it's a tough business and it's only getting tougher. One bright light on it all is that self-publishing is becoming more and more legit and writers are finding success there. It's often more satisfying to do it yourself then to be at the mercy of publishers. Going that route can take years out of your life, while self-publishing can often take just months.
not interested in self publishing / i've done that / https://www.amazon.com/poem-picture-rohn-bayes/dp/1979991561/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=poem+picture+rohn+bayes&qid=1628598735&sr=8-1 / https://www.amazon.com/what-want-say-you-poems/dp/1979023212/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=what+i+want+to+say+to+you+rohn+bayes&qid=1628598817&sr=8-1 / from what i can tell finding an agent is just as difficult as finding a publisher / it's true that it's hard to break into the publishing game if you don't know somebody or have a calling card / and my book is both fiction and non-fiction combined so it doesn't have a easy genre to fit into / the cards are stacked against me but i'm going for it anyway / there is an audience for this / the same people who read 'sapiens' and 'braiding sweet grass' and 'overstory' i figure / thanks for your kind advice
I'll always advise writers to do it their way--but to be flexible and look for other opportunities if you hit a brick wall. The object is to get your work out there, but the imperative is to believe in yourself.
I'm on your side and wish you so much luck! So stick around. Our job and our joy here is to talk about just these things.
So true. I'm glad that I'm not the only one who grew up believing that people who got their writing published were special geniuses, and therefore I shouldn't even imagine or want to be a writer as I wasn't good enough.
I'm sure it held a lot of would-be writers back. What changed it for me is I began to meet real life writers and they were just...people. I never forgot that they were people with exceptional talent, but I also realized they didn't get there by magic. They talked about the work it took, and as they did they became more and more human, Maybe I could do that!
I'm still battling it. I've got to the point of thinking I can write something that's decent, but still don't really feel as if it's something that people want to read, or that I've got anything to say that's unique enough to get people's attention.
We have to please ourselves first. You got the idea, you figured out where you wanted to go with it, you worked on it and you got there. Now it's time to look at your finished piece from a reader's POV. If you knew nothing about it, would it hold your interest? Does it read smoothly, with a rhythm that will draw readers in and hold them until the end? Is the ending satisfying? Does it complete the story you just told?
If you can answer 'yes', you're half way there. When you read it again--after you've set it aside for a day or more--are you still happy with it? All right! Don't look back! Go for it!
I think I'm there most of the time, at least more than half of the time. I just have to keep holding on to that at the other times.
There is a quote from a famous poet in India that helped me with this
'सैफ़' अंदाज़-ए-बयाँ रंग बदल देता है
वर्ना दुनिया में कोई बात नई बात नहीं।
-सैफ़ुद्दीन सैफ़
If I try to translate it in my own broken way:
O Saif, it's the way you paint your thoughts in words
Otherwise, there is no unique story to tell in this world.
Hope that helps you :)
It’s beautiful, Aman. Thank you. I’ll keep it close.
This is great advice. Perfectionism does not work for me, I find it absolutely crippling. I'd much rather move and get something out that's "good enough" than continue to agonize over a word or sentence or comma. This doesn't mean that I don't care or don't want my work to be good - rather I have accepted that "perfect" is subjective and therefore not something I need to strive for.
I think that's why "Bird By Bird" is still a best-seller. She gives us permission to write in a way that's best for us. If we wait for it to be perfect, we'll wait forever.
I read her book at the exact time I needed it. I came away from it breathless with the possibilities, now that I was free to be me. (One of my favorite cliches!)
Suprprsingly, in my not-so-perfected mind, I found this to be a perfect write-up!
I'm glad it speaks to you, but I may have to argue the 'perfect' part. It blows my whole argument!
Maybe because the combo is deadly ... Imperfect mind—Perfect write-up! :-)
LOL. Thank you. I think!
Better dead than being perfect. You are spot on!