Write or Lotto
I've seen a few discussions on different boards, and more often than not I refrain from commenting, why? I refrain because too often it's a diatribe that revolves around Self-Published Authors being unprofessional, writing garbage, and how all Traditionally-Published Authors never write a bad book and so on.
I've also had someone state I was propagandizing for SPAs by saying Traditional Publishing doesn't offer only the best of the best, good manuscripts get rejected, and often enough there are typos in TP works. After all, this person recently entered the field, got a contract, and everyone is so nice...
Consider what would probably happen if J.R.R. Tolkien were starting out as a writer today and didn't have a connection to publishing already (he was an academic and a writer of children's stories before The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings was published). In this scenario, the books most likely wouldn't have been published, and a wonderful mythic world would never have fired the imaginations of readers.
The reason I made the last statement is because Tolkien broke rules publishers abide by for commercial viability just as he broke some rules creative writing gurus swear by. As a writer, Tolkien knew what he was doing and it worked.
In today's markets the stories would have been rewritten into something less epic. "The Lord of the Rings" was intended as one volume, and at 455,125 words long the original publisher insisted the book be split up in order to avoid taking a large loss if any one portion were not a success. Even split in three, if Tolkien hadn't been established it is highly doubtful one of today's Traditional Publishers would have touched the project as the three installments have word counts of 177,227 ("Fellowship of the Ring"), 143,436 ("Two Towers"), and 134,462 ("Return of the King").
Most Sci-Fi or Fantasy novels (which tend to be longer than other genres) only run to 120,000 or 125,000 words, unless the author is established.
In addition, if Tolkien were starting out today, the editors would have insisted on him 'fixing' the areas where he broke the rules while chopping out all those unnecessary words.
Do newcomers to writing get contracts? A few lucky ones do. If a newcomer's work is along the lines of profitable works already published by a company; people do get lucky. Though the flip side is if the manuscript ever makes it to the acquisition editor(s), it can also be rejected for purely subjective reasons; people get unlucky more often.
I checked the publisher's website of the person who called me a propagandist -- not a major publisher and the acquisition editor(s) made it clear a manuscript's acceptance is based as much on subjective opinion as it is on merit, and works over the publisher's limit will be chopped below the limit by the author.
The reality for most writers isn't as much puppies and kittens as some would have you believe. Well-written manuscripts can and do get rejected, often multiple times, and often enough the reason why is never given. Meanwhile Traditional Publishers seeking celebrity autobiographies offer contracts most writers would give an arm or a leg to land, because even drivel sells if a celebrity is attached.
With Traditional Publishing it's really not about how good or original the work is, it's about commercial viability; lowest printing costs combined with name recognition and the easiest marketing and promotion to turn a nice profit.
It gets even better to hear someone state 'writing is a business like any other business'. I heard roughly the same analogy by the same person applied to doctors, and the person who made the analogy obviously didn't realize that while medicine may be a business, it's an art as well. Treating medicine as simply a business where every patient is just like every other patient and everyone is exactly alike is why some patients die due to malpractice. Writing may be a business, but it's an art as well.
As an SPA if people want to read my work, great. I'll send a free e-copy or they can buy one. If someone wants to assume my work is crap without looking at it, that's fine as well.
I'll keep writing either way, and when I can afford a copy editor I'll release the too-long novel I've been sitting on for a year and a half (as I won't release it without editing). I'll get a graphic artist to do my cover art for other novels that get completed as I can afford it. Then I'll purchase the proof copy of each to go on the shelf.
In the interim, I have a Tiny Demon to care for. If one day she picks up those books I've set aside for her and actually likes them, I will have had the greatest reward. Plus, I won't have spent a small fortune on lottery tickets trying to get rich quick.
I've also had someone state I was propagandizing for SPAs by saying Traditional Publishing doesn't offer only the best of the best, good manuscripts get rejected, and often enough there are typos in TP works. After all, this person recently entered the field, got a contract, and everyone is so nice...
Consider what would probably happen if J.R.R. Tolkien were starting out as a writer today and didn't have a connection to publishing already (he was an academic and a writer of children's stories before The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings was published). In this scenario, the books most likely wouldn't have been published, and a wonderful mythic world would never have fired the imaginations of readers.
The reason I made the last statement is because Tolkien broke rules publishers abide by for commercial viability just as he broke some rules creative writing gurus swear by. As a writer, Tolkien knew what he was doing and it worked.
In today's markets the stories would have been rewritten into something less epic. "The Lord of the Rings" was intended as one volume, and at 455,125 words long the original publisher insisted the book be split up in order to avoid taking a large loss if any one portion were not a success. Even split in three, if Tolkien hadn't been established it is highly doubtful one of today's Traditional Publishers would have touched the project as the three installments have word counts of 177,227 ("Fellowship of the Ring"), 143,436 ("Two Towers"), and 134,462 ("Return of the King").
Most Sci-Fi or Fantasy novels (which tend to be longer than other genres) only run to 120,000 or 125,000 words, unless the author is established.
In addition, if Tolkien were starting out today, the editors would have insisted on him 'fixing' the areas where he broke the rules while chopping out all those unnecessary words.
Do newcomers to writing get contracts? A few lucky ones do. If a newcomer's work is along the lines of profitable works already published by a company; people do get lucky. Though the flip side is if the manuscript ever makes it to the acquisition editor(s), it can also be rejected for purely subjective reasons; people get unlucky more often.
I checked the publisher's website of the person who called me a propagandist -- not a major publisher and the acquisition editor(s) made it clear a manuscript's acceptance is based as much on subjective opinion as it is on merit, and works over the publisher's limit will be chopped below the limit by the author.
The reality for most writers isn't as much puppies and kittens as some would have you believe. Well-written manuscripts can and do get rejected, often multiple times, and often enough the reason why is never given. Meanwhile Traditional Publishers seeking celebrity autobiographies offer contracts most writers would give an arm or a leg to land, because even drivel sells if a celebrity is attached.
With Traditional Publishing it's really not about how good or original the work is, it's about commercial viability; lowest printing costs combined with name recognition and the easiest marketing and promotion to turn a nice profit.
It gets even better to hear someone state 'writing is a business like any other business'. I heard roughly the same analogy by the same person applied to doctors, and the person who made the analogy obviously didn't realize that while medicine may be a business, it's an art as well. Treating medicine as simply a business where every patient is just like every other patient and everyone is exactly alike is why some patients die due to malpractice. Writing may be a business, but it's an art as well.
As an SPA if people want to read my work, great. I'll send a free e-copy or they can buy one. If someone wants to assume my work is crap without looking at it, that's fine as well.
I'll keep writing either way, and when I can afford a copy editor I'll release the too-long novel I've been sitting on for a year and a half (as I won't release it without editing). I'll get a graphic artist to do my cover art for other novels that get completed as I can afford it. Then I'll purchase the proof copy of each to go on the shelf.
In the interim, I have a Tiny Demon to care for. If one day she picks up those books I've set aside for her and actually likes them, I will have had the greatest reward. Plus, I won't have spent a small fortune on lottery tickets trying to get rich quick.
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