World, Writing, Wealth discussion
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Why your book?
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Cool, I'm definitely for dreams' realization!As long as it's fun and self-fulfillment of a sort, it's worth all possible downsides
The "why" is based on differentiation. My perspective on crime - and everything I write has an element of crime - is based on working in the courts: criminal, civil, and juvenile - and often from the witness's perspective.
The Prisoner of Monte Verde - a ten year old witness; the emphasis of the story what do you do with a criminal when one person wants revenge - one does not - but no one wants to house the prisoner - and there is no societal infrastructure to support any decision?
Biker Bounty Hunters - is about thugs killing off-world aliens. It's told humorously but if Earth ever does populate an exoplanet with indigenous population - who will eventually become the 'aliens?'
The Girl Witness: Caroline - again a ten year old witness - told in first person - in the direct straightforward way kids talk.
So it's the author's direct observation/experience brought to bear on the situation.
What should entice a reader to prefer your book over a mega-, super- bestseller?
My latest book - Hidden Fires: A Holmes Before Baker Street Adventure - begins in 1902 when Newgate Prison is being demolished. Dr. Watson discovers that Sherlock Holmes and a mysterious lady companion go to the sale of the prison's memorabilia to buy the death mask of a woman hanged years before. Confronted, Holmes agrees to tell Watson the woman's story, which occurred some 25 years before, a few years before Holmes and Watson met, and it's based on a remark Holmes makes to Watson in The Sign of Four, that the "most winning woman" he ever met was hanged for poisoning three children for the insurance money.
There is, of course, a twist in the tale....
Hi Nik,Nothing I will ever write will compete with mega-, super-, or even just plain old bestsellers. However,unlike most fiction best sellers, my novel, Hire Lernin', deals with a very real but little discussed issue that impacts many students: for-profit education that has allowed too many marginal institutions to offer certificates and degrees of very questionable value at a high cost for both students and the government that subsidizes their high default rates on guaranteed student loans.
Nor is the problem of marginal educational value limited to the for-profit, proprietary education market; over the past several decades, the call to do more with less has infected traditional public colleges and universities and caused a move away from costly but highly beneficial skills-based training that schools of technology and community colleges used to offer that provided well-paying blue-collar jobs by training auto mechanics, welders, electricians, plumbers office personnel and others in technical fields that would lead to employment after only two years of study.
My novel traces the experiences of a newly minted, idealistic lawyer hired as academic dean of a for-profit business school knowing nothing about the industry in the late 1980s. What he finds disturbs him and he undertakes a Quixotic quest to make meaningful changes with little support and no resources to speak of other than his entrepreneurial spirit, hard work and ingenuity. In the process he learns many life-altering lessons about himself, about higher education, about leadership and about love.
Although the novel is fiction, it is based on my very similar experiences under circumstances that largely parallel the protagonist's. And the issues it touches upon about the failings of both some segments of the proprietary education market and traditional higher education are very real, of vital importance, and largely fly under the radar of those not involved in the education industry.
The novel itself is available in hard cover, paperback and eBook versions at most book retailers, but I am currently also porting it in both its original English and in a new Spanish translation online as time permits where readers can read it without charge at Inkitt and Royal Road.
Unlike my non-fiction published through traditional publishers, my novel, short fiction and poetry will never sell well. But they are no less at the core of who I am as a writer, and almost always have as a purpose not just to entertain readers, but also to leave them thinking long after they put the book down.
J. and Victor, both your works sound enticing and, who knows, maybe some of our members will choose your books over another banal bestseller next time they look for something new to read
I read a lot and totally get hat you mean by "banal bestseller". I love the category of psychological suspense and yet I have been so let down by all of those creepy stalky neighbor/lets go on a remote adventure/ and lets tell the whole darned story in the person tense books.
Nik wrote: "J. and Victor, both your works sound enticing and, who knows, maybe some of our members will choose your books over another banal bestseller next time they look for something new to read"Thanks for the kind words. Appreciated!
Interesting question - surprised I've not noticed it before on here.It is so frustrating putting out (what I know is) quality work and having it disappear into the vast ocean of choice. Only one of my five novels was self published so my work has at least passed through the quality filters of publishers prepared to take a risk on me, but alas, they were all pretty small with little or no marketing budget and limited distribution networks.
Yet my reviews are mostly strong and average over 4 on GR. People like my work but it's just not visible enough, in contrast with many blockbuster authors who produce banal and plotless first drafts which sell like hotcakes.
I can say with total confidence that I am a good and original storyteller, and that is the most important thing. Many far more successful writers couldn't tell an interesting/gripping/engaging story if it kicked them in the fabula.
My latest publisher has a bit more nous with marketing and is certainly making an effort I've not seen previously. Fingers crossed.
If there's one thing I've learnt from being a member of Goodreads, it's that the publishing industry is clearly now run along the lines of who you know, not what you know.
Through Goodreads, I've discovered some absolutely SUPERB self-published authors and ones with small publishing houses, who put many of the supposed top authors to shame.
Through Goodreads, I've discovered some absolutely SUPERB self-published authors and ones with small publishing houses, who put many of the supposed top authors to shame.
I've heard about big publishing companies having a pile of manuscripts by unpublished authors. They give these to underlings who sift through, looking for gold. I wonder how often they find it. Do you guys ever submit to major publishing houses?I also wonder about sales. My reader friends and I can't afford to buy all the books we read, so we check them out from the library. That must dampen sales. I wonder how libraries choose books, what's the process? If the majority of public libraries choose a book, that would help sales somewhat. I wonder what percentage of readers actually buy books any more, either print or e-books. I haven't bought a book in ages.
I intend to submit to a major publishing house. It seems like it's more if you understand that you might not ever hit it big, but that's okay with me.
Scout wrote: "....Do you guys ever submit to major publishing houses? ..."Before a major publishing house, an author should find an agent, specializing in the genre, which are all drowned in manuscripts and make an initial sifting
Scout wrote: "I've heard about big publishing companies having a pile of manuscripts by unpublished authors. They give these to underlings who sift through, looking for gold. I wonder how often they find it. Do ..."It's called the slush pile and it is enormous.
As Nik suggests the best pathway to being trad published is via an agent but even they are swamped with unsolicited submissions.
Twenty years ago they used to say that only one novel in a thousand was published and only one in a thousand of those was reasonably successful. That meant your book had about a one in a million chance of success, and I'd say it's much harder than that today.
When people ask me for writing advice the first thing I always say is: don't expect or even hope to be successful. Do it because you love doing it and keep at it. Keep learning and improving.
Maybe one day you'll find an audience but that's as much as anyone can hope for in this vast and impossible to crack market.
So, after all those years of slog and rejection (with a few minor victories and many false dawns along the way), I may have finally turned the corner.I have written something new and different and am pretty confident in its quality and its potential commercial attraction. I sent an enquiry to one of Australia's biggest agents and only two days later she asked to see the ms. Three days later she'd read it. And one day after that we'd signed a contract.
This is very exciting for me as it means I finally have access to the big publishers with proper marketing and distribution networks.
She did warn me that it wasn't easy to sell fiction by middle-aged white males but she also said my novel was very female-friendly so that should help. She also said she wouldn't have taken me on if she didn't have confidence she could sell it.
So... wish me luck people.
Best of luck, sounds like a serious breakthrough indeed!
That's great, Adrian. This statement pisses me off: "She did warn me that it wasn't easy to sell fiction by middle-aged white males . . ." What the hell? Anyway, congratulations on finally having your hard work recognized! Let us know when it's published.
Thanks Scout, very nice of you. I've had a few novels published but always by little publishers with limited distribution networks.I finally have the chance to get a big publisher with proper distribution.
You can use announcement folder, Mike, no need to spam threads with something irrelevant
Nik wrote: "You can use announcement folder, Mike, no need to spam threads with something irrelevant"Perhaps, I misunderstood the question “Why your book?”
The answer is my book is about the evolution of global civility. Is that not a good answer?
An excellent answer, Mike, but why put a promo link on other threads too? :)
Nik wrote: "An excellent answer, Mike, but why put a promo link on other threads too? :)"I’m trying to tell the world about my upcoming book. Does it not make sense to share this information on corresponding threads and other media platforms?
We have an announcement section which is a perfect fit to let the whole world know about it. Feel free to trumpet
Nik wrote: "We have an announcement section which is a perfect fit to let the whole world know about it. Feel free to trumpet"Thank you for the advice. My apologies for misunderstanding the question.
Hi James, use announcement 📣 section to advertise your book, no need to flood random threads 🧵
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Hi Nik,
Even though this is my first attempt at self-publishing, I have been writing for 19 years now and studying the business etc.. It is a struggle but a fun one and one worth taking! I wouldn't exchange this dream for any other dream in the world! Except maybe playing center field for the Houston Astros.