Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion
II. Publishing & Marketing Tips
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Why are we so afraid of hard work?
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A great article and you are sooo right.
Pamela wrote: "A great article and you are sooo right."Thanks Pamela!
I'd just written a post on setting expectations for self-publishing. I think because the media loves to focus on an overnight success story--as well as the idea that the details of labor are too dull to bother going into--we have an inaccurate picture of how easy it is to succeed in publishing. There's that shiny little hope social media and reality TV have given everyone of being discovered for doing virtually nothing. It's the modern equivalent of the 50s sitting in Schwab's drug store in Hollywood.
As a writer, I think it's more helpful in the long run to look at it practically and realize that it's time, patience and perseverance that become the best writing partners. Be happy with the small, modest benchmarks and keep rolling. The little successes-- entertaining a complete stranger with your story, etc.-- are still successes.
Great article, Elle! So true and so encouraging!
That's a great story! Thanks for sharing it Elle.
Elle wrote: "It seems like authors today just want instant gratification. No one really seems like they want to work at their craft anymore..."Can you really say that? I can imagine non-writers thinking that instant fame and riches is just a hastily-written novel away, but can you say that of genuine authors? Surely anyone who has actually perservered long enough to complete a novel knows it's a big commitment just to finish the damn thing, never mind the time spent doing all the re-writes, editing, further re-writes, proofing, etc. I'm reminded of a quote from From Pitch to Publication (page 9): "Most people don't realise that there's an awful lot of typing involved in writing a book." Most people, that is, except authors...?
There does seem to be a misconception that slapping a book up on Amazon is a way to getting very rich in a very short space of time. The reality is pretty different. To be honest, I don't think most of the authors here and in other places think like that (or if they did, they're disillusioned in a hurry). The sad truth is that most of us will probably have to work a day job for the rest of our lives. I don't write to get rich, I write because I love writing - creating new worlds and walking into them. The fact that self-publishing has given me an outlet I would probably not have had otherwise is a bonus, but if I never sold another book I wouldn't stop writing. I don't know how to.
Hi all, Some horrible statistic says that around 60% of authors in the UK earn less than the minimum wage. I do. But then I'm content to live simply, and be allowed the time to write.
For near on a decade I've had to do other work to get me along. It's only in the last year I've been able to commit more to writing. It's a long game; particularly if you're writing literary fiction rather than genre work.
As J.H. says, its about the will to write in itself. There's no short cuts, and those that take them write guff. Which is why there is a lot of guff out there, gumming up the works for the people who have really put the time in and have had the humility to wait until they are some way competent before going about publishing a book.
Again, in agreement with J.H. - and as a very well respected editor said to me last year: "In my experience there's lots of talent out there. But it's not the people who can write that make it, it's the people who can't not write."
New media mean it's easy for people to 'be published.' However, from what I've seen, a good deal of what is out there isn't very good. Write, by all means. But be aware of where you stand in the grand scheme of things, and the long long tradition of writing. I played football for years for the local town, and was a prolific centre forward at that level. But I wouldn't say to Wayne Rooney 'I've scored a few goals myself, you know...'
Here's an interesting article on the new fad of self-publishing:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/...
All the best, and keep writing, whatever I've said!
I agree with Cynan when he mentioned that the key is to keep writing. Just like most everything in life, the more you practice something the better you become. Writing is no different. There is an old saying that comes to mind that a boss of mine shared with me years ago: Cream always rises to the top!
Regardless of the amount of money earned for the books we have written, to publish a book is writing our name in human history. I consider my books my personal legacy to the world for generations to come. Hundred years from today our books will still be there for information, entertainment, historical, and educational purposes. It is that inheritance to the world the true immortality for our name and persona that pays much more than any amount of money ever made for our books. Immortality that the average person who did not leave anything everlasting behind will never get.
Cheer Up colleagues, you are an Author and your words will leave on and on!
Remember my quote:
"Once published, the Writer earns the everlasting title of Author."
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Great article, Elle. I agree with you 100%. In order to be truly successful at whatever you do, I've heard you need to put in 10,000 hours. If you want to have your book published (which says to the world you are a professional writer), you must put in that amount of time, and potentially even more. Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts on the road to success.I wrote a few "unpublishable" manuscripts, before I ever wrote anything remotely publishable. Just because you've completed a manuscript, doesn't mean it deserves to be published. It's the content that determines publication, not completion.
It took us 5 years to the point to where it is now a internationally known brand. It takes a lot of blood, sweat and tears to make your brand noticed. If you put in the work, you will get back results.
I read so many whiny comments from instant-grat types that it drives me mad. There was some teenager on the Kindle Author's forum this morning threatening to kill himself because no one had bought his book. He was 19. I mean, come on. I started subbing stories (I now know were rubbish) at 18 and it took me nine years to make my first sale, and that one only made me $5. At no point did I start complaining about it and start asking for sympathy, I just stuck to my task because for me the writing came first and the publication second. It's very frustrating always having to be polite and encouraging to people who clearly have no work ethic or resolve and expect everyone to just buy their books because they say so (a whole bunch of people on that thread did, it was just pathetic). If you want to be a popular author you can't just knock something up on your computer in half an hour, then upload it to Amazon and expect people to jump all over it. You actually have to put the work in, and for many of us, that takes years (twenty and counting for myself).
http://ellelapraim.com/why-are-we-so-...
What do you think?