Writer's block

OrnotBitwise said:
Oh, Grasshopper, let me enlighten you, my brother. If you are indeed in the position to . . . ah . . . "cash in", then, by all means, do so. That is, sad to say, the only way in which you will ever be able to write and publish what you want to write and publish.

ANY decent author of any consequence has a box full of rejection slips. I'll show you mine someday if you'll show me yours. You know what that proves? It proves that you've been trying. Nothing more nor less.
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Your posts are like an oasis in a desert full of inclarity, OB.

It was rather prompt of me to say that I could get that mess published right now, unfinished as it is. But, you know, I think, if I send it to 10 or 20 different publishing companies, someone might as well publish it just for the fun of it.
 
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OrnotBitwise said:
Yes, though neither where nor what I would like. The one you want to talk to on this question is Darla. :cool:
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She's been published?

It's pretty hard to get anything published but formulaic genre fiction. Then again, editors do tend to laugh at the newest "midlife-crisis thriller" based on the Da Vinci code that comes in in bundles every few days.
 
I've got it. I'll just hound and threaten to kill any publisher who sends me a rejection letter. Surely that'll build up a reputation around me, that they'd BETTER not reject me, OR ELSE.
 
Watermark said:
She's been published?

It's pretty hard to get anything published but formulaic genre fiction. Then again, editors do tend to laugh at the newest "midlife-crisis thriller" based on the Da Vinci code that comes in in bundles every few days.
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It's hard to get anything published period. I have a certain respect, however grudging in some instances, for anyone who can get a novel of any genre published.

A lot of it is luck, it's true. You have to hit the right editor at just the right time. That's why re-submitting a story you like over and over isn't just vanity.

Gone With The Wind (okay, it's crap, but influential crap) -- 38 rejections
Carrie (okay, crap again, but better crap) -- 29 rejections
Jonathan Livingstone Seagull -- 18 rejections
The first Harry Potter book (I forget the title) -- 14 rejections
Dune (best selling science fiction (esque) novel of all time) -- 13 rejections
A Time to Kill (John Grisham) -- 45 rejections

Keep at it, in other words.
 
Watermark said:
Are there even 45 publishing companies out there to get rejected from?
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Oh yeah, but you can resubmit to the same company over and over. Surely you don't believe that they'll remember some manuscript from the slush pile for longer than a day, do you? ;)

Keep at it. Don't give up. Submit it and, if it's rejected, submit it again. And again. And again. It's all about timing and circumstances over which you have no control at all. You overcome them with persistence, for the most part.
 
I've heard one agent who said he treated unsolicited things from the slush pile like he'd treat someone who sent him an unsolicited telemarketing phone call. Threw them all away.
 
You'll get rejected scores of times just looking for an agent, before you even begin looking for a publisher.

Good advice: don't send in anything before you get an agent, otherwise you will already have a poor reputation.
 
If you can't read 4 hours a day and write 4 hours a day, just try to write 1000 words or so a day--- it isn't that much, really....about an hour's worth of work if you already have a good idea of what you are writing.

The important thing is just to write some every day, no matter how little.
 
Watermark said:
How do I get an agent?

Do you actually get "reputations"?
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You get an agent by submitting whatever each individual agent may require--- my advice is to look up a bunch of them on the web and then following their instructions for seeking their representation, as it varies from person to person.

Important: Any agent that charges you a fee is a con artist and you should shun those types of people...real literary agents will only charge a percentage of your actual earnings, not any sort of fees or additional charges.

As far as reputations, yes. If a publisher recognises your name from an unsolicitated work (obviously sent before you have an agent) when reviewing a work submitted by your agent, that publisher may reject your work simply because of the previous experience.

It is always important to appear as professionally as possible, especially in an industry as rigid and difficult as publishing, so it would certainly do you no harm to look into some of the professional guidelines for writers (usually just following the publisher's guidelines to the letter, and not coming across as an amateur).
 
gonzojournals said:
You get an agent by submitting whatever each individual agent may require--- my advice is to look up a bunch of them on the web and then following their instructions for seeking their representation, as it varies from person to person.

Important: Any agent that charges you a fee is a con artist and you should shun those types of people...real literary agents will only charge a percentage of your actual earnings, not any sort of fees or additional charges.

As far as reputations, yes. If a publisher recognises your name from an unsolicitated work (obviously sent before you have an agent) when reviewing a work submitted by your agent, that publisher may reject your work simply because of the previous experience.

It is always important to appear as professionally as possible, especially in an industry as rigid and difficult as publishing, so it would certainly do you no harm to look into some of the professional guidelines for writers (usually just following the publisher's guidelines to the letter, and not coming across as an amateur).
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I wouldn't think that publishers would have such a good memory of the stuff in their slush pile?

And I'm not stupid enough to pay for an agent directly and up front.
 
Watermark said:
I wouldn't think that publishers would have such a good memory of the stuff in their slush pile?

And I'm not stupid enough to pay for an agent directly and up front.
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The website in Australia I mentioned says no upfront, they usually take about fifteen percent of the proceeds.
 
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