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They always say "never give up" but, when you've been writing for around 32 years and success is as elusive as ever, isn't it time to face reality?
Recently, this realisation dawned on me when I thought suddenly of all the writing and numerous submissions I've done. We all know what we're up against (unless we're starters) but I should have got somewhere by now. It seems that Fate is telling me I'm deluded and should turn to something else. What that is, I have no idea because I thought that writing was the only thing I did well.
I'm not writing at the moment and have found it particularly difficult to get started over the last year or so but I did think of submitting something to a digital publishing company as a last push. Unfortunately, I can't work up any enthusiasm to do something that would probably end with nothing, as usual. It seems I'm beating my head against a brick wall.
Some Talkbackers will have experience of being published digitally. If so, what was your experience of the mechanics of it and did it result in any interest from book publishers or literary agents? Apparently, this is the way some writers are taken up.
This post is rather whingey so I'll finish it with a literary joke. No. Can't think of one.
Comments
However, there are many reasons for writing. You might just enjoy the process, it might be therapeutic, you might write for friends and family. Or you might think the whole shebang is a pointless waste of time if no one is going to read it (I am definitely the latter for my stories, not for my poems). Whether or not you continue depends on why you are writing.
There are people here who can answer your other questions better than me. However, digital publishing is still publishing, unless you are talking about self publishing. In some cases their requirements are less stringent because the investment in an author is lower. Digital publishers may then decide to publish in print depending on the different parts of their publishing house. This happened to a friend of mine.
Self publishing can also sometimes lead to a 'traditional' publishing deal (50 shades of grey!) but I believe this to be very rare.
Maybe finding a writing buddy would help?
Can only echo above comments. Why are you writing? Is it because you want to? Carry on then if you want to. Stop if you don't.
Fiction's a notoriously hard nut to crack. Have you thought about creative non-fiction where you can combine elements of each?
Every time I feel the itch to write a new novel, the voice in my head tells me that it's not going to get published and that I'll be wasting months of work only to be disappointed.
But I keep on writing books because it's the most intellectually and creatively fulfilling experience I know. My friends tell me I should write something more commercial (I tend to veer towards "difficult literary") but there'd be no pleasure in that for me. It'd be easy, but it'd be like work – just cranking out stuff I have no feeling for. And there's still no guarantee of success.
I wrote my most recent novel just for myself. Around 73,000 words of moody, gothic metaphor and adventurous prose, salted with vocabulary that would make the OED choke, and it's the best work I've ever done. It is currently in the process of being rejected by agents because it's never going to be a bestseller.
My last book was published by a very small independent publisher and has, to date, sold around 90 copies due to an almost total lack of marketing. I received no advance for it. The reviews are stellar. Readers love it – and not just my friends, who haven't actually read it. But no large publisher wanted to touch it.
Now I'm itching to write a new book but I'm struggling to commit because I know how it's going to end: months or years of being rejected and then not read. I'll probably do it anyway because I've started to accept that this is what writers do. All I ever wanted was to get better and better as a writer. Writing novels makes that happen.
I thought long and hard about posting this, but the above really made me wince.
In fairness, the rest of your post was helpful, Liz, but why did you have to say 'nothing' in capital letters? Don't you realise how diminishing that might make her feel?
Yes, it may seem surprising, or even pathetic that I haven't had anything published in the time I've been writing and I've actually been writing for over 32 years if you count the time I spent dabbling from my teens until I started taking it seriously. Still, my thoughts are probably similar to many others', who are also doubting themselves.
After some thought, I realise that I write to communicate ideas, mainly about human relationships, using the understanding that age and experience have brought me. i do it also for the satisfaction of having written and for recognition.
This doesn't mean fame but acknowledgement as an effective writer and, hopefully, for at least a moderate level of readership that might enjoy what I do. This means I need publication. I wouldn't have gained much satisfaction from writing just for myself. As for family members, they know that I write but not what I write. This may be unusual among Talkbackers and unpublished writers in general but I'd spill the beans only if I were about to be published. I think the reason for this is that I don't want the reaction that might follow, especially if it involved their expressed doubt, or even kindly-meant encouragement. Publication would give me a solid backing to reveal all and wouldn't tempt providence.
To answer Liz's point, by "expressing an interest", I meant agents or publishers expressing an interest in taking the book on from seeing the success of an e-book.
The thought of rejection has never bothered me. If it did, I wouldn't have kept going for as long as I have, (apart from a break of about 6 years). I believe I'm fairly versatile, having written fiction with both modern and historical settings and with young and old protagonists but there's a suggestion that I could try other genres. There may be a few people who can write against their inclination but I would find this impossible.
As far as joining a group or using a "buddy" is concerned, this wouldn't appeal to me for various reasons - and wouldn't taking a course mean being taught to write to a formula?
Baggy has mentioned creative non-fiction, which I believe is otherwise known as "narrative non-fiction". A while ago I read a book that came into that category and, if it's typical, it's not something I would consider doing because it contained a lot of factual information that had been thrown in for its own sake, rather than because it was relevant to the real-life story it was telling.
I did, however, once write a novel that was a fictionalised account of something that happened in the early 17th century. This followed all relevant facts very closely, with little that needed to be invented and almost all its characters were people who had actually existed. I wrote it to tell the full story and bring its characters to life. I'm particularly proud of this novel. A publisher asked to see the full typescript - the only time this has happened - and, although they praised my writing in their reply, they rejected the book anyway.
I once sent another novel to be assessed and found this to be a waste of money. The report was no help whatsoever for the following reasons:
it was padded out with extracts from another writer's work, which I can only think was supposed to convey something to me but what this was I've no idea because it was unrelated to what I had actually sent.
The report said nothing at all about my style. Surely, the rhythm of sentences, the choice of vocabulary, and the pace of the story are just as important as content? They do contribute to a good read.
it criticised twice the fact that certain incidents happened at the beginning of the novel, when they had actually been in the final two chapters. How such a howler could have been made is unfathomable.
there was no final verdict; no grading or mark.
I shredded the report for its worthlessness.
Despite my own thoughts, I'd tell GeraldQ to take heart. Writing is never a waste of time. As he implies himself, practice improves the skill. Regular polish increases the shine.
As I've said once before, I believe it's what I write that's the problem, not how I write - but I can't change this. I've looked into self-publishing and it might still be possible but I lean more towards digital-first publishing and will be looking at companies that were mentioned recently in an article. If that works out, fine. If not, I'll be waiting for a thunderbolt to strike my mind with a brilliant idea of publishable length before I write again.
Liz was kind enough to say I was never boring. I hope that applies to this post!
The place you sent your noel sounds awful... they are not all like that! I got back an in-depth analysis, and now i can see that everything about what I had written was wrong... however, the analysis probably went in at some level to inform further writing.
I can respect that you feel that going on a course etc is not for you, you don't mention all the reasons - but I would say, learning more about what you are doing, gaining a deeper knowledge, that should never end until you die. I go to retreats every year and learn form my poetry peers, I learn form them by conversation and asking and reading wha they have written and by reading articles and by trying new things and by reading books about writing. It's the only way to improve and improving is the route to success for anyone. i'm not suggesting you in particular need to improve - i'm saying we all do, we need to keep our ears open and our mind pen and our writing hand ready to what is in the wind and the the cultural bias of the time to imbibe what will sell or is needed or wanted etc. Getting published is not just about writing well. I spend a lot of time researching what is needed in a school and fitting what i want to write and how i write into a proposal for a publisher. It's part of the role of a writer.
And no, your post did not bore me!
I see creative non-fiction articles in magazines where they're written to a theme as an on-going series. The events are manipulated to become more readable in a lighter way. It's something to explore for any writer looking to develop a market.
What about fillers for magazines? Maggie's book would be a good start (and you'd earn from anything published):
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Money-Writers-Wannabes-Maggie-Cobbett/dp/1500371173/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=maggie+cobbett&qid=1582983121&s=books&sr=1-2
Maybe digital publishing is the way forward for you; you really have nothing to lose by trying that avenue. I'm sure you realise, though, that getting your writing seen comes down to the right sort of marketing and also being a bit of a social media floozie! Authors are now expected to do a great deal of the legwork.
If you haven't yet got involved with the likes of Twitter and Facebook, for example, it might be worth considering taking a look. Both have interaction from the writing community and, over time, making inroads into this community will bring you extra support when you need it. Certainly, on Twitter, there are lots of challenges for writers to get involved with. There are various hashtags providing writing prompts - and through these, you may get feedback on your writing. On FB, there are writing groups dedicated to various genres, so you may well find an audience for the type of thing you write.
You will also come across many more avenues to get your work seen if you follow the right organisations. There are now many publishers who provide opportunities for online publication. The Cabinet of Heed, for example, is highly thought of and publishes some excellent stuff; they are also very supportive in sharing it across social media. Of course, you need your own followers first in order to flaunt any successes - otherwise you are just throwing links out into the ether!
Maybe enter a few competitions, too... Even longlisting is to be celebrated.
And self-publishing is now such a popular option for many writers; don't disregard it. If you can get your words in print, then you can do all sorts with it - sell at local fairs, donate to cafes and libraries, give as gifts, do readings.
If you still love writing, then you are not at the end of the line. The line is very, very long...
So I've self published, and post flash fiction on my blog and Twitter. The comments on social media are some validation, do perhaps you might give those a whirl?
One important thing to remember is that "writing" embodies many different skills, all of which are necessary for a chance of success. For example:
1) Craft. Learning dialogue, description, narrative etc is actually the easiest part of writing and can be done by anyone, I believe.
2) Structure. Once you can write, knowing how to create a workable story or novel is a different skill to the actual writing. Many writers never quite learn this.
3) Editing. The ability to see one's own work from a dispassionate distance and correct it to a professional standard is even rarer.
4) Willpower. The most difficult thing of all is to write every day and keep going no matter what other distractions or disappointments occur. Even the most talented writers won't produce anything without this skill.
As has been mentioned by Liz and Phots Moll, online writing groups might help. Strange though this may seem though, I don't think I'd want to use social media for this. So many people's lives seem to revolve round them these days and I don;t want to get fixated by them. Also, I'm not yet online at home, which is a practical problem, although this situation might change before too long. If were to be self-published, I would want to have a website, though, for publicity, and a blog if I had enough to say. Also, I certainly wouldn't find Tiny Nell's distribution tips a problem.
I've read several "how-to" books over the years and these have helped a bit and I always follow GeraldQ's tip on achieving a dispassionate distance. I do this by following the rule of always putting the draft aside for a while, so that I can judge it better when I go back to it.
To answer Tiny Nell's suggestion. I've entered a couple of competitions but got nowhere. I am, though, considering doing this again, after everything I've said. Only yesterday, I had what i think is a workable idea for a short story - and I don't normally write short stories! I'll look into entering this for the Bridport Prize. As has been said, it would useful to get a longlisting.
As regards a website and a blog - good idea, but if you don't use social media, it might be difficult to get an audience.
3) Editing. The ability to see one's own work from a dispassionate distance and correct it to a professional standard is even rarer.
Dispassionate distance is one thing. Correcting to professional standard is another. This is the most important thing I was taught to do on the MA I did. I didn't realise it at the time. It's much harder than any other step.
I feel that this award was not made to me as a man, but to my work – a life’s work in the agony and sweat of the human spirit, not for glory and least of all for profit, but to create out of the materials of the human spirit something which did not exist before.
I like the that quote, Gerald Q. Creativity of any kind is a wonderful thing. I once heard someone on the telly say something similar. "If you've created something new that wasn't there before, you've had a very successful life."
It is of course entirely possible that you do well even though you don't write many
short stories. It is however not very likely. You must go ahead and do what you think is best but if you do enter it please don't be disheartened if you get nowhere. Most entrants will be in the same boat!
It comes as part and parcel of the creative process - I don't make much money doing either of these things and have to work full time at something else. it's hard to reassure you that one day you'll get published or that one day you'll make your fortune writing. The former is more likely than the latter and perhaps you need to take a break rather than give up altogether - maybe take a few months off and see how you feel about it.
I view writing as a hobby and don't take it that seriously - in fact I find it quite amusing when I get emails from my publisher chasing me for stuff as if it's the most important thing in the world because to me it's not so perhaps I have a healthy dis-respect for the whole process. It;s not that don't care, I do but for me it's about the process as much as it is about the finished product and if it all came to an end I'd probably go down the self-publishing route if I had to. So in summary, I'd give you two pieces of advice, take a bit of time out. I did that a few years ago when it felt like everything was not working out and secondly, maybe consider self-publishing?
Competition, as other people have said, is harsh. But talent will win in the end, even if that doesn't translate into money.
It's also difficult to get good feedback, but it might be a good idea to get a professional opinion on the work. In my experience, most writers can experience a dramatic improvement in craft if all of the basic errors or faults are eradicated in one swoop. I've only met one writer who proved utterly impervious to improvement.