From my years as a librarian, sitting listening to authors explain how they got published. (Did I mention that my job does have some perks at times? :lol:), the two main things you need are 1. To Finish things. 2. Persistence.
So finish something. Anything, but finish something original. Seriously, I get to read and review things frequently and you have it all in terms of ideas, plot, characterisation and style. The one thing I didn't know is if you finish things. People get published whatever the market by finishing books and then never letting up till one of them gets accepted and nothing's changed. Except you might need an agent these days, which is very irritating.
(No, I meant Tesco to subsidise the ridiculously small income you would have from your published book. Unless, of course, it shot up the bestseller lists like a rocket. Authors by and large have to be madly popular or have a long backlist not to need a second job. Or a spouse with a Proper Job. But it's a bit mercenary to go looking for one of those for that reason. ;-D Of course, authors do like moaning when they get together in packs, so maybe they exaggerated, but I think it's more or less true! You'll find you suddenly develop an interest in the survival of libraries, because of the library lending right, too...)
Anyway, I'm sure you could live without another one of my annoying, bossy comments, but I've had to read enough unoriginal rubbish that's actually been published to be dismayed by the thought of you simply not finishing things. (You could always do short sf stories. There's still an opening there, and they only publish male authors, so you have the advantage. Hah.) I'm sure you know all this, I know, I know. All anyone needs to know this stuff is the internet and the Writer's and Artist's Yearbook.
Do you think I spend too much time reading The Bookseller and stuff? ;-D (It's dramatic stuff, I tell you, The Bookseller... "it's the End of the publishing trade/the Book/libraries" every week. They definitely exaggerate. :lol:)
I would give you hints on trends, but these date and all I know is that Horror stuff if back in with the children's and teen, thanks to Twilight. Goosebumps are reappearing and there's various series. And the rest is still pink and sparkly. I don't think it's quite the same in the adult. Although a top tip on how to get published as an adult author that you might not know is this:
1. Write a family saga (fondly known as the Aga Saga) 2. Give yourself a female pseudonym (unlike sf being male is a downside here. And who says gender stereotyping is dead?) 3. Get published. (Make sure the book is fat enough to do well at the airports). 4. Try to find out how to make your publisher let you do something that isn't an Aga Saga...
You're probably really working in a publishers and raising your eyebrows at me now...
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2009-11-13 06:11 pm (UTC)So finish something. Anything, but finish something original. Seriously, I get to read and review things frequently and you have it all in terms of ideas, plot, characterisation and style. The one thing I didn't know is if you finish things. People get published whatever the market by finishing books and then never letting up till one of them gets accepted and nothing's changed. Except you might need an agent these days, which is very irritating.
(No, I meant Tesco to subsidise the ridiculously small income you would have from your published book. Unless, of course, it shot up the bestseller lists like a rocket. Authors by and large have to be madly popular or have a long backlist not to need a second job. Or a spouse with a Proper Job. But it's a bit mercenary to go looking for one of those for that reason. ;-D Of course, authors do like moaning when they get together in packs, so maybe they exaggerated, but I think it's more or less true! You'll find you suddenly develop an interest in the survival of libraries, because of the library lending right, too...)
Anyway, I'm sure you could live without another one of my annoying, bossy comments, but I've had to read enough unoriginal rubbish that's actually been published to be dismayed by the thought of you simply not finishing things. (You could always do short sf stories. There's still an opening there, and they only publish male authors, so you have the advantage. Hah.) I'm sure you know all this, I know, I know. All anyone needs to know this stuff is the internet and the Writer's and Artist's Yearbook.
Do you think I spend too much time reading The Bookseller and stuff? ;-D (It's dramatic stuff, I tell you, The Bookseller... "it's the End of the publishing trade/the Book/libraries" every week. They definitely exaggerate. :lol:)
I would give you hints on trends, but these date and all I know is that Horror stuff if back in with the children's and teen, thanks to Twilight. Goosebumps are reappearing and there's various series. And the rest is still pink and sparkly. I don't think it's quite the same in the adult. Although a top tip on how to get published as an adult author that you might not know is this:
1. Write a family saga (fondly known as the Aga Saga)
2. Give yourself a female pseudonym (unlike sf being male is a downside here. And who says gender stereotyping is dead?)
3. Get published. (Make sure the book is fat enough to do well at the airports).
4. Try to find out how to make your publisher let you do something that isn't an Aga Saga...
You're probably really working in a publishers and raising your eyebrows at me now...