Publication Quest
I’m still keen on writing, but chilling reality from a couple of different sources is slowly evolving my goals. The Show me the Money report does include e-publishers and it’s a sobering look at how little lots of titles earn. Sabrina Jaffries has another chilling look at the realities of the big dog authors who do get single titles published by big time publishers here, http://www.sabrinajeffries.com/big-misunderstanding-about-money.php And one more cautionary tale on the same subject from Shannon Stacy over at Romancing the Blog the other day http://www.romancingtheblog.com/blog/2007/05/23/a-little-e-pubbing-advice/
All of these generous and talented women took the time and effort to educate the inquiring minds of aspiring writers. I understand the frustration of those who have been struggling for years and want to see their name in print. I can also see Ms. Stacy’s point. That publishing stories which are not ready is a disservice to the author, the publisher, and the readers. Most of all the author. I never refuse to buy another book from a certain publisher because I was disappointed in one of their titles. But I do generally refuse to buy another book from an author whose work failed to engage me. It takes a lot of impetus to get me past disappointment. There are thousands of stories issued every month, many with stellar reviews. I am a picky and demanding reader, despite a bad book habit.
What will get me to try a disappointing author a second time? Winning an award. Not an easy route, but a good bet that readers who never tried an author and even those who weren’t thrilled by the earlier selections will give her work another look if she wins a Rita. I’m sure this works with editors too, hence the enthusiasm for the Golden Heart and other popular contests.
Back to my main point, it would be much smarter for the author not to disappoint their readers the first time. When a story is rejected, it is just possible the editor did me a favor.
Current year's goals updated
1) Craft is back - it helps tell the good story
2) Three submissions
3) In roads into the TBR shelves
Progress report
Read the last unread craft book from the TBR shelves
Four submissions sent! Two novels, one novella, and one short
Status: One rejection – three waiting to hear from the publishers
Timeline:
Number Two: Two months, two weeks – estimated response time from publisher 1 month **
Number three: Two months - estimated response time from publisher none*
Number four: Three days – estimated response time from publisher 10 days!
*Publisher did acknowledge the submission, but included a warning not to contact them about submissions to this line. Three months is long enough for them to have an exclusive.
**Lovely publisher mentioned she hasn't had time to review my work. At least she hadn't tossed it in the delete file. :)
TBR stack grew – I’m an addicted reader – still trying to avoid outgrowing the bookshelves
All of these generous and talented women took the time and effort to educate the inquiring minds of aspiring writers. I understand the frustration of those who have been struggling for years and want to see their name in print. I can also see Ms. Stacy’s point. That publishing stories which are not ready is a disservice to the author, the publisher, and the readers. Most of all the author. I never refuse to buy another book from a certain publisher because I was disappointed in one of their titles. But I do generally refuse to buy another book from an author whose work failed to engage me. It takes a lot of impetus to get me past disappointment. There are thousands of stories issued every month, many with stellar reviews. I am a picky and demanding reader, despite a bad book habit.
What will get me to try a disappointing author a second time? Winning an award. Not an easy route, but a good bet that readers who never tried an author and even those who weren’t thrilled by the earlier selections will give her work another look if she wins a Rita. I’m sure this works with editors too, hence the enthusiasm for the Golden Heart and other popular contests.
Back to my main point, it would be much smarter for the author not to disappoint their readers the first time. When a story is rejected, it is just possible the editor did me a favor.
Current year's goals updated
1) Craft is back - it helps tell the good story
2) Three submissions
3) In roads into the TBR shelves
Progress report
Read the last unread craft book from the TBR shelves
Four submissions sent! Two novels, one novella, and one short
Status: One rejection – three waiting to hear from the publishers
Timeline:
Number Two: Two months, two weeks – estimated response time from publisher 1 month **
Number three: Two months - estimated response time from publisher none*
Number four: Three days – estimated response time from publisher 10 days!
*Publisher did acknowledge the submission, but included a warning not to contact them about submissions to this line. Three months is long enough for them to have an exclusive.
**Lovely publisher mentioned she hasn't had time to review my work. At least she hadn't tossed it in the delete file. :)
TBR stack grew – I’m an addicted reader – still trying to avoid outgrowing the bookshelves
posted by Evanne Lorraine at 9:22 AM
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