Getting published
| Jennifer often posts advice about writing and publishing in her blog. ~ View Jennifer's blog ~ |
My experience has been that if you are a writer in your heart, it's never too late to get your stories down on paper. My agent has one author whose first book is about to be published. She is 80.
My advice is simple... write.
Very few authors get their first work published. I have a closet full of half-written, unfinished work, dating back to 1973, but every word of it was valuable and a lesson in getting to the point where I could produce a saleable piece of work
The other thing to bear in mind is that there are millions of good ideas, but whether they can be developed into a full-blown novel is an entirely different story.
If you seriously want to develop an idea into a novel, there a few things you need to do.
- Write a synopsis. It doesn't have to be detailed and it can be changed, but you can't write a novel if you have no idea where it's going to finish up. This was a lesson it took me 20 years to learn.
- Study the genre you are writing for. Don't write a romance if you've never read one. Know your market.
- Try to be original. They claim there are only seven basic plots and if you are writing for a market like fantasy, then you need to come up with a new twist on the genre. Publishers are bombarded on a daily basis with wizards/elves/dragons/heroic quest type novels and in order to get yours looked at, it needs to stand out from the crowd.
- Don't even think of sending your work to a publisher until it's completed. Unknown/unpublished authors are a risk. No publisher will take you on until you have proven you can actually produce the goods, unless you already have huge credibility in your chosen field.
- Develop a thick hide. If you can't take criticism, then don't play in this playground. Having your work edited can be soul destroying. If you are sensitive to harsh judgment, this is the wrong game for you.
- Don't get emotionally attached to your work. Let it go. Sometimes that wonderful description of a sunset just doesn't fit anymore, and if you don't get rid of it, the editor will. Publishers are in the business of producing books that will sell and that means they aren't terribly interested in authors who won't listen to their professional advice. You might get your first book into print, after rejecting all the editorial changes because how dare that illiterate cow change a word of my masterpiece, but unless you win the Nobel Prize for Literature, you'll be hard pressed to get the second one published.
- You don't need a mentor. You can either write, or you can't. Having someone hold your hand isn't going to make the job any easier. Writing is a lonely job. I have a number of books in print and only know 2 other authors, both of whom I've met since I was published...
- Give your work to family and friends to read, or better yet, people you don't know very well whom you trust to give you an honest opinion. Join a writers group on the net (there are some good one out there) and post your samples of your work for others to critique.
- Write, write, write... The world is full of people with good ideas. The published authors are the ones who sat down and got them written.
- Be prepared to rewrite. Ernest Hemingway said that the first draft of anything is crap. He was right. My personal record for producing a novel is 6 drafts. If you don't think you can go over and over your story twenty or thirty or a hundred times without going mad, then it's probably not a good idea in the first place. My first novel went through about 14 rewrites before I sent it off and at least another 4 after it found an agent, and then it was edited by the publisher.
- Writing crap is fine. I do it all the time. I find it far easier to fix up the crap than think up the good stuff in the first place....
- Once you've written it, put it aside for a month or two, then go back and read it again. You'll find a lot of what you thought was brilliant is now dreadful. This aids the rewriting process considerably.
- Don't overwrite. This is a common fault among new writers. Good writing is getting your point across in as few words as possible. For example : The ground beneath his feet was muddy... can just as easily be written as "The ground was muddy" (Where else would the ground be, anyway).
- Pay attention to grammar and spelling. Even a brilliant story can be rejected by a publisher because it's just going to take too much work to fix up the poor grammar.
- You have to start somewhere. Don't get bogged down in the quality of your work in the first draft. Accept that it will need fixing up later and get on with the story. A perfect first chapter is useless if nothing comes after it.
- The other thing I should stress is that you must believe in yourself. If you don't
honestly, truly, believe that one day you'll see your name in print, then it will be very easy to give up.
How do I get published?
Write something first! It amazes me how many people ask me this, because they have an idea, but don't want to waste time on it if it isn't likely to get published. As that applies to around 99% of stuff that has been written, it's a singular waste of time to even worry about it. My advice? Write. Rewrite. Rewrite again (and again and again). Find an agent. Never give up.
Where can I do a course?
There are any number of reputable courses being run though universities and TAFE colleges all over the world. If you have and interest in screenwriting, I can recommend personally the course conducted by Embryo Films which is a weekend workshop that will teach you sound creative writing principals with the additional bonus that you learn to write a screenplay. The run courses on a regular basis in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
Can I send you my MS? Will you pass it on to your agent?
No and NO. A few years ago in the US a Star Trek production team member (I'm not sure exactly what he did) got into an elevator with an enthusiastic trekkie. The fan gushed out his idea for a great episode, which coincidentally was quite similar to a storyline already in production. When the episode was aired, the fan tried to sue the staff member for pinching his great idea....
So, you see the problem. I don't have the time and I don't particularly fancy being sued. If you want an agent, we have phone books and the Internet (that's how I found mine).
Will you give me an assessment of my MS?
Yes, I will, but before you send me your life's work, there are a few things you need to understand.
- I am an author, not an editor. what you will get is simply my opinion on your writing, style, plot, etc.
- Assessing manuscripts takes time, specifically, time away that I could be writing and earning a living, therefore, I must charge for this service. My rates not cheap, so before you contact me, check out the alternatives.
- Sending me your work will in no way assure you of an easy "in" to the publishing industry. I will help where I can, but I cannot promise to pass your MS on to either my agent or my publishers.
- Payment must be in advance. The time it takes will depend on the size of your work and whether or not I have an editor breathing down my neck for my own MS to be completed.
- If, after all of the above, I still haven't dissuaded you, then email me here for a quote.
If you want a critical assessment of your work by an editor, then I suggest you contact a reputable company like Edit or Die who will charge you a fee for some very sound advice. If you are chasing an agent, just remember, the good ones will not charge you to read or assess your MS. They will say either yes or no, and you probably won't get a reason if they turn you down.
I have a short story I'd like to publish...
Another place that you might find interesting is agog! The aim of agog! Fantastic Fiction is to bring together exciting, compulsively readable stories in the fantastic genres of SF, horror and general fantasy. The central criteria are quality, excitement and fun. They want stories which engage the imagination, maintain a thrilling pace, and rocket the reader into an astounding world of speculative imagination. Think of the sort of excitement once generated by the pulp SF magazines! They offer a small payment and this might be the place for you to start.
Has Jennifer Fallon ever won the Aurealis Award?
Due to a break down in communication between the editors of Tor and the publicity department there is a mistaken belief in some circles that Jennifer Fallon won the Aurealis award for best fantasy novel in 2000. Medalon was short listed for the 2000 Aurealis award but did not win. All Jennifer's attempts to have this misinformation corrected have been unsuccessful however we continue to try. Jennifer has never made this claim.
| Jennifer often posts advice about writing and publishing in her blog. ~ View Jennifer's blog ~ |
