Monday, April 30, 2012
Sunday, October 9, 2011
It's not very professional
...but I still get this burst of glee and terror any time I get an e-mail having to do with the manuscript. It just feels so awesome that somebody is handling my stuff, and it's actual WORK for them, not just the kindness of loved ones.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
And there was much cheering
The contract is here!
Of course, now it's hitting me that I have two weeks left and still have to revise multiple chapters...
Of course, now it's hitting me that I have two weeks left and still have to revise multiple chapters...
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Thursday, September 1, 2011
The Numbers
Sometimes, I worry that either she won't be able to sell the book, or that it will do poorly and not even earn through the advance. The statistics on book sales are tremendously discouraging.
Then I consider the process of even getting to this point. On average, the agency goes through something like dozens to something over a hundred queries a day. So, in a year, they will plow through tens of thousands of queries... and select just a very, very few. My agent only took 2 new clients or something last year.
So, in a way, my story has already out-competed thousands and thousands of other stories. That should be encouraging, right?
It really was difficult getting to this point. Years went by, during which I would write, knowing that the odds are nobody in the industry will ever read beyond even the first page of the manuscript... And of course, nobody will take an unfinished manuscript, so I spent years writing novels nobody except my wife and best friend would actually read. In the meantime, my other friends and siblings would progress with their careers and lives, while mine was on hold, because writing is the only thing I love to do.
I worked in the Human Genome Project at one point. I was involved in a few bioinformatics papers, and in programming an information system for a bunch of chronobiologists in Europe. But really... writing is all I want to do.
There were a lot of times I almost gave it up. How can you really know if you have a chance, if you have what it takes, without being told by someone in the business? Friends and loved ones are biased. Writing workshops and groups are inherently predisposed to being positive mutual support...
So, the years would tick by while I basically wrote in the darkness. I kept writing not because I thought I would make it, but because I was miserable doing other things. The reality is that there are a lot of people out there who will never make it through traditional publishing no matter how long and how hard they try, and while a tiny fraction of them may find success through self-publishing on the web, most self-publishers won't ever sell more than few dozen copies.
I am not an expert, so I could not tell anyone really, whether they can make it or not. I still might not! I wonder though, how many writers are like I was, writing not for the hope of getting published, but because everything else is unsatisfying.
Then I consider the process of even getting to this point. On average, the agency goes through something like dozens to something over a hundred queries a day. So, in a year, they will plow through tens of thousands of queries... and select just a very, very few. My agent only took 2 new clients or something last year.
So, in a way, my story has already out-competed thousands and thousands of other stories. That should be encouraging, right?
It really was difficult getting to this point. Years went by, during which I would write, knowing that the odds are nobody in the industry will ever read beyond even the first page of the manuscript... And of course, nobody will take an unfinished manuscript, so I spent years writing novels nobody except my wife and best friend would actually read. In the meantime, my other friends and siblings would progress with their careers and lives, while mine was on hold, because writing is the only thing I love to do.
I worked in the Human Genome Project at one point. I was involved in a few bioinformatics papers, and in programming an information system for a bunch of chronobiologists in Europe. But really... writing is all I want to do.
There were a lot of times I almost gave it up. How can you really know if you have a chance, if you have what it takes, without being told by someone in the business? Friends and loved ones are biased. Writing workshops and groups are inherently predisposed to being positive mutual support...
So, the years would tick by while I basically wrote in the darkness. I kept writing not because I thought I would make it, but because I was miserable doing other things. The reality is that there are a lot of people out there who will never make it through traditional publishing no matter how long and how hard they try, and while a tiny fraction of them may find success through self-publishing on the web, most self-publishers won't ever sell more than few dozen copies.
I am not an expert, so I could not tell anyone really, whether they can make it or not. I still might not! I wonder though, how many writers are like I was, writing not for the hope of getting published, but because everything else is unsatisfying.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
More Time
My agent of course has other clients. She has a bunch of stuff to deal with in September. So I have a couple weeks more.
So rather than just diving into fixing this series of major changes in the last quarter of the manuscript, I'll have a little more time to plan things out and work through possible alternative plot-lines.
There are those who just sit and write with a bare bones outline and those who carefully design their cast of characters and then set them loose. I used to be more spontaneous as a writer, but in all large projects, like programming an information system or doing scientific research, deliberate design and a clear process are just better.
I will often prototype a few chapters now, see how it's going, and then write it over from the beginning when I have a clearer picture of what is and isn't working, as well as having a large outline that has a series of events and plot threads I may or may not slide in as I write the first real draft.
For this project that got me an offer, I think I wrote about 20,000 words before I restarted. Zeroth drafts are not wasted even if I do not use anything in them--as in programming, they help clarify what I want out of the final product during the specification and design phases.
They can also be useful during revision, for getting another perspective on what I thought were problems and what were positives before.
So rather than just diving into fixing this series of major changes in the last quarter of the manuscript, I'll have a little more time to plan things out and work through possible alternative plot-lines.
There are those who just sit and write with a bare bones outline and those who carefully design their cast of characters and then set them loose. I used to be more spontaneous as a writer, but in all large projects, like programming an information system or doing scientific research, deliberate design and a clear process are just better.
I will often prototype a few chapters now, see how it's going, and then write it over from the beginning when I have a clearer picture of what is and isn't working, as well as having a large outline that has a series of events and plot threads I may or may not slide in as I write the first real draft.
For this project that got me an offer, I think I wrote about 20,000 words before I restarted. Zeroth drafts are not wasted even if I do not use anything in them--as in programming, they help clarify what I want out of the final product during the specification and design phases.
They can also be useful during revision, for getting another perspective on what I thought were problems and what were positives before.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)