McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft
Balancing fan enthusiasm with conventional author methodology
Breandan:
I have a bit of an issue. Putting it simply, everyone who has read what I have written has been enthusiastic at the very least, and in more than a few cases threatened me with dire bodily harm if I DIDN'T publish. However, I am not a classically-trained author, don't attend writing workshops, have never taken a literature or writing class since High School, etc. Career-wise I am about as far from a conventional writer's background as one can get, short of being an illiterate hermit (though, ironically enough, my career field DOES play into my writing quite a bit, if through a sci-fi filter). I have written for a role-playing game company, and have published articles and such, but nothing like a novel. So, the target audience seem to like what I am writing quite a bit, however to get to them via the bookshelf I have to overcome the dual hurdles of agents and publishers. Considering that they usually come from a much more conventional background, two key questions pop into my head- 1) How important is it to agents/publishers for a first-time author to have writing credentials in their background? And 2) How important is audience interest, and is it even possible to convey such during submission?
Thoughts? :-)
Starbeam:
--- Quote from: Breandan on March 27, 2011, 10:31:41 PM ---1) How important is it to agents/publishers for a first-time author to have writing credentials in their background? And 2) How important is audience interest, and is it even possible to convey such during submission?
Thoughts? :-)
--- End quote ---
1-If it were important for writing credentials, I don't think a lot of people would get published. The main thing is that you know how to write, you have a good story, you keep them interested, and they want to read more.
2-It doesn't matter. More often than not, the audience interest that's mentioned tends to be family/friends/a teacher's class/writing teacher/whatnot. From everything I've read/heard, agents and editors aren't interested in that. Because it doesn't have any bearing on whether they want the story or not.
Essentially, it comes down to writing the best story you possibly can, polishing it as much as you can, and writing a query that'll get an agent/editor interested and having the first however many pages interest them to where they want chapters or a full manuscript.
The other option is that you could find someone to help you revise and polish, and you could self publish, and if you sell enough copies--which seems to be around 2,000 to get noticed(or did, before the last several months)--you can then possibly find an agent willing to represent you.
the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh:
--- Quote from: Breandan on March 27, 2011, 10:31:41 PM ---1) How important is it to agents/publishers for a first-time author to have writing credentials in their background?
--- End quote ---
Not remotely.
--- Quote ---2) How important is audience interest, and is it even possible to convey such during submission?
--- End quote ---
Unless your audience interest numbers are provably in the millions, trying to do so in submission is usually a net minus; it comes across as ego. (Along the same lines that, if you were Stephen Hawking or Lady Gaga, someone might be interested in your biography, but as an average person, probably not.)
Breandan:
shoulda clarified- by audience interest, I meant in sales from other genre productions such as the game company I write for. Do their sales figures matter, in other words. Thanks for the input :)
Starbeam:
--- Quote from: Breandan on March 29, 2011, 05:27:16 PM ---shoulda clarified- by audience interest, I meant in sales from other genre productions such as the game company I write for. Do their sales figures matter, in other words. Thanks for the input :)
--- End quote ---
As in they've already published it, or in conjunction with what they've published-like Forgotten Realms or such?
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