McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft

Secret to Succes?

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crystalphoenixhobbies1:
Lol. Those are very fair points, and I'll have to try them out. Thank you. Also, I just reread what I last wrote, and apparently I'm a little pompous when I first wake up, so I apologize for implying that everyone is trying to be the next Tolkien or Butcher. I really didn't mean for it to come out that way. Lol

The Deposed King:

--- Quote from: crystalphoenixhobbies1 on June 06, 2014, 04:58:32 PM ---Lol. Those are very fair points, and I'll have to try them out. Thank you. Also, I just reread what I last wrote, and apparently I'm a little pompous when I first wake up, so I apologize for implying that everyone is trying to be the next Tolkien or Butcher. I really didn't mean for it to come out that way. Lol

--- End quote ---

No worries.  Have a good one!



The Deposed King

meg_evonne:
Ask yourself why you write. Do you write for fame and recognition? In real life, that's a by product of a few hearty souls. Note I didn't say lucky. Many of us are driven to write and to tell the story. We don't care; we write. OK we care, but it ain't our chief reason.

Follow DK's advice and wise comments. He knows.

My advice? Keep writing. Keep telling your stories. And freaking keep improving. You've a long road ahead of you. Its usually the 5th or 6th full novel that gets accepted--and that's assuming you are improving your craft skills. You HAVE to have the skill and talent and hard work to get to a worthy product.

Another way of saying this is the 10,000 rule. A study was done to determine how long it takes a virtuoso to reach a level of competency.  10000 practices of mindful, studied hard work with teachers and mentors. Same for writing. I assume that's a minimum of 10000 HOURS.

How many have you clocked? Keep writing if it is your passion.

During Jim's master writing class at WyrdCon (well worth the travel and expense) he stressed how you NEVER stop stretching your craft skill and tools. Take a hard critical look at Skin Game. He pumped up his skill set by a factor of 10 or more! That's why his series is as vibrant now as it was with Storm Front.

This is a full contact sport and not for wimps AND even with an amazing manuscript it may never be read by many.

Best wishes!

superpsycho:

--- Quote from: crystalphoenixhobbies1 on June 05, 2014, 09:19:20 PM ---Not sure if Mr. Butcher reads all of the forums, and to be honest I'd be surprised if he had the time, so while my question is directed towards him, I'll take any answers I can get.  There is no doubt that you are a brilliant author, and your books have been read by countless people across the globe.  But at one point you were just like the rest of us.  I recently self-published an ebook on Amazon (Just a 90 page short story to get my work out there for once), but out of the billions (with a B) of people out there, not a single one has decided that the $0.99 price tag is worth spending to take a look at it.  So the question I have is: What did you do, when you first started writing, to get your name out there?  Was it a bunch of self promotion, recommendations from your publishers, or just blind luck, the chance encounters of people who saw your book on the shelves, and decided not only to read it, but to recommend it to a friend?  I'm not really sure if there is an answer, or if its all three (or more) of those at once.

Crystal Phoenix Hobbies

--- End quote ---
I would assume since your inquiry was directed at Mr Butcher, your measure of success would be traditional publishing. But whether tradition or self-publishing the key to success is learning your craft. That doesn't just mean the writing part, it also means the whole process. For traditional publishing it means knowing who is who for your genre, the process involved in getting an agent and what publishers want. You have to take as much care on your submission package as you do your stories.
Traditional Publishing Resources

When you self publish, the degree of success will largely depend on how much effort you're willing to put into promoting your work, which can be time consuming. Often it's best to work with a friend or family member who is into the social media scene. It's mainly about knowing how to spread the word through forums, blogs and websites. It's also knowing the process by which you self publish; getting reviews and building a fan base.

But of course, as any author will tell you, the first step is actually learning how to complete a manuscript no matter had bad it stinks, then going back and making it readable.

 

 
 

Wordmaker:
As Deposed King said, short stories aren't really going to sell. I have one short story available and another on the way that are purely there as a little bit of an extra for my existing readers. I'd suggest getting out of thinking in terms of pages, and into thinking in wordcounts. Number of pages is decided during internal design and typesetting, and if you went to an agent or a publisher, they would ask for a wordcount, not number of pages.

You really do want to aim for 80,000 words, and then when you have that done, either seek out a literary agent, or hire a professional editor (or, if you know someone with the right skills and experience, see if they'll do you a favour an edit it for free, or in return for something else). You're going to need that expert, third-party opinion. And not just to catch spelling and grammar mistakes, but for structural edits, too, like continuity, pacing, themes. My first novel wound up having the first 50 pages cut. My second required a complete re-write before my publisher would even offer me the contract.

Of course, you can be an astonishing writer, and you won't get anywhere if you don't put in the work elsewhere. Build up an online platform. Start a blog, build a website, get on social media. Engage with the writing and fandom community, but don't act like a salesman. If you post nothing but sales pitches, people will ignore you. It's a real connection people look for, that encourages them to take a chance on your book and tell others about it. They'll help you succeed because they want to see you get to write more books.

When people tell you they've read your book, as them if they'd mind posting a review on Amazon and Goodreads. Host giveaways and contests to draw attention to your brand.

But during all this, remember that the only way to reliably draw more attention to your work is to keep writing. I had a book out in 2012 and in 2013, and this year I have two out. And I still feel like I need to write more and get more books out there.

As for time, well, I'm not renovating a house, but I work 40 hours a week, with an hour commute each way. My wife is a wheelchair-user so there are things she needs help with around the house, and certain household chores she simply can't do. And we have three babies under the age of 2. I get up at 6am every day, including weekends. After getting the girls to bed and having dinner, it's often  8 or 9pm by the time I get to sit down and unwind. I write before I leave for work, during my lunch, and for a few hours every Saturday and Sunday morning.

You find the time for the things that matter, and that's what you need to decide, as Meg said. It's all about priorities, and

Pretty much anyone can get 500 words written in one hour, if they focus on it. With practice, this will easily go up to 1,000. If you write just 1 hour a day, and give yourself weekends off, you can write a draft of an 80,000 word novel in 16 weeks. Give yourself another 4 weeks to account for spellchecking and edits before sending it to an agent or editor, and that's 20 weeks for one novel.

Even with a busy schedule, you can easily get 2 novels written each year, with 12 weeks off for holidays and special occasions.

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