that only applies to those who write books or screenplays and many [perhaps most] of those who write for a living don't...
Well, I've got some good news. My friend read the first couple of chapters and she likes it. I have to tell you a bit about my friend, though. She hates my taste in books and she hates sci-fi. Yet she likes my sci-fi book and she wants more of it! I feel really encouraged about this! But yeah, I'm thinking about the later parts, because eventually my book will be ready and I'll need an agent and I really don't want to get screwed over... Does anyone have a good agent or at least know how to find such a person?!?
Research and submit the queries/samples/synopsis they want and keep doing that until one of them accepts you.
With a market that has so many people trying to become famous writers, it increases the odds of failure substantially. If your still in school, try signing up to write articles for your school paper or magazine. Try to get a small creative writing column in if there isn't one already or just simple write articles. Even if you aren't into reporting it gives you exposure. (however, this can backfire if your horrible at it.) I agree with people telling you to get a day job and just think of this as kind of a passionate hobby for now. As for myself; I am a painter and a tattoo artist whichs help me stay afloat currently. I have yet to make any money from writing yet (besides the best mans speech I wrote for a friend for his brothers wedding) but that doesn't stop me. I mean sure tattooing brings in good steady money. $60-$100/hr with tattooing or selling a piece of art for a few hundred is great but that's a one time payment where as if I write the greatest book of a generation, I will be seeing the effects of that a lot longer. So I stay stick with your I.T. thing, and try to move higher up with them if you can, write on the side. and maybe one day you can hang up your keyboard and flourish with your novel.
You have to take into account that a large portion of those people aren't good. lol I guess you just have to strive to be the best and to have something you think can sell, and I'd imagine knowing how to sell yourself might help too, when writing queries and what not.
You make a good point, but even some good books get looked over because its not what the publisher/agent is looking for at the time, or simply missed by them because they have just read through a wall of garbage and now everything just tastes like garbage. lol well you know what I mean right? Chuck Palahniuk's Invisible monsters got looked over for so long because it was seen as too "gory" or "disturbing", and only until after he wrote and published fight club and some others, was it seriously looked at and finally published, and that book is very much in demand. my public library has 2 copies of the book and 16 requests or people waiting on both. I was about to sign up for the wait list but its estimated at a year wait.
I work full time and write whenever I can. I'd like to think one day some of my stuff will be published!
There's also a pesky little fact we'd all like to ignore: good writing and writing that will sell and make you a fortune are not always the same thing. It sucks, I know, but what can you do?
good agents abound... but so do scammers who pretend to be agents... you have to do your own finding, though... i have some good listing sites i'll be glad to send you if you drop me a line... just make sure you don't query anyone who asks for any up front money, as all legit agents only get paid after they sell your work... here's the first place you should go to vet agents or publishers, among other things: http://www.invirtuo.cc/prededitors/ love and hugs, maia maia3maia@hotmail.com
Oh totally. I'm talking about people within the realm of writing that would sell in general. I totally know that good books get looked over and tossed aside all the time for a variety of reasons. That's where believing in yourself and not giving up no matter what come in.
Random thoughts about writing...what else do you do when you're procrastinating in your WIP, lol. I'm a scientist by profession. I could probably write a hell of a sci/fi work, but writing sci/fi just doesn't interest me. This may not be the case forever, but its not in any of the stories I have brainstormed to work on, after my current WIP is done. It is like the Anti career, to have so much info in so much detail, and just piss on it when it comes to writing. I'm sure most people have an Anti Career. Kinda makes me chuckle, its like skipping over the obvious. Its like a hotshot criminal lawyer that could write a hell of a thriller, but chooses to write Westerns, or childrens books. Anyone else feel like their career is their writer's anti career? LOL To the sci/fi writers...although I don't wanna write it, I do enjoy reading it, so keep writing!
They say write what you know but not everyone has to follow the rules. I guess you're like the mechanic who avoids fixing his own car. In away I can understand that. Your a Scientist. I'm a former R&D engineer but I do include a bit of tech and physics in scifi stories. Not in westerns or mysteries though.
This reminds me of the celebrity chef Mario Batali. Someone asked him, "What's YOUR favorite dish?" And he answered, "Whatever someone else cooks." I guess he spends his days preparing the best meals he can for his customers, but when he comes home, he just wants someone else to make a dinner for him. I understand that. I'm an engineer by profession, but my anti-career is, I guess, the polar opposite: a folksinger. I play guitar and I know hundreds of traditional folksongs, and I try to write songs in traditional styles. And I'm more likely to write about musicians than about engineers ...
I am interested in knowing what kind of science you're specialized in? Because I don't think science is only applicable to just science fiction writing! I would love to be good in science, I think you'd have a lot of interesting knowledge and a good understanding of how things work. I'm a humanities type of person though. I'm still in school so I don't have an anti-career, but oddly enough I'm an advocate of recreational drugs yet a lot of my writing reflects drugs in an extremely poor light.
