Aside from having your very own editor to help you through, most publishers deal in submitting your manuscript for use in film.
Of course I had to write up my own movie treatment, but nonetheless, it's exciting. And of course in having a publisher, they help with the marketing and do all the rudimentary ordeals such as cover art, helping with your title because they want the book to make money. And that's okay. You're not selling out by allowing them to do that--change the title that is. If you love your story, you want the story to get out there. And what's wrong with making some money while you're at it?
I was attached to my title, but eventually I got over it and am happy with the title my editor and their marketing division chose. They have my best interest at heart, and of course they have their best interest at heart. Publishers want to make money.
So...If you want to make your living as a writer, then jump through the hoops your editor and their marketing department offers to you. If you're lucky and your story takes off and you become a celebrated author, or at the very least a modest one, you can then have a say with the next novel.
Don't let anyone tell you that you're selling out by bending over backwards for your editor. If you want to be a writer, then do what needs to be done. It's not fair for anyone to tell you that you're forgoing your integrity by changing anything. First time authors needs to get their foot in the door, and as long as they're not changing your story completely (most publishers/editors won't even do such a thing), then what's the big deal?
Me? I love my story to death, and I've got the sequel in the works. But I want to make money being an author, so therefore whatever my editor asks of me, I'll do. You should, too.
If you're lucky enough to receive a contract from an author, be careful...if you complain too much or are difficult, arguing with your editor over things they may want to change, you could get dropped. No editor/publisher wants to work with a difficult writer.
Author of the Bandita / Billy the Kid Series and currently working on and writing a contemporary novel with plans to publish soon. www.nicolemdixonauthor.com Follow Me On Twitter: @NMDixonAuthor Like My Bandita Page @BanditaBonitaandBillytheKid Website: NicoleMDixonAuthor.com
Monday, October 7, 2013
One Of The Great Things About Being Published
Aside from having your very own editor to help you through, most publishers deal in submitting your manuscript for use in film.
Of course I had to write up my own movie treatment, but nonetheless, it's exciting. And of course in having a publisher, they help with the marketing and do all the rudimentary ordeals such as cover art, helping with your title because they want the book to make money. And that's okay. You're not selling out by allowing them to do that--change the title that is. If you love your story, you want the story to get out there. And what's wrong with making some money while you're at it?
I was attached to my title, but eventually I got over it and am happy with the title my editor and their marketing division chose. They have my best interest at heart, and of course they have their best interest at heart. Publishers want to make money.
So...If you want to make your living as a writer, then jump through the hoops your editor and their marketing department offers to you. If you're lucky and your story takes off and you become a celebrated author, or at the very least a modest one, you can then have a say with the next novel.
Don't let anyone tell you that you're selling out by bending over backwards for your editor. If you want to be a writer, then do what needs to be done. It's not fair for anyone to tell you that you're forgoing your integrity by changing anything. First time authors needs to get their foot in the door, and as long as they're not changing your story completely (most publishers/editors won't even do such a thing), then what's the big deal?
Me? I love my story to death, and I've got the sequel in the works. But I want to make money being an author, so therefore whatever my editor asks of me, I'll do. You should, too.
If you're lucky enough to receive a contract from an author, be careful...if you complain too much or are difficult, arguing with your editor over things they may want to change, you could get dropped. No editor/publisher wants to work with a difficult writer.
Of course I had to write up my own movie treatment, but nonetheless, it's exciting. And of course in having a publisher, they help with the marketing and do all the rudimentary ordeals such as cover art, helping with your title because they want the book to make money. And that's okay. You're not selling out by allowing them to do that--change the title that is. If you love your story, you want the story to get out there. And what's wrong with making some money while you're at it?
I was attached to my title, but eventually I got over it and am happy with the title my editor and their marketing division chose. They have my best interest at heart, and of course they have their best interest at heart. Publishers want to make money.
So...If you want to make your living as a writer, then jump through the hoops your editor and their marketing department offers to you. If you're lucky and your story takes off and you become a celebrated author, or at the very least a modest one, you can then have a say with the next novel.
Don't let anyone tell you that you're selling out by bending over backwards for your editor. If you want to be a writer, then do what needs to be done. It's not fair for anyone to tell you that you're forgoing your integrity by changing anything. First time authors needs to get their foot in the door, and as long as they're not changing your story completely (most publishers/editors won't even do such a thing), then what's the big deal?
Me? I love my story to death, and I've got the sequel in the works. But I want to make money being an author, so therefore whatever my editor asks of me, I'll do. You should, too.
If you're lucky enough to receive a contract from an author, be careful...if you complain too much or are difficult, arguing with your editor over things they may want to change, you could get dropped. No editor/publisher wants to work with a difficult writer.
Sunday, October 6, 2013
The Big Pay Off
Once you've written your manuscript and have submitted it to publishers and have received the exorbitant amount of rejections, you may find you get lucky and finally find a publisher who likes your story, making all of those rejections worth it.
That said, so many people write stories these days, and they wind up self publishing. Although anybody can do it, it doesn't mean they should. Writing takes a certain degree of talent, and not every Tom, Dick, and Harry can do it. And while I say "Kudos" to those who make the attempt and then put themselves out there by self publishing, I don't feel that many of them take the time to respect the craft. Writing takes a lot of research. It is an endeavor that should hold up against your story line. The story itself should not be flimsy, and it turns out that those who want a book published simply so that they can get the faux respect that comes with having a book published often do not back up their work with the strength of a real author; this, one can imagine, is disrespectful to real authors, such as myself and many others. In my opinion, and in the opinion of many other authors, you are not a legitimate author until a publisher says you are; until a publisher takes you under their wing. With the advent of self-publishing, as mentioned, anybody can do it, but again, and I cannot stress this enough, not everybody should. It's frustrating.
I would like to take this time to point out, however, that I have become friends with and am familiar with authors who do take the route of self-publishing, and they are serious authors. There are plenty of serious authors that prefer self-publishing, but they are publishing their works alongside those who simply want to be published authors. Research who the respectable self-published authors are before downloading their stories.
Rayne Hall is one such author, and I've had the good fortune of getting to know her through Twitter. You can check out her stories on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_10?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=rayne%20hall&sprefix=rayne+hall%2Cstripbooks%2C232&rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3Arayne%20hall
And on Twitter she can be found at: @RayneHall
I of course have met many more self published authors, but Ryane is one of the most serious authors.
That said, so many people write stories these days, and they wind up self publishing. Although anybody can do it, it doesn't mean they should. Writing takes a certain degree of talent, and not every Tom, Dick, and Harry can do it. And while I say "Kudos" to those who make the attempt and then put themselves out there by self publishing, I don't feel that many of them take the time to respect the craft. Writing takes a lot of research. It is an endeavor that should hold up against your story line. The story itself should not be flimsy, and it turns out that those who want a book published simply so that they can get the faux respect that comes with having a book published often do not back up their work with the strength of a real author; this, one can imagine, is disrespectful to real authors, such as myself and many others. In my opinion, and in the opinion of many other authors, you are not a legitimate author until a publisher says you are; until a publisher takes you under their wing. With the advent of self-publishing, as mentioned, anybody can do it, but again, and I cannot stress this enough, not everybody should. It's frustrating.
I would like to take this time to point out, however, that I have become friends with and am familiar with authors who do take the route of self-publishing, and they are serious authors. There are plenty of serious authors that prefer self-publishing, but they are publishing their works alongside those who simply want to be published authors. Research who the respectable self-published authors are before downloading their stories.
Rayne Hall is one such author, and I've had the good fortune of getting to know her through Twitter. You can check out her stories on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_10?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=rayne%20hall&sprefix=rayne+hall%2Cstripbooks%2C232&rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3Arayne%20hall
And on Twitter she can be found at: @RayneHall
I of course have met many more self published authors, but Ryane is one of the most serious authors.
The Big Pay Off
Once you've written your manuscript and have submitted it to publishers and have received the exorbitant amount of rejections, you may find you get lucky and finally find a publisher who likes your story, making all of those rejections worth it.
That said, so many people write stories these days, and they wind up self publishing. Although anybody can do it, it doesn't mean they should. Writing takes a certain degree of talent, and not every Tom, Dick, and Harry can do it. And while I say "Kudos" to those who make the attempt and then put themselves out there by self publishing, I don't feel that many of them take the time to respect the craft. Writing takes a lot of research. It is an endeavor that should hold up against your story line. The story itself should not be flimsy, and it turns out that those who want a book published simply so that they can get the faux respect that comes with having a book published often do not back up their work with the strength of a real author; this, one can imagine, is disrespectful to real authors, such as myself and many others. In my opinion, and in the opinion of many other authors, you are not a legitimate author until a publisher says you are; until a publisher takes you under their wing. With the advent of self-publishing, as mentioned, anybody can do it, but again, and I cannot stress this enough, not everybody should. It's frustrating.
I would like to take this time to point out, however, that I have become friends with and am familiar with authors who do take the route of self-publishing, and they are serious authors. There are plenty of serious authors that prefer self-publishing, but they are publishing their works alongside those who simply want to be published authors. Research who the respectable self-published authors are before downloading their stories.
Rayne Hall is one such author, and I've had the good fortune of getting to know her through Twitter. You can check out her stories on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_10?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=rayne%20hall&sprefix=rayne+hall%2Cstripbooks%2C232&rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3Arayne%20hall
And on Twitter she can be found at: @RayneHall
I of course have met many more self published authors, but Ryane is one of the most serious authors.
That said, so many people write stories these days, and they wind up self publishing. Although anybody can do it, it doesn't mean they should. Writing takes a certain degree of talent, and not every Tom, Dick, and Harry can do it. And while I say "Kudos" to those who make the attempt and then put themselves out there by self publishing, I don't feel that many of them take the time to respect the craft. Writing takes a lot of research. It is an endeavor that should hold up against your story line. The story itself should not be flimsy, and it turns out that those who want a book published simply so that they can get the faux respect that comes with having a book published often do not back up their work with the strength of a real author; this, one can imagine, is disrespectful to real authors, such as myself and many others. In my opinion, and in the opinion of many other authors, you are not a legitimate author until a publisher says you are; until a publisher takes you under their wing. With the advent of self-publishing, as mentioned, anybody can do it, but again, and I cannot stress this enough, not everybody should. It's frustrating.
I would like to take this time to point out, however, that I have become friends with and am familiar with authors who do take the route of self-publishing, and they are serious authors. There are plenty of serious authors that prefer self-publishing, but they are publishing their works alongside those who simply want to be published authors. Research who the respectable self-published authors are before downloading their stories.
Rayne Hall is one such author, and I've had the good fortune of getting to know her through Twitter. You can check out her stories on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_10?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=rayne%20hall&sprefix=rayne+hall%2Cstripbooks%2C232&rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3Arayne%20hall
And on Twitter she can be found at: @RayneHall
I of course have met many more self published authors, but Ryane is one of the most serious authors.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
The Frightening Thing About Putting Myself Out There.
I very often wind up panicking. As a first time soon-to-be published author who has written about a popular entity I'm afraid of not only what my influences will think, if they think anything at all, but often if I did something wrong. The latter stems from the fact that I basically wrote fan-fiction about a real-life, well-known figure that many people are actually very interested in. I respect Billy the Kid and what he represented, and the last thing I wanted to do was do anything that was in anyway disrespectful to someone else’s life, but to tell his story I absolutely had to tell it in a different way, otherwise I'd be a thief and a hack. I try to remember that the reality is this…with all the celebrities that people are so caught up in, and all the writers who are brilliant and extraordinarily successful, who the hell is ever really going to concern themselves with what I’ve done other than me? I fight with myself as to whether or not I met my ultimate writing goal or not, and I think the point I’m trying to make here is, when it comes down to it, it only matters if I’m proud of myself for what I’ve accomplished, and I am.
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