Writer's Digest (July/August 2011)
Don’t you wish someone could tell you if you’re wasting your time trying to be a writer? Or if you’re at all close to getting traditionally published—assuming that’s your goal?
In a recent issue of Writer’s Digest, I have a feature article, “Revising Your Path to Publication,” that attempts to address these (rather) unanswerable questions. It’s a helpful article for writers who feel like they’re banging their head against the wall. In a nutshell, here’s what I advise.
Avoid these 5 time wasters
- Submitting manuscripts that aren’t your best work.
- Self-publishing when no one is listening.
- Distributing your work digitally when your audience wants print—or vice versa.
- Seeking New York commercial publishing deals for regional or niche work.
- Focusing on publishing when you should be writing.
The 2 things I find MOST relevant to your publication path
- How much time you’ve put into writing. Have you put in enough time to get good at it?
- How much time you’ve spent reading quality, published work. This helps you learn how to write better AND understand where you might be on the spectrum of quality.
When is it time to change course?
- Honestly assess whether your work is commercially viable. Not all work is.
- Are readers responding to something you didn’t expect? I see this happen all the time: A writer is working on a manuscript that no one seems interested in, but has fabulous success on some side project.
- Are you getting bitter? If you find yourself demonizing people in the publishing industry, taking rejections very personally, feeling as if you’re owed something, and/or complaining whenever you get together with other writers, it’s time to find the refresh button.
- How much time you’ve put into writing. Have you put in enough time to get good at it?
- How much time you’ve spent reading quality, published work. This helps you learn how to write better AND understand where you might be on the spectrum of quality.
When is it time to change course?
- Honestly assess whether your work is commercially viable. Not all work is.
- Are readers responding to something you didn’t expect? I see this happen all the time: A writer is working on a manuscript that no one seems interested in, but has fabulous success on some side project.
- Are you getting bitter? If you find yourself demonizing people in the publishing industry, taking rejections very personally, feeling as if you’re owed something, and/or complaining whenever you get together with other writers, it’s time to find the refresh button.
Here’s a little piece of hope: If your immediate thought upon reading this blog post headline was something like: I couldn’t stop trying even if someone told me to give up, then you’re much closer to publication than someone who is easily discouraged. The battle is far more psychological than you might think.
If you’d like to read the full-length article (about 2,500 words), then get the Writer’s Digest July/August 2011 issue.
Looking for other posts I’ve written similar to this topic?
- You should definitely read this next: 5 Things More Important Than Talent
- You Hate Your Writing? That’s a Good Sign!
- Your Friends and Family Are Wrong
- Persistence Doesn’t Matter If You Make This Common Mistake
Join the conversation
38 Comments on "Are You Wasting Your Time Trying to Get Published?"
Fantastic article. It’s funny how as writers we generally are shy and introverted, yet when we finish the first draft of our first manuscript, we become like “drunk seniors on spring break”!
Suddenly, our inhibitions are gone and we think everyone is just waiting to worship our “masterpiece”… uggg… growing pains can suck! But when we get through them, advice like yours can be priceless. Thank you
Yes! It’s hugely tempting, after we finish a manuscript, to send it out into the world. Patience is vital.
Jane,
I absolutely love reading your articles. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how I look at it, I am one of those people who “couldn’t stop trying even if someone told me to give up.” Thanks for your words of wisdom, which they always truly are.
Thanks, Patricia! Glad to hear of your resilience. 🙂
Thank you for your response! I was expecting to do a lot of work marketing either way. Of course I would prefer to get published by a big house, but as a new author that is… impractical. I will have to check out that e-book.
Jane,
This is GREAT advice for any professional writer. Thank you. Your tips really made me think, and they actually apply to the professional (i.e. they’re not everyone-in-the-writing-world-knows-this tips).
–Shari
Flattered! Thank you so much.
Thanks for that insight, Jane.
🙂
Good article, and timely. I am leaning toward self-publishing, but I realize it is a lot of work. I think a lot of people do not realize it still has to be done professionally to rise above the crowd. Just reformatting a Word doc to Kindle format doesn’t cut it. As we used to say in IT, garbage in, garbage out. If anything, I think the bar is higher since there is no one that has your back.
Keep up the good work. Yours is one of the most useful threads I follow!
Thanks so much, Darryl. 100% agree: garbage in, garbage out!
Thank you for sharing! 🙂
[…] Jane Friedman-Being Electric at Human Speed […]
This was excellent; from an MFA graduate, aspiring author (I’m waiting for my manuscript to be ready), and creative writing instructor’s viewpoint, it’s completely true.
Glad to hear it resonates! Thanks for commenting.
Humbling and inspiring. Thanks for the post.
Thanks for stopping by!
Good points, all. I am often asked by friends or relatives to read their work and give them feedback. Most are awful and no, they should not be encourage. They should take a basic English course instead. So, how do you handle such situations when in fact encouraging them would be cruel?
Commercially viable… this seems to be defined quite differently for traditional publishing and Indie ebook publishing. I suppose if I spend $3,000 to produce a finished product that cost almost nothing per ebook after initial expense, then the qualifications for commercially viable expand significantly. The stuff I’m writing now I do not believe to be traditional publishing viable. At least I know I wouldn’t be able to get in the door with it. But, I suppose good story is good story. So down the road I can hope.
Absolutely! And “commercially viable” differs from publisher to publisher. What’s viable for a Big Six New York house will not be the same as what’s viable for a small press, regional press, or university press.
Authors need a fairly critical eye to be able to look at their work and ask, “Does this merit national/physical distribution in every single bookstore in the country? Does it have that kind of mainstream appeal?”
Even publishers argue over the answer to this question, but sometimes an author’s vanity gets in the way of answering this question honestly.
Appreciate your perspective here! I think you’re right.
Sales and popularity do not always equal good writing. Thanks for this article.
Nope, but the Big Six publishers look for sales and popularity. It’s important to remember that when you decide you want to get published. Your “good writing” becomes a product to be marketed and sold.
I wonder if you’ve read JA Konrath’s take on how to divide time between writing and marketing? He has an interesting perspective that advocates spending as much time writing as possible, because he makes the most money from selling what he produces.
Of course, I believe this strategy only works if your name is a known quantity, or a brand—someone who already has a core group of readers.
But I imagine the percentage of time spent marketing vs. writing can and does change over the course of a career.
I strongly agree with your 5 time wasters. While I’m still learning as I go, I know I couldn’t have been where I am today if I hadn’t made a move to self-publish my Nigerian romances. But I only went in that direction after my blog became a platform. Thanks for sharing.
Appreciate you taking time to comment!
[…] wrote a blog post recently called, Are You Wasting Your Time Trying to Get Published?, which asks these two […]
This guide will surely help new writers like me. And yes you are right about self-publishing. But new writers get frustrated when they don’t see success even after they put they best of their ability. Thanks for sharing the info.
Those who are frustrated should ask a few questions:
1. How were expectations of success determined? Has a reasonable measuring stick been used?
2. Has enough time passed to see success? Most writers are impatient.
3. Sometimes “best ability” is not good enough to compete in a very crowded marketplace. Do you have confidence in the quality of the work? What objective indicators do you have that it has the quality to compete?
[…] Are You Wasting Your Time Trying to Get Published? Ten Tips to Help You Replenish Your Creative Reserves by Carrie Mumford […]
[…] Last week, I discussed how you can waste your time trying to get published. […]
[…] Jane Friedman-Being Electric at Human Speed […]