Which one, R?

http://www.innergeek.co.uk/opinion-when-im-in-the-zone/

http://www.innergeek.co.uk/opinion-my-buys-are-too-big-for-my-game-stomach/

Two articles I've had published recently.

I guess I'm a writer bod now.

Jesus. Posted something on another forum to be critiqued and got savaged. Not even "Yer grammar is shit mate" but, and this is a direct quote, "For the most part, I see no story here... Lots of boring, needless detail bogged down with summary and exposition. And then when I get there, I still have no idea what's going or why."

Anyone being writing recently?

Some people just like to criticise for no reason.
Have you seen any of their writing?

Haven't written much of late as life has generally got in the way.  (I've been doing essentially two jobs, but will hopefully get back to just being a GP in April, so am kind of hoping I'll get some energy/ time back).  That said I dusted off the novel that I'd written and finally tried sending it out again.  Got a really nice rejection letter the other day.  (It's coming to something when you can only celebrate rejection letters.)  Said he thought it was excellent, particularly for a debut - but then went on to add that it was too niche.  Said to forward anything I write in the future even if they're officially closed to submissions which was kind of nice.  

Obviously it's still a rejection, but a nice change to the standard letters I got previously - It's enough to make me think it's worth trying a bit harder though (gave up first time round pretty quickly), so I'm going to this in September to see if I can pick up any tips...

As for criticism - if they can't explain what needs to be done to make it better, it's not criticism, it's just noise.  

(Oh and, @Rev I've just read the Dark Souls 2 and a bit review - which made me wonder why I haven't bought the game yet...)

Dark Soldier wrote:

That's surely a positive step, tin. Kudos man.

Thanks DS.  If I pick up anything generically useful at this thing in York I'll pass them on here...

I promised to pass on anything I picked up at the Writer's thing in York.  This may take some time...

General advice:

Predictable stuff really.  You're only a writer if you actually get off your arse and write stuff - so do it.  Reading is important, but often wise to stop when you're actively writing.  And the biggest one was to develop a really thick skin, and persevere no matter what.  One writer had written their epic novel in prison only to have it shredded by the guard - twice.

Cliches - don't worry too much about them on first time through, but you need to viciously expunge them when you review the manuscript.  (Unless they're there for a specific purpose - reflecting a character's voice for instance.)  They widened the definition of cliche beyond phrases that are over-used to include sentences that were clearly just padding, but added nothing to the work.

Getting an Agent.

Mainly depressing.  On average they will "optimistically" pick about 1 in 1000.  Once you have an agent it's still far from guaranteed that your work will get a publisher.  Opinion seemed to be divided as to how many you should send to, one agent said if they had a novel they'd send it "to every single person in the industry".

Every agent said they were looking for something different - but it was also very clear that they didn't actually want anything too different.  For instance whilst lots said they were really interested in SciFi or fantasy as well as their wider portfolio, what they really meant was contemporary novels with a SciFi/ fantasy twist.  (Think Time Traveller's Wife for instance.)  If it's clearly identifiable as genre, it's less marketable, and as such less interesting to them.  (Find a specific genre agent/ publisher.)

Reasons for rejecting a book are understandably incredibly fickle.  They did a "live slush pile" - common problems which meant they didn't read beyond the first paragraph included: Not being instantly intriguing, being too confusing, sex on the first page (not universal), too many adjectives, exposition,and the greatest sin of all - starting with your character waking up.  (Apparently about 1 in 8 start with someone waking up, and it's an instant bin.)

That's if you're lucky enough to be read at all.  Many will get binned based on the cover letter - basically your bit of blurb describing the story is very important.  Imagine it's the back of the book's dust jacket - sell it.

Most submissions aren't read much beyond the first page - one agent reckoned they would read the whole 3 chapters once or twice a week at best.

So, in summary, the whole industry is based on you submitting a novel but safe idea, and a stunning opening page - the rest of your book is incrementally less important from there on.  (This may explain why so many books have a shitty ending.)

Oh - and they rarely read the synopsis. This was a bit of a bombshell for me as I finding writing a one page synopsis almost impossible.  Turns out everyone else does too, and that they're used purely as evidence that you have actually written the rest.  They look at it only after they've decided they want your book, and they expect it to be incredibly dull, and probably incoherent.

Self Publishing:

Arguably more likely to be noticed as an eBook then a physical novel, more potential to make money than in print (at present) but you have to go out and market the book yourself.

It's essential to get a good cover.  Whilst this may sound a small detail, it's the main selling point when on Amazon and the like, and it's no coincidence that modern book covers are designed to look good in thumbnail form.  If you aren't a designer and can't afford one, a cheap solution is to use an off the shelf cover from rejected designs.  (Most designers do several for each client, and some then sell those that aren't used.)  Here's an example site, there are others.

If you're going to self publish then it's essential to get an editor before putting it out there.  Two kinds, developmental (gives a view on the manuscript itself, and how it might be improved) and a copy editor.  If you're really confident you could skip the former, but not recommended for first time writers.  Getting someone to check the copy is pretty much a given.  Developmental editors come in two flavours - book doctors (very expensive, but a gold standard) or manuscript appraisal (merely expensive, less discussion).  Finally if you can't afford a developmental editor at the very least join an online writing group and get a team of "beta readers".

Writers Festivals in general

I realised that I should have gone a year ago.  Felt a bit like being told the rules of a game after playing it badly for ages.  As part of the festival I had two "one to ones", one with an agent, the other with a book doctor.  Both were useful.  The agent gave much the same opinion as the previous rejection letter I had received - I can write, but there is no market for what I've produced.  (Or at least, there's no-one that would risk finding out).  The Book Doctor was a really interesting conversation, (I had a writer called Hal Duncan who was a genuinely lovely guy.)  Much more in the way of constructive criticism of my writing (I swaggered in with the knowledge that the agent said my prose was perfect, and left realising I have lots still to work on) - he told me I needed to decide whether I was Pratchett or Pinter, which I've decided is a complement of sorts.

So yeah, definitely worth going, but they're very expensive.

Thanks tin.
Good advice as always

Screw it, I'm going to release some stuff on Kindle. I'm too impatient for the "Submit, wait 6 months for a response" life.

Who do I pay to make nice covers? Or is there anywhere I can source images (I'm thinking very minimalist for the covers, tbh) to use that aren't the typical shite on self-pubbed stuff.

i can do arty stuff. I'm cheap

For all the shit I read about publishers, agents and all the general bollocks associated with trying to get published, I can't help but think the industry needs a kick up the arse. Self-publishing seems the best way to go for most people, and it's probably the route I'll be going once I've edited my novel.

That's a beautiful sentiment, Tiger. I'm much the same way. Would it be great if I could live off writing instead of working horrible jobs? Of course, but that's not the reason I write. Writing for yourself, to tell stories others aren't, is exactly why I do it.

Just submitted something to Amazon. Should be available in 12 hours or so. It seem you can't permanently list something for free, so I'll have to keep putting it on promotion to keep it as such.

I've also just found out the title is shared by another self published book... which is a BBW erotic romance.

Hah!

Just dl'ed Tiger, will try and read tonight and then write a scathing review on Amazon. No such thing as a free lunch, much love.