Friday, February 11, 2011

Horse of a Different Color

In the world of publishing, it's no secret that having a literary agent in your corner is an amazing thing.  However, finding one can be difficult for some (I use myself as an example of this).  Criticism, rejection letters, etc. don't really phase me...basically par for the course and as a co-worker once told me, "Mike lets stuff roll off of him like water off the back of a duck". 

I read a ton of blogs and try to comment on a ton too and I've noticed that there seems to be a disconnection with the idea that you need a big publishing house and an agent to simply "be read". I wanted to make a distinction that you actually don't need any of these things if you want people to read your work. "¿Qué pasa?" you might ask...allow me to elaborate.

I'm a member of this wonderful website called Gay Authors where I post stories for free and people read them.  Do I get paid?  Not one bit. But let's put it this way, my story has probably had somewhere in the neighborhood of 6,000 to 7,000 reads (from the first time I ever posted it and counting the Nifty Archive) and I got probably 60 comments and or reviews on it over time from people that read my story and either liked it or had great constructive criticism.  For someone that really doesn't have too many real life friends that read, this was awesome.  Disclaimer:  all of my friends spend most of their free time on Facebook, World of Warcraft, or socializing.  Reading is an "alone-time" thing and most people I know, really don't read that much because they cannot stand being alone.  But anyways, I digress.

Finding G.A. was a wonderful breath of fresh air for me.  It also allowed me to connect with like-minded people who are intelligent, concerned about writing, and love to read.  And...my experience is based on my first story ever posted on the site.  It wasn't complete when I started posting.  Rather, I did so a chapter at a time and I only partially storyboarded it but I knew where I wanted to go with it.  So you can imagine...a first draft just going up on the web, no one to edit or beta-read it, and bam...tons of people are suddenly involved with it.  I had great writers that go by the name Nephylim, Anytasunday, and KingdombytheSea who took time to read my story and throw me a comment or two.  It's great.

But my readers and reviews pale in comparison to true hard working writers on the site.  My good friend Andy (who's a lawyer and having a baby via a surrogate with his partner and blogging about it) has probably over 20,000 views on his story and hundreds of thought-filled and provoking reviews (some an entire page in length).

Now, Andy's story that I've linked above called "Second Shot" would be considered basically "unpublishable".  It's essentially an on-going soap opera that is over 230,000 words in length and still going (publishable being essentially 120,000 words or less by most outfits).  I've seen stories on G.A. approaching half a million words...does that mean they're bad?  Well they've got people devouring them up.  All it means to me is the author has a different way of telling a story and that if it went to print, an entire forest would die.  But in the digital age...this happily doesn't need to happen ever.

So my point is, that if you're a writer, you don't need the trimmings of a big publishing house and an agent to be "read" which is what I see a lot of writers saying.  "I want to be read."  I think the distinction is, "I want to have fame and fortune and a prestigious publishing house."  If this is what you want, then yes, you need to go the traditional route.

And there's nothing wrong with that either.  I too seek fame and fortune with a prestigious publishing house.  I think it'd be cool to see my books featured on a Barnes and Noble bookshelf with cover art and some marketing done by a publisher and a humble book-signing.  I also believe that everyone that writes should also get their dream of this.  But realistically, it all depends on whether or not what you write appeals to the people that have enough discretionary income to buy your book.  That's what the agent is...he's a person trained to know whether or not your writing can fatten a bank account for a publisher since publishers no longer print stuff that doesn't put money in the bank (did they ever?).

Horses of a Different Color!
So anyway, I think that if your dream is just to have people read your stuff...then I'd advise just finishing your manuscript because there's a world of people on the internet that would love to read it.  You just won't make any monies.  :(  However, they'd reward you in other ways with thoughtful praise. But don't be confused that wanting to 'be read' means you need an agent, publishing house, and book deal with all the trimmings.  That's "fame and fortune" and a horse of a much different color.

16 comments:

  1. I post about being "read" often. When I check out my Blogger stats I notice people are visiting my blog, but few ever leave comments. I am then left to fill in the blanks. They arrived by accident. They weren't moved by my writing. I don't know how to improve when no one comments to even tell me my writing is subpar. Sure I would love to be published, but I'm more concerned right now with people just reading and commenting on my blog while I work on my fiction. So, I continue to read other blogs and comment in hopes of generating some thoughtful feedback. Thanks for your post!

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  2. I agree with you whole-heartedly. So many times, writers seem to forget why we write--because we love it. If you're only doing it for fame and fortune, you'll be sadly disappointed. But if you write to entertain and bring joy to others, then you'll be richly rewarded--published by a big house or not. :) Good post! I'll have to check out your work on G.A.

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  3. My work in progress on G.A. is like a rough draft RaeLynn lol. I'm in the process of re-editing it and I think I'm going to have to repost the whole thing at some point. The real value of it has been all the feedback that I've gotten from the site on what is working and what isn't...probably amounts to ten pages of advice. Also learning from other writers on what they like to read too has been invaluable, especially since that is the kind of audience I am aiming my writing at. I read a lot of fiction and in my opinion, so much of it is written for a completely straight audience. I've had friends that have raved about George R.R. Martin's books but I got tired of wading through descriptions of underage girls being annointed in their private parts or women basically filling the role of someone that is very subservient to a man. I know this kind of thing sells but I'd like to see different fiction in print. What I write (I believe) is grossly under-represented in the bookstores and can only be found en-masse online.

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  4. I read your blog Laura! Yeah and some people just don't like leaving comments while those of us that crave attention (the very nature of being a writer) comment on everything. Afterall, one of the reasons we write is because we inherently believe that what we put on paper is worth reading. Right?

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  5. Good post today! Like many writers, I write because I want to tell a story that may make someone chuckle, or cry, or just move them emotionally. I know many don't post a comment when visiting blogs. I read tons of blogs and don't leave comments. I hope to become better about that since I think it helps all of us to know our words mean something to someone. Even if they never make it on the Barnes & Noble bookshelves.

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  6. :) Thank you so much for leaving a comment MTMG. I agree...we bloggers love attention.

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  7. I want to improve as a writer so much sometimes I wince. But in order to do so, more rapidly anyway, I need a spot of cash so that I can quit my job and still feed my family. Great post.

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  8. We are lucky there are so many forums for writing today. Publishing your work on a blog may be one way to catch an editor's or agent's attention too.

    Good luck with your writing, Michael. Happy to discover your blog! Thanks for commenting on my guest post at Pen and Ink.

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  9. I think the cool part of getting published would be having professional folk helping the author make his or her work (of staggering genius) even better. Hah!

    I see you've been blogging up a storm, Mike. I've just added you to my blogroll. :-) Keep up the good work!

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  10. I love sharing my stories and definitely want to be read and have a tribe of passionate readers who love what I do. I'd like to make a living writing fiction full time as well. That doesn't necessarily mean I need to be making millions. And you're right: thanks to the Internet, many communities and places exist (Scribd comes to mind) where you can share writing with readers. And thanks to digital publishing, writers have a good shot of creating that rabid fan base (look at Amanda Hocking -- someone who just wanted to share her stories and be read...and not even a year later, she's developed that passionate base and has sold a half million ebooks on her own). Good post -- enjoyed reading it.

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  11. And I just noticed your blog roll. Many thanks! :)

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  12. Um, did you just call me a great writer? Or maybe that was someone else, as I'm KingdombytheSea, not of :P (from Poe's poem, Annabelle Lee)

    Well, if it was me, whoa. And thanks (though I don't know if I can say I agree). I may never get any money for writing, but compliments can be quite a fulfilling form of payment.

    I've read your short story-- really have to get to the WIP. Andy and I discussed it when we had some POV/perspective conversations :P Just gotta learn how to strike up the appropriate balance between reading, writing, beta'ing, and oh yeah, real life . . .

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  13. I'm definitely leaning toward making money with my writing, but, as the digital age progresses, we are seeing many writers make money without agents and publishers. It is an exciting and scary time. I wish you luck with being read and making money if those two are one in the same or not.
    Funny Stuff I Write And Draw

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  14. I think it's cool that you've found a place to share your writing and get your name out there. It sounds like a great start to getting published someday. (if that's your goal.)

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  15. Oh yeah, it's definitely a goal Alyson. I was just drawing the distinction between those writers that have said to me, "I just want to be read" and those that want to make money (but feel they can't express this without coming across as a bad person).

    Usually, my response has been, "Come on...I may have been born at night but I wasn't born last night. You say now that all you want is to be "read" but let's get real here...some money and some recognition for your work are what you want MORE." Right? And again...there's nothing wrong with this attitude...it may sound bad when I spell it out like that but it's just human nature. It's what I want, and probably what 90% of writers want. But if I don't get it I won't sweat it, ya know?

    There's tons of advice out there on publishing and a lot of it has this thin veneer over it stating, "this is what you need to do to be read". Then it goes on to give advice with tons of hoops for the would be writer to jump through. For example, I've read that a person should never give a negative book review because if an agent sees it...bam...you're on their blacklist forever. This behavior originates because you just hit someone's pocketbook with a bad review, right? So it's all about money...and the advice out there...it's not about being "read". It's about earning money--bottom line--and people should be more honest about that in my opinion.

    By the way, thanks for all the comments guys.

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  16. Wise blog Michael....some great theories to go by. Many thanks.

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