3 Pieces of Advice For Aspiring Authors
By Chuck Sambuchino | March 26, 2012 |
This column excerpted from my book, CREATE YOUR WRITER PLATFORM (Nov. 2012, Writer’s Digest Books), a guide on how to build your visibility, brand, and network to better market yourself and your books. The book includes lots of interviews with literary agents and platform-heavy authors.
When I’m instructing at a writers’ conference, occasionally someone will raise their hand and try to point out flaws in my instruction. Here are some common examples regarding fiction:
- “Wait a minute, Chuck—what do you mean a novel can’t take time to warm up and get going? Did you ever read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo? It started slow, and it only sold, oh, 10 million copies! Last I checked, 10 million was quite a lot…”
- “Wait a minute, Chuck—what do you mean my book can’t be 250,000 words? Have you ever heard of this book—it’s called, oh yeah—Gone With the Wind?!”
- “Wait a minute, Chuck—what do you mean it’s a bad tactic to start your story with a dream? I know this small-time writer guy—Dan Brown. Perhaps the name rings a bell. He wrote The Da Vinci Code—pssh, whatever. Anyway, well, he starts The Lost Symbol with a dream, and I think I read somewhere his advance was more than $10 million. So, uh … in your face.”
Or the most prevalent nonfiction one is this:
- “Wait a minute, Chuck—what do you mean you need an author platform and have to take the lead on your own marketing? I just read that the author of Who Moved My Cheese? had absolutely no platform—none!—and he got a literary agent and is a super-mega bestseller now. So, obviously, your logic is flawed. Case closed. The jury rules in favor of me.”
Here are three quick things you should know if you’re trying to be a professional writer:
1. Never compare your work to a best-selling author because non-best-selling authors do not abide by the same rules. Do you know why the last Harry Potter books were extremely long and could probably have been even longer if J.K. Rowling wanted them to be? Because she made the publishing house a ton of money. Do you know why Dan Brown was able to start that novel with a dream? Because he made his publishing house oodles of dough. Once you become a best-selling author, you can pretty much do whatever you want. If you ever approach an editor or agent and try to justify something you’re doing by referencing a Stephen King book, you will immediately lose their attention. Stephen King is an established icon; you are not. He can do whatever he wants and play by his own rules; you can’t.
2. Never compare your work to books first published outside the United States, unless of course you live outside the U.S. You’re trying to embark on a business deal with an American publisher, so don’t try to compare yourself to writers overseas. Don’t explain to an editor that two of your friends in Barcelona who got business books published had an army of publicists at your disposal, because that’s how they roll over in Spain. You don’t live in Spain, so don’t expect a comparison like that to hold any water.
3. Never assume what has happened in the past is still relevant today. This is the big one for authors who are trying to develop a writer platform. Here’s the gist: 10 years ago, an author didn’t truly need a platform, but now they do. That’s it. There is no way to argue around this fact. Just deal with it and start working hard. I understand it would be nice to go back to the 90s when things were easier and literary agents didn’t obsess about platform as much as they do today, but we can’t.
When mapping your writing journey, look to peers who are active today, selling books today, using the technologies of today. They will be the ones you want to emulate and study. They will be the ones who will make great contacts. They will be the ones who are blazing a path that you can follow.
Photo courtesy Flickr’s country_boy_shane
Chuck Sambuchino is a freelance editor of query letters, synopses, book proposals, and manuscripts. As an editor for Writer’s Digest Books, he edits the GUIDE TO LITERARY AGENTS and the CHILDREN’S WRITER’S & ILLUSTRATOR’S MARKET. His Guide to Literary Agents Blog is one of the largest blogs in publishing. His own books include the bestselling humor book, HOW TO SURVIVE A GARDEN GNOME ATTACK, which was optioned by Sony Pictures, as well as the writing guide, CREATE YOUR WRITER PLATFORM. Connect with Chuck on Twitter or at his website.
Thanks, Chuck. Your post raises another point. Some writers not only wish to imitate a famous writer’s technique, but also try to mimic the voice. A writer needs to establish her own voice. Voice is a difficult concept to explain, but it is crucial to the success of new writers. It remind me of that quote attributed to Judy Garland: I’d rather be a first-rate version of myself than a second-rate version of someone else. Thanks again, Chuck.
I do think some of those points depend on genre. For instance, epic fantasy is often forgiven ridiculously high word counts (Elantris, Brandon Sanderson’s first published novel, had just over 200,000; Gardens of the Moon, Steven Erikson’s first, had 209,000; The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss’ first, has over 200,000, I’m sure, though I can’t find an official wordcount). I mention these books because they were recently published and were the first books these authors published, so they were, at the time, aspiring authors.
That being said, I’ve seen interviews with Sanderson and Rothfuss, and they both talked about how they got their books published. Rothfuss apparently wrote the entire Kingkiller Chronicle in one go and spent years sending a 700k+ word manuscript around without success, until he finally split it into a trilogy.
Sanderson specifically targeted a publisher he knew liked to publish longer fantasy novels. And it’s worth noting that while Elantris was his first published novel, it was the seventh novel he’d written.
My point is, it’s certainly possible to get your first novel published at a high wordcount in certain genres (epic fantasy, for instance). But it will take a lot more work and a lot more time. But if that’s what you want to write, it might be easier to do the hard work getting an initial large wordcount novel published than to get smaller wordcount novels published and increase the word count with later novels (Brandon Sanderson’s advice).
It is easy to focus on the exceptions, rather than the realities.
The teacher can best teach the students whose minds are open and willing!
Knowing various writing techniques and practicing them helps a writer discover his own writing style. There are at least two pitfalls in imitating another writer. It is too easy to lose one’s own voice while you are imitating another’s and the other writer’s techniques may be flawed no matter how much money he makes for his publisher or how famous he may be.
Thanks Chuck. That’s pretty much exactly what my editor just told me. Now maybe if I hear it from one more source it will actually sink in… ;-)
Good reminders. Though I agree with the Dragon Tattoo criticism and wonder if the first 75 pages are as boring in Swedish. (I suspect yes, because as translation assignments go, Swedish to English is a total cakewalk.)
Question for the peanut gallery, just because I am a dork who wants to know: How long was the first Harry Potter when she submitted it?
The first Harry Potter book published at just over 75,000 words. I don’t know if the manuscript she sent around was significantly different.
Thanks, Sam. I knew it wasn’t a huge tome. I’m curious as to whether it got a serious hair cut pre-pub.
I don’t believe it did. If I recall correctly, Rowling wanted her readers to grow up with the books, so the first ones were never intended to be as long as the later volumes. Even so, the first book was substantially longer than most children’s books at the time!
Sound advice, Chuck
if you have sold a lot in the past then you will get away with a great deal. I feel JK Rowling could make a book with 900 pages of the same word and she would still sell a lot, and get a juicy advance
hmmm, well, maybe not, but you get my drift :)
Matt (Turndog Millionaire)
Thanks! I’m about to finish the first draft of my novel and I’m working with an editor. I’m not at a place where I’m marketing my stuff yet, but this is great advice.
That 8-letter word (platform) is more frightening than the dreaded query letter. I think, once the book has a publishing deal, the marketing part won’t be so bad. It just seems like such a daunting task, creating a platform and building a following when you’re a no-name nobody.
As for comparing/mimicking…I get why people compare their work to those who’ve made it big already, but it is really quite unrealistic to assume or even to hope to achieve such levels of success right away. The mimicking is, I think, a lack of confidence in one’s own ability. When I read the blurbs on self-pubbed works – or even trad-pubbed works – which claim “If you like so-and-so, you’ll love this,” or “In the style of so-and-so”(etc.), I find I automatically start comparing the book to a higher standard before I even read the first sentence. Rarely have I found any to succeed at equaling or surpassing my opinion of the compared author.
That is some good advise. It is sometimes easy to forget that you are you and not them (ie: J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, Dan Brown, or any other best selling author). If you have not published a novel you are a new novelist, even if you have been writing for years. Established writers have more room to negotiate for the that very reason, they are established. They have a readership and a following, you don’t. Remember that this is what the publishing company does. They know what is need to sell the book. They are not going to waste money and time on your book if they don’t think that they can sell it to public, so listen to them with an open mind. That doesn’t mean that you can’t come up with some ideas of your own, or comprises in then end.
There is something to be said for not comparing your writing with another’s. No one should try to emulate Stephen King or James Patterson. A writer should be himself/herself and write from the heart. One thing a real writer does/should do is listen. Listen to those who have written stories and been published. Listen to the advice given and then take it back to your writing.
Thank you for your advice!
This is too funny. I’ve been to many workshops with audience members like the ones you describe. People are always trying to find exceptions to the rule and comparing themselves to that. It’s probably human nature. We all want to think we can be successful without following “the rules” or working hard.
And sometimes, people are just lucky! Luck isn’t something one can expect or predict, especially in this industry.
Thanks for this post!
Thanks Chuck for evoking the insistent, but well-intentioned commenters at several conferences I’ve attended. Exceptions in any field, are..well..exceptional for a reason. Your advice to look at who is selling today, and how is spot on.
Thanks Chuck, for your advice, but as I’ve been told my several very well-known published authors and agents alike, it’s the exception that will get you noticed. I am not interested in writing like the rest, so I look for the unusual bestsellers – the ones that stand out because they are exceptions. While agree with what you’ve said in principle, I am writing what I like to read. If that gets me published, it’s icing on the cake.
“When mapping your writing journey, look to peers who are active today, selling books today, using the technologies of today. They will be the ones you want to emulate and study.”
It’s interesting how people assume that their situation is going to be the situation that breaks the mold. A lot of these same people won’t even bother learning what the mold is first in order to break it. There’s a mentality that I’ve run into as a new writer interacting with other new writers that many feel they don’t need to learn or study, it stops up their creativity. Creativity without learning the required tools needed to be successful will only end up as a manuscript stuffed in a drawer somewhere.
Very good post, thanks Chuck!
In response to your post, I still wonder what I have always wondered: Why do these people pay good money to attend conferences, if they’re not going to listen to the experienced and knowledgeable people they are paying to listen to? And at what point is it acceptable for the other writers to jump on the individual in question and shut him/her up so they can, in fact, listen to the expert and not the self-important git? ;op
I suspect these people have the very human flaw of hoping others will validate their plans and then ignoring anyone who doesn’t.
I think genre and voice are closely linked and have to do with what you have read. Your “own voice” develops over time but anything you produce in words is affected by what you have heard from the first words you speak as a child, to the ones you write, to the last ones you imagine you are saying in your dying delirium. If you write in a “romance” style voice and try to get a literary short story published it probably won’t happen.
Great advice, Chuck! I think a lot of new writers want to be able to compare themselves to Stephen King or J.K. Rowling but they forget that it takes a lot of hard work to get to that point. Comparing yourself as a new author to how they are now neglects the fact that they had to work their way to the top as well.
Bad idea to start your book with a dream? Oh yeah. How about no dreams anywhere in your book. None. Ever. Why? They’re boring. And the reader knows that they are an exposition dump gussied up in – all too often – poetic language. Still think you just have to include this dream? Just this once? Remember how dull it is when someone wants to tell you their dream.
Thanks, Chuck. Sounds like the moral is – first we live by the rules before we break them and expect others to make way for our ‘brilliance.’
I have seen some established authors, ones I have grown to enjoy, that crank up the word count, or insert pages of pontificating that add little to the plot – all because they can, their publisher will let them. As a loyal reader this annoys me, seeming to be arrogant and/or self-indulgent, and can turn me off that author.
Thanks for the advice, Chuck! Ah, to be in the position to break rules…
Thank you for this post. I can imagine how frustrating it can be when you hear these thoughts. It makes me wonder why some even attend these workshops if they intend to question what is being taught.
I guess some attend just to seek confirmation that what they’re doing is the right thing, as opposed to actually learning something new.
Thanks, Chuck. Sobering but necessary. I guess it can be said that one of the positives about not being a “known” author, is it keeps me working harder than if I was “allowed” to be lazy :-D
Wonderful, valuable, post!
I think when we’re looking for examples for anything, avoiding classics and bestsellers is the way to go. They do play by different rules.
Spot on, Chuck. Writers have a tendency to think that their literary offspring are beautiful as they are and would somehow be lessened if they were changed–as an editor, I run into this syndrome a lot. As a writer, I have learned to get over it, and that the criticisms of outside eyes is invaluable. Thanks.
Great advice, as always, that I will share w/my networks. Thank you!
Not sure I agree with points one and two.
Re: point 1: I don’t think it serves any purpose for a writer to see themselves apart from some exclusive group of Big Name Authors who can do whatever they want. None of us should be dissuaded from taking risks or breaking rules.
What it comes down to is story. What is the best way to tell your story. And, if you’re bucking common “wisdom,” be sure you have the skills to pull it off.
As to point 2 – I think given the rise in e-books and an increasingly global market for books, all writers should learn as much as they can about the book markets in other countries and what’s selling well and where. There is a whole world of readers outside the borders of the US.
Agents and other colleagues should be knowledgeable enough to work with us to explore where best to market our books and sell our rights.
Can’t argue with #3. Thanks for stimulating this discussion!
I agree that none of us should limit our risk-taking, but I can see how it would come across as a bit egotistical and naive to make these comparisons. In essence, you’re saying you’re just like one of the top sellers, even when you don’t have anything (yet) to back that assertion up. It’s really easy to claim that, but you need to prove it first.
Thanks for this post, which is an important reminder that we cannot look at what has worked for already famous people and expect the same results for ourselves. The world of publishing — in fact, the world — has changed and we need to be adaptable to the way publishing works today.
Great post. I often hear things like this when I go to conferences (usually muttered :)). The fact is, we need to make sure we have the best product possible- not look for loop holes to sneak in. You made the best point with the fact that once you sell a gazillion books- you too can break the rules!
For myself- I figure why give an agent or editor one more reason to say no? I’ll stick with the rules please :).
Thanks for a great post!
This is a random comment. (Hey, I want the book! I need an agent.)
So as much as we understand that there are exceptions to all the rules and just cause there are guidelines and suggested criteria for writing that doesn’t mean that one in a billion can’t step over the line and take a risk, basically we are still all doomed to travel this vast literary ocean in our tiny vessel and hope that we don’t capsize? AHHHHHH!
It’s so frustrating at times. I’m a new author, have two completed works of commercial fiction under my belt, have worked with an amazing editor, but until one of these agents gives me a chance I’m still floating in my tiny boat.
It’s a hard life but someone has to do it.
Thanks for your amazing posts and your guide to new agents and all you do for us little guys.
It is greatly appreciated.
I must echo Melissa’s comment. I can’t imagine paying good money to go to a seminar only to argue with the speaker (that I just paid money to listen to). I’ve heard this same advice on more blogs than I care to even attempt to count. There are always examples of people who “broke the rules” and still managed to make it. Personally, I would rather follow as many of the “rules” as possible and focus on making the writing itself come alive.
I don’t want’ to be compared to anyone else. I write like I write…not anyone else.
Thanks for so clearly pointing out the new reality. (Though I imagine that whatever the era, there are always those who think they will be successful by breaking all the rules.)
Of course I had no idea how vital a “platform” was when I published my novel last year. I only knew that I was responsible for creating it myself, whether or not I went the traditional publishing route or not. Now I’m working both on the platform and the next novel, which, if I’m lucky, will be ready at around the same time. :-)
Thanks for the great advice.
Ha, the ol’ splash of cold water! But it’s spot-on, of course. See you in OKC in May, Chuck!
Good post – I wish there was a I way I could refer certain people to this article without offending them. I think we all started out by badly emulating books we loved. And the more we write (and the more critiques we get on what works personally and what doesn’t) the better we develop our own voice.
This may very well be a failing of mine, but I rarely compare myself to anything or anyone. I think that a little comparison breeds competition, breeds excellence…right?
The thing is, with my time to write and promote and work (I have an extremely full time day job) and family and commuting and eating and sleeping and reading, I haven’t the time to keep up with others are doing let alone make irrelevant comparisons. And I do think that most of them would be irrelevant. I can’t be anyone else, nor would I want to be. I want to write the books I’d most like to read, and there are few people doing exactly that.
I’m certainly no pro at any of this but I totally agree with the advise offered in this post. Why weight ourselves down with dreams belonging to someone else when we can create our own?
I’m amazed that so many people make comparisons with super-successful authors. I’ll stick to being humble.
Might I add to this list… even some best-selling authors completely fluke becoming best-sellers by pulling these stunts, and for them it is pure luck which then allows them to do whatever they want because of the money. This will not apply to every Tom, Dick and Jane that pulls one of these stunts. Insert DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME warning here!
The adage says something like this: “you can start breaking the rules only after you’ve mastered them.”
So, I’ve always thought that people, especially if they’re unpublished, who ask these kind of questions of author/speakers, are putting the cart before the horse. As writers, we are all unique. We all have individual voices and perspectives that are reflected in our writing. We should focus on our own work, and let it “speak” for itself.
Great post! Those authors earned the right to take liberties that new authors shouldn’t take.
Great advice…would love to read your book…thank you!
“When mapping your writing journey, look to peers who are active today, selling books today, using the technologies of today. They will be the ones you want to emulate and study.”
Great post, great advice, as always.
Thanks!
Hi Chuck,
Thanks for the post.
Michael
Great post. It’s hard, I think, as an aspiring author to hear that we have to address our work with a marketing eye as well as a creator’s eye. A 300k manuscript might be awesome, but only a few souls will know that awesome if it’s never published. There’s that lovely business side to the creating, and we have to be business-minded as well as artful creators. It takes some of the romance out of it, certainly, but it’s reality. Reality comes with parameters that we don’t always recognize in fiction.
Excellent post.
Sara
First timer – clicked over from Twitter.
Very sound advice – little reality check.
I’m only in the idea stage, but it’s great to keep these kind of Big Picture things in mind.
Thank you!
:)
Great advice as always, Chuck! I’ve heard many many writers vent because so-and-so was able to get away with X, so they should too. This is a very succinct post on the why behind it. The best way to break into the industry is to learn the rules of strong writing and pay attention to what is the accepted norm, not follow in the creative footsteps of bestsellers. :)
You rock!
Angela Ackerman
I agree with what you’ve written. Until you are a well-known author with millions of followers and all that, you can’t just break some of the “rules” that publishers tend to look at and follow.
Lovely post! I agree with everything you are saying, but I wonder just how many authors of the past would actually have gotten published if they would have had to deal with today’s criteria for becoming a published author?
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I’m going to stick with this great advice, even though I consider myself more as a perspiring writer than as an aspiring author.
As an aspiring writer, my husband and I joke about my “Great American Novel.” However, I’d like to think I’m grounded enough to know that my novel will not become an immediate best-seller nor to compare myself to my favorite writers. I have a story that will not go away in my head and I write for myself and hope that, one day, I can share my work with others.
What I find absolutely daunting is how the landscape is changing (traditional pub, self-pub, platforms, blogs, websites, etc.). I’d just like the opportunity to hold my novel in my hand and read my name printed on the beautifully designed cover (versus having a copy of my e-book cover saved as my screen saver).
But jumping right into the action is so harrrrrd!
Actually, a trick I learned was write the manuscript and then go back and delete the first two (or three or four) paragraphs. Alternatively, for novel-length stuff, do that for the first two pages. You usually still have to fix up some descriptions, but it works for getting the reader right into the thick of it.
Unless your book opens with fifty pages of expository dialogue. You should adjust the number of pages you delete to fit the book.