Advice to My Newbie Self
By Guest | September 21, 2014 |
Photo by Evan Leeson
Today, we’re excited to have Steve P. Vincent with us. His first novel, THE FOUNDATION (Momentum), was just released on September 11. It’s the story of a corrupt think tank, The Foundation for a New America, that enlists a Taiwanese terrorist to bomb a World Trade Organization conference. The US and China are put on the path to war and star journalist Jack Emery is pulled into a story far more dangerous than he could have imagined.
John Birmingham, author of the Axis of Time and Disappearance trilogies has this to say:
Great fun. A two-fisted thriller, escaped from five minutes into the future.
Steve hails from FutureLand (a/k/a Melbourne, Australia), where he lives with his wife in a “pokey apartment” in which he’s forced to write on the couch in front of an obnoxiously large television. When he’s not writing, Steve keeps food and flat whites on the table working for the man. He enjoys beer, whisky, sports and dreaming up ever more elaborate conspiracy theories to write about. He’s studied political science and history, and his honors thesis was on the topic of global terrorism. He has traveled extensively through Europe, the United States and Asia.
Follow Steve on his website, Facebook, and Twitter.
Advice to My Newbie Self
I never thought I’d make it. After sending off my manuscript, I waited for the “thanks, but…” response. Instead, I got acquired.
Without an agent or much of a “network” of writer friends, I’ve had to rely on sites like WU, the patience of staff at my publisher, and the kindness of strangers for advice. I’ve been overwhelmed by the willingness of others to help me out.
This is my attempt to give back: Ten pieces of advice that would have been useful as I stared into the floodlights of publication for the first time. It’s based on lessons learned on the path to publication, which I’ve written about on my website.
- The pitch itch
After submitting your manuscript, it will take longer than you’d like to hear back. You’ll be tempted to mash refresh on your email inbox, hoping for an answer. Don’t. Instead, estimate how long you think it’ll take to hear back, then double it. It mightn’t take that long, but if it does you won’t go mad waiting. While you wait, start work on something else.
- Dream the impossible dream
Getting published is difficult, but you’ve been showered with so much negative juju that you’ve developed a protection mechanism: the anticipation of failure. You know it: “The industry is tough, getting published is impossible, new authors have no chance.” But publication is difficult, not impossible. You need a good book and you’ll be up against lots of competition, but you’ve got a chance.
- To be, or not to be…
You shouldn’t be afraid of asking questions throughout the publishing process. If you don’t have an agent, this is particularly important. It’s your book and you have a right to understand what’s going on. Get your contract looked at, negotiate, understand the steps, have your say. Your publisher won’t resent you for asking any question. They’re professionals.
- Godz…editor?
When you’re editing, it’s fun to picture your editor as a giant, manuscript stomping, red pen-wielding monster. But you know the truth. Your editor is smart and respectful, loves your book, and is working their behind off to make it better. You know those giant story-killing holes that you’ve missed until now that make you feel a little bit silly? Your editor can help you find and fix those.
- It’s not you…
You don’t like letting go, but take a break from your work while it winds its way through being acquired. Going back to it fresh after a few months will give you an amazing, fresh perspective. You’ll see things you didn’t see before, including problems. You’ll still have a granular understanding of the characters and plot arcs, but the dumb things will stick out like a pink battleship.
- But I don’t wanna go to school!
Writing isn’t always fun, and neither is editing. When you receive your structural edit, there’ll be lots of positives, but you’ll also be challenged to fix some things and think differently about others. The manuscript you thought was “finished” when you submitted it is anything but. Just remember that while this stuff is hard work, it is also a privilege. It’s also what you signed up for.
- Let it be, let it be…
Trust your editor, spot the problems, fix them, and put in the work. Then know when to let go. You could keep playing with your book forever, but the law of diminishing returns kicks in. Stop tinkering. It’s good. Sooner or later your publisher is going to want you to hit send on the final final copy. Besides, you’ve got other books to write, sales to make, yachts to sail, and mansions to build. Right?
- The Mod Squad
Respect the array of professionals that your publisher brings to your book. From editors to illustrators to marketers to corporate, seeing the whole orchestra in action is great. Not all books succeed, but this army of support staff gives your book every chance to. Help out when you’re asked, input where you can, let them get on with their jobs, and do your job well.
- Brand schmand?
Publishers handle marketing, right? Wrong. They will do their thing to market your book, but if you pitch in as well, you might find something that works, too. Your publisher probably expects this from you as well. The console in front of you is confusing and you don’t know what buttons to press, but you owe it to your publisher to mash the buttons madly.
- Stop, smell the roses, then get back to work
You set your sights on writing a book and getting it published. Well done. Celebrate and have a few weeks off—then get back to work. You want to get more books published, make some money from them, and maybe try to make a career out of this. You’ve got your wings, but now there’s more flying to do. Reset your goals and get on with it, remembering the lessons you’ve learned.
Any additional lessons you’ve learned? Let us know below!
Many thanks to today’s guest.
You can read more WU guest posts by visiting this link.
Congratulations Steve on having your book published.
I’m in Sydney, so not so far from you in Melbourne.
Love what you wrote in this post and fits my experience. I was a complete newbie when my first book was published and knew nothing.
I somehow intuitively did what you write about here. It’s all true, especially when I thought I had finished my book and then had another 6 months work with the editor. It was a bit of a shock!
Hope your book is a big succcess. Love conspiracy theories.
Hi Sherry, glad I’m not the only Aussie who takes a peek at this site! Thanks for your kind words. It’s that sense of ‘oh wow, there’s THAT much left to do?’ That shocked me a little bit. In a good way, because it made the book better, but I think if I can let one or two other ‘newbies’ inside the tent for a look, so they know some of this before they start, maybe I’ve given just a tiny bit back. There’s so much good advice swirling around, which I benefited from, and I just wanted to add my two cents.
Congratulations, Steve, and thanks for the view from the top of the first hill. Still climbing, but need frequent reminders that the first summit is attainable. Best wishes for this book and for those to follow.
Thanks so much. I don’t think you ever stop climbing, writing or otherwise. But it is nice to have a teeny spot near the side somewhere.
Thanks for your post, Steve, and I’d like to point out for our Writer Unboxed readers the kind of publication you’ve used here.
Momentum.com.au is a part of Pan Macmillan Australia. Thus it is a digital-only imprint of a Big Five publishing house.
It takes submissions without agenting. It does not charge to publish a book. “Momentum accepts all production costs associated with editing, marketing, and publishing its authors’ books.”
Unless a specific retailer/platform requires, it publishes DRM-free.
A few more particulars from the site:
– Momentum does not pay advances, but because of the different cost structures involved in digital-only publishing it offers a higher royalty rate than traditional print publishing.
– All Momentum titles are signed with global digital rights and are distributed internationally. This means they are available via the following platforms: Amazon’s Kindle, Apple’s iBookstore, Google Play, Kobo, Ebooks.com, Booki.sh and many others.
– Some Momentum titles are also available in print-on-demand format. This means that the book is not printed until someone orders it. This also means that unless a bookstore (or customer) specifically orders that title, Momentum books will not be available in physical bookstores.
This is an interesting development in how large publishing conglomerates see the relative value in ebooks. As you may have heard, publishing contracts these days may offer digital but not print publishing. Here’s a clue to why. The return on ebooks clearly is adequate for Pan Macmillan Australia to feel it can offer its publishing services to some manuscripts at its own expense, but without a print run.
Have a look at the Momentum site — this is the page with all the details:
https://momentumbooks.com.au/about/
-p.
On Twitter: @Porter_Anderson
Thank you so much for this information, Porter. This sounds wonderful. Is there a similar company or division for U.S. authors? I’m working on my debut novel, so I am very much the newbie, still learning about publishing and find your information so informative and helpful. I keep vacillating between trying traditional publishing or self-publishing. Cost is a definite factor for me, but I also like having the control. I do like the idea of the help that I could get from traditional. So, I’m still undecided. I’m at the beginning stages yet though, so I have plenty of time. Thanks to you too, Steve, for this newbie post. We need all the help we can get!
Rebecca, you need not be Australian to submit to Momentum. They work on a worldwide basis. Have a look at their about page (the last point tells you that you can work with them from anywhere). https://momentumbooks.com.au/about/
Cheers,
-p.
Thanks Porter.
A lot of Australian publishers, even the big guys, take submissions from authors without an agent. Smaller volumes I suppose. As far as I know agents are still fairly common, but not a must have.
The team at Momentum is fabulous. I took the decision to sign with them because of global distribution and DRM-free formats.
The Foundation received the same editing, cover design etc as any other Pan Mac AU title. Only real difference has been the marketing approach and the speed to market.
Thanks
You know it really is true, if you try to see things in a positive light you end up feeling a lot happier. I think of working with an editor like going to a day spa. Some things may hurt but your writing will end up looking marvelous, darling.
Congratulations on the release of your book, Steve.
Thanks so much Leanne
Thank you Steve.
Well done to you. As an aussie from Perth,I’m taking this all in and storing it in the crevices of my grey matter for potential recall later.
I also regularly sneek-a-peak here too-have done for a while now.
Nat
Thanks so much Nat. I think it’s actually a great community here as well, in addition to all the useful grey matter storage fodder.
All the best.
Congratulations, Steve! I’ll be looking out for your book, it sounds fabulous!
And as a fellow Australian writer and fellow Momentum author(my first book with them, first in the Trinity series, will be published in November), I heartily concur with what you say about the wonderful team there. I’m not a newbie–I’ve had lots of books published with several publishing houses, both here in Australia and elsewhere–but working with the Momentum team has been one of my favourite publishing experiences. Not only are they innovative and willing to take a risk (the hybrid adult fiction genre I am writing in with Trinity is not only different from my usual children’s/YA, but the book itself is an unusual blend of different elements–thriller, romance, the supernatural–)but they are also very thorough with the editing process and take great care with presentation and design. And you get quick responses to questions too!