... and what is the truth? - CrimeSpace2024-03-29T10:17:15Zhttps://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topics/and-what-is-the-truth?commentId=537324%3AComment%3A249833&x=1&feed=yes&xn_auth=noGary,
Surely the local write…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-09-12:537324:Comment:2498332010-09-12T10:33:34.510ZMiriam Piahttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/MiriamPia
Gary,<br />
<br />
Surely the local writers groups are probably just hiding from you. It can be tough when you are already a professional but it might make it easier to get a real paying deal.<br />
<br />
I am not really like many of the others. I wrote a novel first, to see whether or not I could and to find out whether or not I am any good at it. I didn't have a college degree yet, but had done well in high school as one of "smart kids". I was an undergraduate studying other things in order to have a secure day job…
Gary,<br />
<br />
Surely the local writers groups are probably just hiding from you. It can be tough when you are already a professional but it might make it easier to get a real paying deal.<br />
<br />
I am not really like many of the others. I wrote a novel first, to see whether or not I could and to find out whether or not I am any good at it. I didn't have a college degree yet, but had done well in high school as one of "smart kids". I was an undergraduate studying other things in order to have a secure day job later in life. Now, nearly 20 years later, I write for pay as a freelancer but have yet to close my first deal on my 2nd novel...strange indeed. Miriam Pia ... I have not bee…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-09-11:537324:Comment:2497902010-09-11T21:51:55.210ZGarry L. McLaughlinhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/GarryLMcLaughlin
Miriam Pia ... I have not been able to find a writers group anywhere close to me.<br />
<br />
minervaK ... Aha! Trying to call my bluff ... LOL! ...... You see I have been fairly successful as an outdoor writer for 40 years ... I am trying the conversion to novels. It is like a brain surgeon switching to being a proctologist or the other way around. What one person is good at they may not be good at something similar. A novelist has so many more rules they have to follow even before an agent will consider…
Miriam Pia ... I have not been able to find a writers group anywhere close to me.<br />
<br />
minervaK ... Aha! Trying to call my bluff ... LOL! ...... You see I have been fairly successful as an outdoor writer for 40 years ... I am trying the conversion to novels. It is like a brain surgeon switching to being a proctologist or the other way around. What one person is good at they may not be good at something similar. A novelist has so many more rules they have to follow even before an agent will consider it and the difference between the two are like night and day.<br />
<br />
So would I quit? First it has nothing to do about making a living, although it would be welcome. Second if I am truly not cut out to be a novelist it would be foolish for me to continue waste what talents I do have trying to be something I am not. I am trying to be pragmatic about the whole deal.<br />
<br />
Garry- Well, here's my question to y…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-09-11:537324:Comment:2497812010-09-11T20:00:03.731ZminervaKhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/minervakoenig
Well, here's my question to you Garry -- what if someone, anyone, read your novel and actually said, "you should quit writing and go fishing"? Would you do it?<br />
<br />
In other words, who are you writing for? I know, I know -- we all want to Make A Living, but in that frustratingly zen-like way that most reality has, I think the best work comes from writers who literally do not give a flying damn who likes what they write. They write because they like to write. Or, in the other way I've heard it put:…
Well, here's my question to you Garry -- what if someone, anyone, read your novel and actually said, "you should quit writing and go fishing"? Would you do it?<br />
<br />
In other words, who are you writing for? I know, I know -- we all want to Make A Living, but in that frustratingly zen-like way that most reality has, I think the best work comes from writers who literally do not give a flying damn who likes what they write. They write because they like to write. Or, in the other way I've heard it put: if someone can make you stop, you're not really a writer. Oh, if that's what you want,…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-09-11:537324:Comment:2497532010-09-11T14:32:33.467ZMiriam Piahttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/MiriamPia
Oh, if that's what you want, join a local writer's group and let them have a look. If its junk they'll help make you into a better writer.
Oh, if that's what you want, join a local writer's group and let them have a look. If its junk they'll help make you into a better writer. No argument on that, but even…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-09-11:537324:Comment:2497042010-09-11T01:17:48.646ZDana Kinghttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/DanaKing
No argument on that, but even if they think it's good and don't have a market in mind, they won't buy it. You're far more likely to get a contract for a book that meets a minimum threshold of quality and looks like it might sell than you are for a well-written book of questionable sales potential.
No argument on that, but even if they think it's good and don't have a market in mind, they won't buy it. You're far more likely to get a contract for a book that meets a minimum threshold of quality and looks like it might sell than you are for a well-written book of questionable sales potential. Good in what respect?tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-09-10:537324:Comment:2496682010-09-10T20:46:32.129ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
Good in what respect?
Good in what respect? Wow, sounds ...almost uncomfo…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-09-10:537324:Comment:2496452010-09-10T18:39:39.659ZMiriam Piahttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/MiriamPia
Wow, sounds ...almost uncomfortably realistic. It sounds to me like you are being reasonable. Perhaps you need one of the things that I have been needing.<br />
<br />
This may seem like nothing but a trick but: maybe you need to change your marketing approach towards publishers. See if you can get a bite - to use a fishing metaphor...from someone who might not just need or want to reject your manuscript. That may not be the answer but is worth considering.<br />
<br />
Also, please evaluate the first judge. The woman…
Wow, sounds ...almost uncomfortably realistic. It sounds to me like you are being reasonable. Perhaps you need one of the things that I have been needing.<br />
<br />
This may seem like nothing but a trick but: maybe you need to change your marketing approach towards publishers. See if you can get a bite - to use a fishing metaphor...from someone who might not just need or want to reject your manuscript. That may not be the answer but is worth considering.<br />
<br />
Also, please evaluate the first judge. The woman who loved it. 5 readers are typically recommended before sending it to a publisher. It is not that the woman who loves it is wrong, but look at her personality and interests and ask yourself: what editor at which publishing company is most likely to react to your work the same way? Then submit to such a place. In reality, they actually ass…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-09-10:537324:Comment:2496392010-09-10T18:33:33.144ZMiriam Piahttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/MiriamPia
In reality, they actually assume that the book does need to be good in order to sell. No offense.
In reality, they actually assume that the book does need to be good in order to sell. No offense. That sounds like excellent ad…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-09-09:537324:Comment:2494702010-09-09T13:51:33.960ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
That sounds like excellent advice!
That sounds like excellent advice! One way to get feedback is to…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-09-08:537324:Comment:2494072010-09-08T21:57:17.091ZBeth Groundwaterhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BethGroundwater
One way to get feedback is to enter the manuscript in a writing contest and see what the judges tell you. I recommend two contests in the state of Colorado (you don't have to live in the state to enter):<br />
the Pikes Peak Writers Fiction Contest, with a fall entry date,<br />
(…
One way to get feedback is to enter the manuscript in a writing contest and see what the judges tell you. I recommend two contests in the state of Colorado (you don't have to live in the state to enter):<br />
the Pikes Peak Writers Fiction Contest, with a fall entry date,<br />
(<a href="http://pikespeakwriters.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=143&Itemid=165" target="_blank">http://pikespeakwriters.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=143&Itemid=165</a>)<br />
and the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Contest, with a spring entry date,<br />
(<a href="http://www.rmfwcontest.com/" target="_blank">http://www.rmfwcontest.com/</a>). I've been a second-round judge for both contests, and I can tell you that they vet and train their judges well. There are many other writing contests out there, and I think the ones run by writing organizations are the best. And, if you win or final in a contest, that's something you can put in your agent/editor query letters!