Over the course of many years, people who know that writing is one of the ways I earn my living, have asked me if I’ve ever written a novel. The answer is yes, I’ve written three. Most people are suitably impressed by this, until I add: “Written yes, published no.”
The fact is that I started writing novels way back in the 1970s. I’ve tried my hand at a crime novel, a science fiction novel and a paranormal horror novel. Over the years, all three have done the rounds of various publishers. Some have attracted nice comments. But at the end of the day none of them has been published.
For publishers, novels are not like non-fiction books. People buy non-fiction books because of the subject without always knowing who the author is. Novels, on the other hand, are more often bought by people who like a particular author. Which is why publishers are loath to take on a novel by an unknown writer. So when the umpteenth rejection letter arrives for my latest masterpiece I consol myself in two ways: I remember that my non-fiction books do get published. And I remind myself that Jaws was turned down over and over again until one publisher took a chance on it. Even Harry Potter was rejected at first.
All of which leads me to the wonderful world of eBooks. The great thing about an eBook is that there is no risk. Publishers don’t have to pay money to publish it. You do it yourself and, in a very short time indeed it’s up for sale. So now those three novels that have been languishing on my hard disc for years are on sale as eBooks. And you know what? People are buying them! Not in great numbers, it’s true. But they are selling at the rate of one or two a day. And if what I hear about eBooks is true, they should gather momentum.
If you reckon you’ve got a novel in you, I recommend you to give it a go. You can find all the details you need about how to do it by clicking here.
Meanwhile, if you feel like reading any of my books, click on the title links below the cover illustrations.
John -
ReplyDeleteI just read your article in Writing Magazine for this month. FANTASTIC! I wish I'd read this before I (self) published. I spent about 18 months researching publishing in general thoroughly and decided to go down the 'self' route, feeling my way.
Luckily, and perhaps through hard work, my work resulted in a fantastic copy of my novel 'Girl Meets Boys', an internet-age romantic comedy. I couldn't be more proud, but I wish I'd read your atricle sooner - I virtually followed all the steps you suggested anyway but it would have saved me a lot of work and anxiety!
Best of luck with your blog and writings. I find your writing very easy to read but inspirational at the same time. Thanks.
Louise Gibney
www.facebook.com/louise.gibney.writer
Thanks for those kind comments, Louise. Glad to be of inspiration to you. I went down this route after reading an article on the subject myself. And so it goes on. Someone else influenced me, maybe I have influenced you. I've just added a new entry to my blog that refers to how the features in Writing Magazine came about. Take a look and - above all else, keep writing! John W
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