Input?

[Daniel_Infinity]

Hey everyone, I joined a while and mentioned that I was writing a book. Well I'm done a few chapters now and I was just wondering a couple things...

I'm writing about a mental case. An unstable serial killer. The side that you cannot imagine, only experience. Uh, anyhow, I was wondering what kind of target audience a book like this would have? I'm not Stephen King so I can't write, publish, sell, write more. Basically if I do something it would have to be really good... and what I'm looking for is who would buy a book about a deranged serial killer, espescially from a minor author?

Should I just stop writing and approach my first book through a different genre to gain some credit to my title before trying to publish something that would probably get brushed aside for 'Cell?'

I'm also not going to be publishing through a major publisher. Basically I can't afford the ten large to publish my book. But I'll be doing something smaller, which I doubt would get distributed too far, if any other then internet purchasing?

Hey, thanks for any input. And apologies if I posted in the wrong forum, I was figuring since I'm targeting horror fans this is where it should be?

Dan

 

[Stewart]

I'm writing about a mental case. An unstable serial killer. The side that you cannot imagine, only experience.

I don't get this bit. If we can't imagine this, what makes you think that you can and do it in such a way that you play upon a reader's fear?

I'm not Stephen King so I can't write, publish, sell, write more.

I'm sure that when King was starting out he knew he wasn't as popular as, say, Robert Bloch.

what I'm looking for is who would buy a book about a deranged serial killer, espescially from a minor author?

I'm sure those into that sort of thing wouldn't care so much for the author than the subject matter, since you ask you would read about a deranged serial killer.

And deranged: isn't that superfluous?

Should I just stop writing and approach my first book through a different genre to gain some credit to my title before trying to publish something that would probably get brushed aside for 'Cell?'

Daniel, are you writing for yourself or for market? I would say you should write what you want to write because then the writing - no matter how good it is - will have that one thing that something written to order doesn't typically have: enthusiasm. When a writer becomes bored with their subject matter then it will inevitably show in the writing. So, that said, you shouldn't approach through a different genre if that's not what you want to write.

I'm also not going to be publishing through a major publisher. Basically I can't afford the ten large to publish my book.

This confused me, although perhaps it is you that is confused and you've started a littloe domino effect.

A major publisher is most likely not going to ask for any payment to publish your book. What you do need to consider is approaching agencies with a few sample chapters to give them a sample of your writing. If interested they'll ask to see more and, if they believe in it, they'll whore it around the publishers for you looking for the best deal. That's how they get paid: placing your book.

But I'll be doing something smaller, which I doubt would get distributed too far, if any other then internet purchasing?

You are looking to self-publish? Why do that when you haven't explored the normal route to publication?

 

[sirmyk]

Daniel, are you writing for yourself or for market? I would say you should write what you want to write because then the writing - no matter how good it is - will have that one thing that something written to order doesn't typically have: enthusiasm.

I agree wholeheartedly. Write for yourself. Otherwise, what's the freakin' point? Money? **** money.

 

[Doug Johnson]

I agree wholeheartedly. Write for yourself. Otherwise, what's the freakin' point?

To reach an audience. To teach. To explore. To inspire. To entertain. To change the world.

 

[sirmyk]

To reach an audience. To teach. To explore. To inspire. To entertain. To change the world.

I meant this in terms of the writing process. Writing with money on the brain leads to crap writing. Look at the degredation of quality among mainstream fiction these days (books where author names are twice as large as their titles). Writing for oneself leads to the purposes of writing you mentioned above. I notice you left out...

Money? **** money.

...which was my point. The purpose of writing should never be "to make money".

 

[Dogmatix]

Daniel

All good advice here. I just wanted to add that you'll need an iron shell as you go through this process. Don't fear rejection just keep trying. Be sure of yourself and eventually someone else will "get it". I know nothing about publishing books but I know quite a bit about being a self starter.

My own favorite little saying: "All glory comes from daring to begin"

I'll be looking for you in the book store, next to Stephen King

 

[Motokid]

I'm also not going to be publishing through a major publisher. Basically I can't afford the ten large to publish my book. But I'll be doing something smaller, which I doubt would get distributed too far, if any other then internet purchasing?

Can you elaborate a bit on this?

Are you going to try to "get published", or are you going to "be the publisher", or are you going to use a "printing/self-publishing" service, or what?

I really would like to know where the statement "Basically I can't afford the ten large to publish my book." comes from, or what it means?????

 

[Doug Johnson]

The purpose of writing should never be "to make money".

Professional: engaged in an occupation as a paid job rather than as a hobby.

By definition, you can't be a "professional" writer unless you make money writing. I don't see a problem with that. If you write something entertaining, people will probably be willing to pay for it. If not, they probably wont.

 

[Stewart]

Dougie, darling, you are off on one again. Adding your own misreadings to the discussion. Nobody has said anything about being a professional writer until you stepped in just there.

 

[Doug Johnson]

Nobody has said anything about being a professional writer until you stepped in just there.

My bad. I thought sirmyk was referring to professionally written “mainstream fiction.”

Look at the degredation of quality among mainstream fiction these days (books where author names are twice as large as their titles).

Maybe you can help me stay on topic in the future. How were you able to deduce that smiryk was referring to amateur “mainstream fiction” written “with money on the brain?”

 

[sirmyk]

The purpose of writing should never be "to make money"

Professional: engaged in an occupation as a paid job rather than as a hobby.

By definition, you can't be a "professional" writer unless you make money writing. I don't see a problem with that. If you write something entertaining, people will probably be willing to pay for it. If not, they probably wont.

What kind of a response is this? It has nothing to do with the point I'm trying to make. I don't recommend you becoming a professional reader (which means you'd make money reading, by the way).

[nonsense, blabberings, blah blah blah...]

What's the damn point of your posts, Dougie? I don't think anyone here gives a shit.

 

[sirmyk]

To get this thread back on topic...

Should I just stop writing and approach my first book through a different genre to gain some credit to my title before trying to publish something that would probably get brushed aside for 'Cell?'

Write what you want to write. Don't expect it to sell. If, by chance it sells, then all the better. Don't change your writing style/genre/whatever in an attempt to gain credit. If you change your genre to romance, for example, and you find a willing publisher, I'm sure there would be much confusion when the next book you presented them turned out to be splatterpunk horror.

I'm also not going to be publishing through a major publisher.

Why not? Finish your book, polish it up--a couple times--and go for the big publishers. If it's good enough, they'll buy it. The worst they can do is send a rejection letter (which are fun to collect, by the way).

Basically I can't afford the ten large to publish my book. But I'll be doing something smaller, which I doubt would get distributed too...

If you go the self-publishing route (before spending "ten large"... holy frick!), you will find there are many options out there to help you affordably publish your book. P.O.D. (Print On Demand) services, for example, run under "one large". Just don't go the Lulu route.

 

[Doug Johnson]

What's the damn point of your posts, Dougie?

That if his book is "really good" like he claims, and if it entertains an audience, he could find a publisher who would pay him to publish it.

That would solve his problem of not having 10 grand, no?

 

[Stewart]

By definition, you can't be a "professional" writer unless you make money writing.

There are many authors out there who make money by writing books but its not their occupation. Your comment therefore, Doug, is what we call a flawed syllogism.

Say I was a writer, I could write a short story and place it with a magazine. It's one story and I've been paid for it - I've made money but I'm still an amateur - using your logic I'm promoted to professional.

I might use the money from that placement to seal the rift between your dimension and ours.

 

[Doug Johnson]

Say I was a writer, I could write a short story and place it with a magazine.

I recommend you try it. I enjoyed receiving checks from a magazine. I doubt that I would’ve felt a stronger sense of accomplishment by giving a vanity publisher my credit card number, but I can't say for certain. I've never paid anyone to publish my work. Like you said, I live in another dimension.

Daniel doesn’t need to listen to me or change dimensions. If he wants to pay to be published, I’m sure someone will take his money. But if his book is really good, he doesn't need to pay.

 

[Stewart]

Certainly, I'm of the never self-publish school of thinking also; I just don't see that someone getting paid for writing is by definition a professional.

But, since you mention it, Doug, where have you been published? Any links, if online?

 

[Daniel_Infinity]

Hey, thanks for everyone's input. Really appreciate it!
I'm taking your comments to heart, yeah, I guess I will continue with my book and try to get it published.

Can you elaborate a bit on this?

Are you going to try to "get published", or are you going to "be the publisher", or are you going to use a "printing/self-publishing" service, or what?

I really would like to know where the statement "Basically I can't afford the ten large to publish my book." comes from, or what it means?????

This seems to come up a lot, about what I said about getting published. Basically before I started writing I was doing some research on getting books published and the only thing I came up with was where the writer had to have something upfront to cover the publishing costs and then would get a certain percent of the royalties afterward. I've researched a ton of publishers, and it's always the same average between 5k-10k just.
Now what I meant wasn't self-publishing, it was using a different publishing service. I have found some publishers would do this for free, but for only 10% royalties afterward. I'm not sure how good these publishers are, but ???.

Now I believe there was some discussion between writing for money, profession, etc.

Basically, I want writing to be my profession. What I really want though is to first establish myself, just sell enough books so that I 'can' write what I feel, write to inspire. But in the world I'm living in, I can't just write a book and hope it sells the first time, the first time I have to get it right.
I become a professional not when I'm writing to make money, but when writing becomes my life. Professionalism has nothing to do with making money. That's just a bonus.

Write what you want to write. Don't expect it to sell. If, by chance it sells, then all the better. Don't change your writing style/genre/whatever in an attempt to gain credit. If you change your genre to romance, for example, and you find a willing publisher, I'm sure there would be much confusion when the next book you presented them turned out to be splatterpunk horror.

I want to do that, but I am also a little afraid of the consequences. If it doesn't sell and becomes an all out failure, something that I could've changed if I just did something different in the beginning, then it would stick with me. I could handle it, but what about my hopes of writing more books? The experience would probably effect me to the point where I think it's 'just.'
I can write, I love writing. If I was given any type of genre I would be able to do novels on it, and like them as well. So basically that's the point I'm getting at.

'I want to write something that not only I would love, but that others would like aswell; not something that I would love, and would be an absoulute failure therefore moving further away from my heart.'

Mistakes shape us or break us.

Daniel

All good advice here. I just wanted to add that you'll need an iron shell as you go through this process. Don't fear rejection just keep trying. Be sure of yourself and eventually someone else will "get it". I know nothing about publishing books but I know quite a bit about being a self starter.

My own favorite little saying: "All glory comes from daring to begin"

I'll be looking for you in the book store, next to Stephen King

Thank you, and I totally agree. I love the input I have recieved and I really appreciate people taking their time to help me out. I also hope that my book does arrive in the book stores for you to read.

 

[sirmyk]

But in the world I'm living in, I can't just write a book and hope it sells the first time, the first time I have to get it right.

...If it doesn't sell and becomes an all out failure, something that I could've changed if I just did something different in the beginning, then it would stick with me. I could handle it, but what about my hopes of writing more books?

What about success stories like Dan Brown? Brown wrote three miserable novels--all of which were failures--before breaking through with his fourth miserable novel, which seemed to spark interest (sales) in his prior failures. If only we could all be so lucky with our writing...

I can write, I love writing.

Work a bit on structuring your sentences correctly, and you may become the next Michael Bail...er, Dan Brown.

 

[eyez0nme]

What about success stories like Dan Brown? Brown wrote three miserable novels--all of which were failures--before breaking through with his fourth miserable novel, which seemed to spark interest (sales) in his prior failures. If only we could all be so lucky with our writing...

LMFAO~hahahahaahaa

 

[Justin91]

To me a true writer is someone who is not only compelled to tell a story, but who has written thousands and thousands of words, sentences and paragraphs, and has honed their craft to nice flowing prose and has developed a voice of their own. If the reason you are writing is to be able to say, "I am a published writer!" at cocktail parties, then by all means pay someone to publish your work. Just do not expect any respect from anyone who has put the time and effort into going the traditional route of rejection slips...for this is part of the growing process.

A person thinking about publishing a piece of his work who has only a few Chapters written and has never published before, reminds me of a newly formed middle school garage band designing a tour bus before even writing or learning their first complete set. Writing is a passion. For some it may come easy, and may even publish the first manuscript...but this is very, very rare.

This is not to shatter anyone’s dream. If you want to be a writer, sit down and write. Then write some more. And when you are tired of that, write twenty more pages. If you cannot do this, you may want to consider another occupation.

Good luck with your adventure in writing. You should let Stewart Critique your finished chapters, if you can survive the beating, you may very well have what it takes to become a writer.