Writers' Workshop General Chat Thread

[Instrutilus]

The above two posts are correct. You try and be creative and you'll be ummed and ahhed because it's not a definite success to their charts. And JK Rowling was rejected many a time until one of the publishers gave the manuscript to their kid and the kid immediately asked for the next one once they were done.

Point is, you'll need to focus on more than one viewpoint. One author didn't like it, okay, but what about someone else? Have you tried showing it to someone you can trust and getting their opinion on the manuscript? Or maybe a small group, just so long as you know you can trust them not to run off either their mouths or with the script.

 

[Lord Kyuubi]

And, since I think this last point is pretty important as well, when JK Rowling did finally manage to get someone to accept Harry Potter, the publisher in question specifically told her not to quit her day job, and that he was only taking it because he personally liked the story. This particular publisher has been the subject of much ridicule ever since.

Essentially what I think we agree here is that, while they undeniably know their stuff, you do still hear a lot of nonsense and otherwise questionable things from experts and suchlike. Once someone's established in an area, this naturally gives them their own views and angles on what works and what doesn't... While there are business reasons and all that, writing's not something that really has a strict rulebook you need to keep to, much as many publishers would prefer you to.

So to wrap this up before I write and delete another huge paragraph of inane rambling, we're all really sorry to hear it didn't work out with that author. But the best of luck wherever you take your work next!

 

[Serverus Snope]

*Gave his latest RP character a Jolteon*

*Feels the ill effects of having "Eeveelutions are for unoriginal hacks" drilled into his head for years*

Oh, and I guess I can't write about her on Fanfiction.net either.

I also need a male OC that's an idiot. Most of mine are intelligent for some reason while my female OCs vary.

 

[Misfit Angel]

I think the thing that bothers me the most is how cordial and friendly she was being with me in the weeks before she asked me to send her something. She was super enthusiastic about my ideas, my characters, the settings... Then, once she got to actually reading it (or possibly, letting it sit for long enough to make it look like she read it), she turned into the most vicious and crude person imaginable. To go from "It sounds like you have a lot of promise. Your ideas and your methods appear solid, I'd be interested to see what you've done" to "You are terrible and should feel bad for trying" is what gets me. She barely offered anything constructive, it almost seemed like a targeted attack.

People think of publishing as some sort of gold standard of written art, and it really isn't.

It isn't, and I realize that. But at the very least, I want some sort of recognition and payment at the end of the day for my work. It's probably not the wisest move, but I am pouring my life into this. I've spent ten years writing, attended classes for it, actually dragged myself out of the house to attend meetings with local writers (not something that is easy for me to do).

Point is, if you're going into this, you're probably going to get rejected again and again, with probably less reason than that. But just because you have been rejected doesn't mean that you're a talentless hack with no business even dreaming of being published

Oh, I will. I'm not debating that. I guess the reason I was so disappointed with what she had to say was with how she said it, and how little she actually helped. She said she wanted to help, but that didn't happen.

Point is, you'll need to focus on more than one viewpoint. One author didn't like it, okay, but what about someone else? Have you tried showing it to someone you can trust and getting their opinion on the manuscript? Or maybe a small group, just so long as you know you can trust them not to run off either their mouths or with the script.

I must admit, I'm weary of doing this. Not only is what I've written barely half done (which may have been part of the problem with my author 'friend', as there are holes in the early story that are intended to be filled much later on), but I'm also very protective of my work. What I'm doing isn't particularly groundbreaking, but it's still my darling little child. I don't want it stolen, or ripped off, or any of that.

I guess it does boil down to trust. I don't trust anyone. Those that I do, it took a long time to get there. Maybe it's time to reevaluate that part of my personality.

Whatever. The hell with her. It's time to carry on, do what I do, and try to make it in this crazy and unjust world. Why let a few hundred blistering words stop me from doing what I want?

hey, maybe I could even work this into my story somehow, one of the main characters is already and underdog that nobody believes in

 

[Instrutilus]

I must admit, I'm weary of doing this. Not only is what I've written barely half done (which may have been part of the problem with my author 'friend', as there are holes in the early story that are intended to be filled much later on), but I'm also very protective of my work. What I'm doing isn't particularly groundbreaking, but it's still my darling little child. I don't want it stolen, or ripped off, or any of that.

I guess it does boil down to trust. I don't trust anyone. Those that I do, it took a long time to get there. Maybe it's time to reevaluate that part of my personality.

Eh, talking from experience, you have the right mindset.

Still, if you do require someone reading the story, I offer my services. Anyone whom knows me, such as Gama or Flaze, can inform you that I am true to my word, so please take value in my statement that I would not betray the trust you'd surrender toward me.

Otherwise, I wish you luck on your written works and look forward to seeing the finished publication once it is released.

 

[Beth Pavell]

I guess the reason I was so disappointed with what she had to say was with how she said it, and how little she actually helped. She said she wanted to help, but that didn't happen.

Whatever kind of a writer she is, she's clearly not much of a reviewer

 

[Misfit Angel]

Still, if you do require someone reading the story, I offer my services. Anyone whom knows me, such as Gama or Flaze, can inform you that I am true to my word, so please take value in my statement that I would not betray the trust you'd surrender toward me.

That's an offer I might take as things progress further. That might be awhile, however, as I still don't even have a title for what I'm writing.

 

[Instrutilus]

That's an offer I might take as things progress further. That might be awhile, however, as I still don't even have a title for what I'm writing.

Just give it time, the title should come natural to the story. Try to hard and you end up with "Adventures of Luke Starkiller, As Taken From the Journal of the Whills, Saga 1: The Star Wars".

 

[Lord Kyuubi]

I may not be very good at naming things, but I can think of a couple of reasons why that one might not work out great.

 

[Beth Pavell]

Just don't have any variation of "Rise" or "Rising" in there. That's one piece of literary kitsch I can never stand

 

[Misfit Angel]

Funny you mention that, I was considering "Rise of a Nation". I felt like I'd run into problems with how close it is to Birth of a Nation and the controversy surrounding that, so into the bin it went.

 

[kintsugi]

Just don't have any variation of "Rise" or "Rising" in there. That's one piece of literary kitsch I can never stand

Well, shit.

 

[Instrutilus]

I guess such titles wouldn't be rise to have...

 

[Lugion]

[Bane voice]Yes, the Rising Rises...

 

[Tophat Dragoneye]

Have you considered independent publishing? I know at least here in Denmark that it is possible to do so with some support from professional people, but I'm not sure how it works in the US.

 

[Misfit Angel]

I've actually been thinking of Amazon self publishing. It seems to work for dime a dozen authors like that weirdo Chuck Tingle guy (don't look him up, for your own sanity), so it might work for me. My worry about that is, what if it becomes wildly popular? I would imagine I couldn't just pull it off of Amazon and give the publishing rights to a proper publisher for more exposure, there would need to be a lot of legal wrangling and hoops to go through.

I dunno why I'm worried about it, though. I'm nowhere near that stage.

 

[Instrutilus]

I dunno why I'm worried about it, though. I'm nowhere near that stage.

Yeah, getting a little ahead of yourself. Do remember the saying "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift, that is why it is called the present." Don't worry about that stuff until you have a product you consider should be the released form, then focus on your options, as you might have more options then versus deciding today and subconsciously writing for that option instead. I've noticed people have very different writing styles online and in print.

 

[Beth Pavell]

Besides (Much as I hate to say anything positive about them), Amazon publishing is providing opportunities that the traditional publishers don't. If you somehow became a runaway smash hit, profit would win out over snobbery and a publishing house would still snap your hand off for the chance to publish your next book

EDIT: Don't forget that the conventional wisdom states that books are dying, something that's got publishers worried. They're not going to want to let bestselling authors stay in Amazon's hands.

 

[AceTrainer14]

Sometimes I wonder if I really would want to get published. It does seem as though publishing is quite conservative these days in terms of wanting broad hits that can definitely sell. I've seen a lot of stories about authors being told to cut out or rewrite LGBT characters so that people aren't put off by it. I think if I was going to get professionally written, I'd rather try something in a screenplay format than a novel at this point.

 

[Jaye]

Publishers are under more pressure than ever to publish titles that will sell in today's market. It's simply a financial thing; they don't have the money anymore to publish and market several titles at once.

If you were going to write so-called literary fiction as opposed to commercial fiction, there are publishing houses that exist for that but most of them are small and can only publish about four or five books a year.