Alright Alright already! I'll post a new blog! You guys are so demanding! No but seriously I do it for the fans, hopefully one day, you wont be imaginary!
There is actually a few things I could post on here.
I don't know how many of my friends & family have realized that I've begun taking writing seriously; that I'm gradually transitioning into viewing it both as an enjoyable hobby and dream, but also a "business". I've been attempting to make this transition for a couple months, and it's not happening as quickly as I'd like, but eventually I want to get to the point where I'm writing because I enjoy it, because I want to, and (when I'm not in the mood) because it is my decided career. I'm not there yet, I still spend more days not writing than I do writing. The goal is to write everyday, or at least 5 days a week, because when I become a full time, fully-financially-supported-by-my-craft, author; I probably will be writing 5 days a week.
Brandon Sanderdson once said that he writes 14 hours a day, 5-6 days a week, but he didn't mind because it was something he loved. Now I'm not sure I would need or be able to do anything for 14 hours a day, But I could see myself happily writing 60 or so hours a week (assuming I didn't have to work part or full time somewhere else.) For now my goal is to get to the point that I'm engaged in my writing [process] 20-30 hours a week. Eventually I'll sell a couple novels, or a series, and it'll allow me to work just part time, and then I'll try to transition into writing 40-50 hours a week. So that by the time my self-sufficiency is relying wholly on my writing, I can easily transition into writing 60+ hours a week.
So what am I doing to attain these goals? For one thing, I'm always considering new story ideas, and playing my works-in-progresses out in my head. I listen to the podcast writing excuses, and I soak up their advice, and use their discussions to gauge my position and progress as a writer. I analyze books, movies, and tv shows; breaking them down to their stories, and finding the positives and negatives of the works. I'm part of two writing groups, and tho I'm not as productive as I'd like, I'm learning things, and I'm getting better.
Still, none of this explains how I plan to transition from amateur to professional, or justifies my belief that I can attain a professional status where so many others fail. According to Jim Butcher, only about 3 in 1000 people that decide to become published author's make it. and of those only 1 in 10 make enough money to call it a living. On the face of it, this isn't very encouraging. But then you have to realize that a lot of people who decide they want to be published author's never finish a book. Well, it wasn't my best work, the ending sucked, and I've since changed it enough that it needs significant rewrites. but I HAVE finished a novel. Over the next couple months I'm hoping to refinish it, complete with an excellent ending, consistency, and nearly twice as much content. To be honest it was a little daunting, and I felt myself getting bogged down, so I've started a new novel that I can work on simultaneously. Being able to switch tracks for a day or a week, will help me to keep writing when frustration or uncertainty threatens to bog me down.
This second novel also gives me advantage over two more groups of writers. Plenty of people planning to get published (and even some who don't) have written novels. But many of these write just one or just one series. they spend years trying to sell their novel, constantly editing and rewriting it/them when they get rejections (or even just out of fear of rejection). Patrick Rothfuss (excellent writer), spent a decade trying to get "King Killer Chronicles: Name of the Wind" published. Apart from a children's book or two, He has published only books in that series. I got the impression, that it's all he really tried to get published. I also plan to write more books when I'm done with these. This time next year, I hope to have half a dozen books written and revised to manuscript level floating around publishing houses, and agencies if I haven't gotten published yet. The other group I have advantage over, is the group solely trying to sell books that can't stand alone. Publishers prefer stand alone stories from first time authors. Even if there's room for a sequel, the first one should be a self-contained and sufficiently resolved story. You could also argue that writing multiple (and disparate) stories is valuable experience/practice that writers of a single novel or series just don't get.
The next thing I'm likely to face, is rejection. I'm hopeful and I'm determined, but I'm also very likely to receive rejections from many places before I get an acceptance. I'm imagining this is another big drop off point. Nobody likes rejection, especially when it's something they've poured themselves into, sweat, tears, and blood. I'm sure I'll hate it, but I"m also determined not to let it stop me. I'll revise and rewrite, and I'll submit new works, and I'll submit to multiple places. and When I am able to move past my initial rejections, I'll realize that I'm passing another swath of people cut down by their own doubts affirmed.
You know there's also a group of people that send in submissions with ridiculous splattered all over them. Doing things like choosing weird looking fonts. I heard of a person that had their letters in a mix of colors. Perfumes, pictures, drawings. Submissions should be crisp, easy to read, and they should wreak only of professionalism. This I can do, and would have done even without the many groanings of editors shared with me.
So already, I feel like I'm outstripping much of my competition. Jim Butcher followed up his statistics with an explanation of his road to publication, and a statement about outrunning the competition, not the bear. The second stastic about only 1 in 10 earning enough to call it a living, really doesn't scare me much, I mean, if I already beat the odds of 1 in 334 get published, then I'm not going to give up until I'm able to make enough that I can make it my only and full time job.
Every Author I've heard talk about it, has said the same thing. Just don't give up, Keep writing, keep trying, keep at it. the Tor submission guidlines and FAQ were asked what percentage of people that submitted got published. They really didn't want to answer, because they didn't want to discourage potential authors. They WANTED the submissions. Eventually they did give a real percentage, but I don't recall it, the only percentage that stuck with me was this: "100% of people that don't submit their novel, don't get published."
This post is dragging on, but I have a few more things I want to share. First off, I'm planning to go to worldcon (a scifi and fantasy convention in Chicago) that often has publishers, editors, and agents networking, hanging with friends, and promoting books. I plan to use the opportunity to provide a face and personality to go with my name. My plan is to get two books manuscript ready by the beginning of september. Then I go to the convention, step out of my comfort zone and strike up conversations with editors and agents, get to know them and their work a bit, and ask if I can send them my manuscript. When they get it, they'll have a human being to connect to the work, and it could give me the edge I need.
Secondly, I bought my name as a domain name DarrenMoen.com is owned by me for the next two years. I'm planning to have a working (if simple) website ready by then as well. On the website I'll have sample stories excerpts. I'll have a mirror of this blog posted there. I'll have a bit of biographical info, maybe a book review spot. I might start doing a podcast. I was considering working up to the point where I was blogging daily, podcasting weekly, and uploading a youtube video monthly. I also have some ideas for webcomics I might share. I also have a lot of story ideas (more everyday) I might take one of them and publish it on my website a chapter at a time. There will always be new ideas, and having a free story out there could show case my talents, and attract an audience for future books. So this will all be on my website (by the way, another thing to put me above my competition), so when I go to the convention, I can hand out cards with my website and email address and maybe a QR code. (Brief QR code side adventure... aaaand, I'm back)
alright, I'm nodding off, sleep takes me, I'mma let it. But in conclucsion. I'm as determined to be a writer as a college kid is to be a doctor or Lawyer, it's not likely to be quick, it wont be easy. But I'll get there, I've got too many ideas and too much drive to not make it, and I've put in too much time and money already to call it a lost cause.
O, btw, It's not my hope to get published by out-pacing other aspiring authors. Ideally every single one of us would right excellent prose, and the world would find itself with an insatiable hunger for new novels and stories, that no amount of new authors could ever sate. So read, get your friends to read, and practice with me, and maybe we'll all make it. Either way I'm determined to get there, not because I'm better or luckier than others, but because my writing, timing, and purposes are all excellent and matured. I would honestly rather write beautiful, elegant, and well formed prose; with only a cult following, than write a clumsy, cliche, and pointless piece of prose that was a best seller and made me millions. I'm in it for the stories, perhaps my elitist thinking will give me another advantage.... or perhaps it's a disadvantage. But it's one of those things I have no real control over. The sky is blue, everybody dies, I can't grow facial hair, and I want to write things I can be proud of more than I want to write things I can profit from.
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