It’s been a while since I did anything in the "About Writing" category in the lefthand margin, but I’m about to do a string of them over the next few days.
Today’s post deals with a really good way not to get published. If you want not to get published, this is definitely a way to accomplish your goal.
Here’s what you do: Start your literary career by writing a book. It can be fiction or non-fiction, but make sure it’s a full-sized book (at least 40,000 words long).
If you do this and you send your literary firstborn off to a normal, professional publisher, I guarantee that you will not get published.
Now what is that?
For the same reason that I shouldn’t begin my musical career by writing a symphony: I don’t know how. I don’t write music, but if I did then a really good way for me not to get my music published would be to start by writing a symphony
On the other hand, if I wanted to get my music published then the thing to do would be to start small, with a simple melody, then try to figure out how to be successful writing longer and longer pieces until I’d worked my way up to symphony-length works.
Same exact dynamic applies to writing and publishing text rather than music. People who want to get published need to start small and build up from there.
Unfortunately, book publishers receive countless manuscripts from people who have never published anything before. These manuscripts go into what is known in the industry as the "slush pile," which is so named because reading these things feels like wading through endless tracks of slush.
Consequently, the job of reading the slush pile is not a highly desirable task in the publishing industry. Therefore, if at all possible it gets inflicted uponassigned to assistant editors and even interns. If (and this is a HUGE "if") the slush pile reader finds something promising then he reports it to someone up the chain of command (such as the commissioning editor), who takes a second look at the manuscript to see if its worth pursuing further.
The vast majority of manuscripts in the slush pile are rejected. Sometimes the reader doesn’t even get as far as the manuscript itself before making the decision to reject. There are signals the amateur author can send off with the cover letter (like not having one) that signal that the author simply doesn’t know what he’s doing.
If the reader does get as far as reading the manuscript (and usually he does), he normally discerns–within the first two pages, often the first paragraph, and sometimes even the first sentence–the following things:
- This author is an amateur who has never published anything before.
- It would require a huge amount of editorial work for the publishing house to get this manuscript up to professional standards.
- Our limited resources would be better spent on other manuscripts that require less work.
- My boss would never approve this.
- I would injure my career here by advancing this manuscript to the next level and thus calling my own judgment into question.
At this point the reader stops reading. He may flip around a little in the manuscript to double-check his judgment, but soon a rejection slip is winging its way toward the author, along with the returned (and mostly unread) copy of the manuscript–IF the author included a self-addressed, adequately-stamped envelope with the original submission. (Otherwise the manuscript goes into the round file.)
The way to avoid the slush pile or at least maximize your chance of getting your manuscript accepted is to start small and hone your skills on shorter published works–articles if you want to write a non-fiction book, short stories if you want to write a novel. Find a periodical that publishes stuff as much as possible like what the book you want to write and publish there. Publish in a sci-fi mag if you want to write sci-fi novels. Publish in a detective mag if you want to write detective novels. Publish in a popular science mag if you want to write popular science books. Publish in an apologetics mag if you want to publish apologetics books.
If the right kind of genre magazine doesn’t exist for the kind of book you want to write, at least start publishing somewhere so that you can start getting a sense of the rules that apply in the publishing industry.
Once you can consistently get your articles or stories published (i.e., you get very few rejection notices any more), you’re ready to try your hand at a book-length work. You also have a track record of prior publications that you can mention (briefly) in your cover letter. Your short pieces may even attract the attention of a commissioning editor who thinks, "Hey, this kid’s pretty good. Wonder if he’s got a book in him? I’ll have to send him a query."
On the other hand, if your goal is not to get published then don’t do any of that. Go for the book first time out.
You’ll thank me.
Makes me want to write, although I failed college English three times.
More! I want more!
I 2nd that, Brad!
With some publishers, an agent is helpful.
It was a stark and dormy night…
Would it be helpful to submit an outline to a publisher before writing a book?
Good post. Interesting…
Nick — no.
Published authors can sell on outlines because publishers know they can complete books. They don’t know that about newbies.
“Would it be helpful to submit an outline to a publisher before writing a book?”
From what I understand about publishing, and that is very little indeed, publishers want to see track records (as Jimmy said). From a first-time author, they’ll want both a track record and an assurance that your manuscript is finished.
If you have never published before, you probably won’t sell a book (especially a novel) based on an outline alone. It is better to establish a track record first, then write a book, and then try to sell it based on a marketing proposal (which may include a query, outline, and sample chapters, based on the publisher’s requirements for submissions packages).
OTOH — some writers find shorts much harder than novels.
My own metier is short, but the metaphor I’ve found best is: how sticky are your ideas? Short-short ideas are like ball bearings. Novel ideas are like sticky burrs. If, whatever you do, complications creep in, you may be a natural novelist.
People who start out writing novels can get published. They seldom do with their first novel, though. As soon as you finish your novel, stuff it into a drawer for six months so you can read it in cold blood. Ask others to read for you — though that gets complicated. And be prepared for a number of works that never sell.
Okay so I’m working on my first serious piece, and it IS a book, but a short one… for teens. (Teens these days need shorter books than teens in the past, I’m afraid.) My question is, could I try to sell a short version of my non-fiction book to a magazine at the same time as I try to get a publisher for the whole shebang?
A relative of mine actually went to a writer’s convention once about 20 years ago, and came back, and told me, 9 out 10 people she met there had never published a word. not even a letter to the editor. sheesh.
just follow epictetus’ advice: if you want to be a writer, write.
Sara — I seriously doubt that you will have both of them ready to go at once.
Selling a longer version of a story you’ve already sold is quite common, but I’m not sure how you would warn the publisher of the rights involved if it was simultaneously.
Perhaps it’s best to market the short version while putting the long version on the backburner, and then give the long version another revision.
I don’t know who said this, but I find it very true, even though I ain’t a writer.
A successful writer was once asked what one should do to become a great writer. He said “If you want to write well, you must do two things: First, read well… then write badly for a long time.”
Same goes for art, by the way.
The criterion I heard was that you have a million bad words in you. To get at the good words under them, you must get them out by writing them.
As a writer who has had shorter pieces published, I go by the motto that “There’s no such thing as good writing, just good re-writing.”
All this reminds me of the one piece of advice I ever follow regarding getting published (or not), and it comes from G. K. Chesterton:
“I have a notion that the real advice I could give to a young journalist is simply this: to write an article for the Sporting Times and one for the Church Times and put them in the wrong envelopes.”
In the intrests of full disclosure, I think that Chesterton’s main point was his dislike of special-intrest publications, not actual advice as to how to get published.
Whatever the case, Chesterton’s quote has always stuck with me as my guiding light as a writer. In a day or so, Car and Driver magazine should be recieving an article I wrote for them on how I managed to correct my chip-shots. About a day or so after that, Golf Digest will be getting my review of the 2005 Dodge Charger I test drove at the dealership last week.