How many on here have had (or tried to have) their works published?

Whether it be an article in a magazine or a full novel.

Who's gone through the process already?

Can you share some insight into your experience? Your success and your failures?

Where art thou?

Wow.

No one?

I know that a few months back someone had posted about a novel they'd finished.

i used to write for the sacramento bee newspaper when i was a teen. and had articles here and there when i was in my early 20's. i wrote several books that were in borders books and music in the sacramento area, and other local book stores. i wrote a book against gang violence that i used when i volunteered at local jr. high schools. but this is all years ago, i self published. so much has changed since i did it.

Well, I'm not much of an author, but here's a short little ditty that I wrote from last year that I was going to start up, but never did. It's funny that this story happens around Thanksgiving too

A Concept Piece: Of Love & Dagger Shit {Working Title}

"If they only knew about the Nasty things we've done together.", Says the sobbing young man as he takes a sledge hammer to the head of the biggest pig in his family's barnyard. Thanksgiving is two days away and they decide to eat Turkey & Pig this time, since family from out of town are coming. Sucks for the sobbing young man. What's the sobbing young man's name you ask? Arnie. Madman Arnie [If you ask his invisible friends Eric & Sasquatch]! Arnie is always hiding somewhere around town of Springfield spying on people for his own pleasures, but for some reason, he's very likable. Everybody loves him! Everyone except the town Sheriff, Sheriff TigersacK, who often catches Arnie with his Daughters [Lacy & Tabitha] in compromising positions. The Sheriff on many occasions has tried to kick the living balls outta Arnie. But Arnie always has a plan, A REAL good plan. He Runs! But this time, [Madman] Arnie & his invisible friends may get in WAY over their heads this time....STAY TUNED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have, I am a writer, but I still have to wait to put all my poems together. Well and I have a few books I'm working on.

I've had a few things published,
but in my case all that means is that I've posted a few comments here on the org.

I posted something here a few months ago, but I'm nowhere near getting to the publishing phase.

Actually, the few responses I got kind of killed the little momentum I thought I had. I really havent touched my story since.

But I like to call myself an author.

"Author" always sounds like a big word to me. I would use it mostly to describe people who make a living out of writing novels, and who have had a few of them published already.

I call myself a writer. A few years ago I used to work as a journalist so I've had many articles, opinion pieces, interviews, reviews etc published. I've also written several screenplays, a handful of which have been turned into (short) films. No novels yet, but I do have a lot of material ready to go if the opportunity would present itself.

It's always frustrating to try to make it as a writer. The closer you get to your dream project, the less likely it gets that you will be paid for it. A novel or a poetry collection? Forget about the money. An article on the new CVX-459 steel pipes for Plumber Magazine? You could probably earn big bucks, at least for a writer.

The important thing is that you keep your passion alive, so it's good to mix the bread and butter jobs with indulgent private projects like experimental short stories. Eventually you'll have built a CV (and perhaps also a good reputation) which will lead to more interesting opportunities. One of the more fun gigs I've had was a behind-the-scenes story of the making of a music video. I met lots of interesting people and ended up with a thousand anecdotes that I could weave into a multi-page article.

If you only want to focus on writing a novel, I can only hope that you have already had sufficient practice, that you have a clear idea of the story you want to tell, an ability to structure it, and the skill to bring it alive with effortless language. It sure is a big project to take on, but it's definitely not impossible.

I am a published author. It may have been me who you referred to, PrupleJedi, as I did a few messages on here some months back about my work.

I've had two books published - both in the paranormal/horror catagory. The first is called The Banishing, which was published in March 2011, and the second was released last month - Obsessed.

Both are in paperback and e-book formats, and are on sale on Amazon, Barnes & Noble etc. Most street book stores will order them in, though I've had little help in actually stocking them on the shelves at the moment.

I have been offered a contract for my third novel, called The Shift, which is more of a psychological horror than paranormal. My first two books were published with a small US publisher, The Shift is being published with a mid-sized e-book publishing company from Canada. It's not due for release until 2013, though, so it's far away.

I intend to use 2012 as a year to write my fourth, so I'm working on a few ideas at the moment

Here are my book covers and links:

[img:$uid]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41b%2BhH5cGgL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU02_.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41rfDr8lRXL._SL500_AA300_.jpg[/img:$uid]

My website is www.fionasfiction.wordpress.com though I admit it's been sometime since I've updated, as I've been so busy.

Fiona01 said:

I am a published author. It may have been me who you referred to, PrupleJedi, as I did a few messages on here some months back about my work.

I've had two books published - both in the paranormal/horror catagory. The first is called The Banishing, which was published in March 2011, and the second was released last month - Obsessed.

Both are in paperback and e-book formats, and are on sale on Amazon, Barnes & Noble etc. Most street book stores will order them in, though I've had little help in actually stocking them on the shelves at the moment.

I have been offered a contract for my third novel, called The Shift, which is more of a psychological horror than paranormal. My first two books were published with a small US publisher, The Shift is being published with a mid-sized e-book publishing company from Canada. It's not due for release until 2013, though, so it's far away.

I intend to use 2012 as a year to write my fourth, so I'm working on a few ideas at the moment

Here are my book covers and links:

[img:$uid]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41b%2BhH5cGgL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU02_.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41rfDr8lRXL._SL500_AA300_.jpg[/img:$uid]

My website is www.fionasfiction.wordpress.com though I admit it's been sometime since I've updated, as I've been so busy.

Congratulations

I wrote a Childrens story about 15 years ago, did all the artwork myself too, but it got rejected by several Publishers.

Itsnotallover - Thank you

As your name suggests - something I really believe in - it's never too late to go for what you dream of, and if you still have your childrens book, why not take another look and see if you can start submitting it again? With the new approach to publishing in recent years (no longer always needing an agent, smaller companies printing e-book titles etc) you may be surprised that there is a chance.

I say go for it

Fiona01 said:

I am a published author. It may have been me who you referred to, PrupleJedi, as I did a few messages on here some months back about my work.

I've had two books published - both in the paranormal/horror catagory. The first is called The Banishing, which was published in March 2011, and the second was released last month - Obsessed.

Both are in paperback and e-book formats, and are on sale on Amazon, Barnes & Noble etc. Most street book stores will order them in, though I've had little help in actually stocking them on the shelves at the moment.

I have been offered a contract for my third novel, called The Shift, which is more of a psychological horror than paranormal. My first two books were published with a small US publisher, The Shift is being published with a mid-sized e-book publishing company from Canada. It's not due for release until 2013, though, so it's far away.

I intend to use 2012 as a year to write my fourth, so I'm working on a few ideas at the moment

Here are my book covers and links:

[img:$uid]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41b%2BhH5cGgL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU02_.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41rfDr8lRXL._SL500_AA300_.jpg[/img:$uid]

My website is www.fionasfiction.wordpress.com though I admit it's been sometime since I've updated, as I've been so busy.

Cool! Congratulations and well done!

May I ask how many copies you've sold of each book, and how much money you've earned from the sales? You can org note me if you want to keep it private.

kimrachell said:

i used to write for the sacramento bee newspaper when i was a teen. and had articles here and there when i was in my early 20's. i wrote several books that were in borders books and music in the sacramento area, and other local book stores. i wrote a book against gang violence that i used when i volunteered at local jr. high schools. but this is all years ago, i self published. so much has changed since i did it.

Tittypants said:

Well, I'm not much of an author, but here's a short little ditty that I wrote from last year that I was going to start up, but never did. It's funny that this story happens around Thanksgiving too

A Concept Piece: Of Love & Dagger Shit {Working Title}

"If they only knew about the Nasty things we've done together.", Says the sobbing young man as he takes a sledge hammer to the head of the biggest pig in his family's barnyard. Thanksgiving is two days away and they decide to eat Turkey & Pig this time, since family from out of town are coming. Sucks for the sobbing young man. What's the sobbing young man's name you ask? Arnie. Madman Arnie [If you ask his invisible friends Eric & Sasquatch]! Arnie is always hiding somewhere around town of Springfield spying on people for his own pleasures, but for some reason, he's very likable. Everybody loves him! Everyone except the town Sheriff, Sheriff TigersacK, who often catches Arnie with his Daughters [Lacy & Tabitha] in compromising positions. The Sheriff on many occasions has tried to kick the living balls outta Arnie. But Arnie always has a plan, A REAL good plan. He Runs! But this time, [Madman] Arnie & his invisible friends may get in WAY over their heads this time....STAY TUNED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

...sledgehammer to pig's head...what a visual!!!

Visionnaire said:

I've had a few things published,
but in my case all that means is that I've posted a few comments here on the org.

retina said:

"Author" always sounds like a big word to me. I would use it mostly to describe people who make a living out of writing novels, and who have had a few of them published already.

I call myself a writer. A few years ago I used to work as a journalist so I've had many articles, opinion pieces, interviews, reviews etc published. I've also written several screenplays, a handful of which have been turned into (short) films. No novels yet, but I do have a lot of material ready to go if the opportunity would present itself.

It's always frustrating to try to make it as a writer. The closer you get to your dream project, the less likely it gets that you will be paid for it. A novel or a poetry collection? Forget about the money. An article on the new CVX-459 steel pipes for Plumber Magazine? You could probably earn big bucks, at least for a writer.

The important thing is that you keep your passion alive, so it's good to mix the bread and butter jobs with indulgent private projects like experimental short stories. Eventually you'll have built a CV (and perhaps also a good reputation) which will lead to more interesting opportunities. One of the more fun gigs I've had was a behind-the-scenes story of the making of a music video. I met lots of interesting people and ended up with a thousand anecdotes that I could weave into a multi-page article.

If you only want to focus on writing a novel, I can only hope that you have already had sufficient practice, that you have a clear idea of the story you want to tell, an ability to structure it, and the skill to bring it alive with effortless language. It sure is a big project to take on, but it's definitely not impossible.

Great advice Retina!

Fiona01 said:

I am a published author. It may have been me who you referred to, PrupleJedi, as I did a few messages on here some months back about my work.

I've had two books published - both in the paranormal/horror catagory. The first is called The Banishing, which was published in March 2011, and the second was released last month - Obsessed.

Both are in paperback and e-book formats, and are on sale on Amazon, Barnes & Noble etc. Most street book stores will order them in, though I've had little help in actually stocking them on the shelves at the moment.

I have been offered a contract for my third novel, called The Shift, which is more of a psychological horror than paranormal. My first two books were published with a small US publisher, The Shift is being published with a mid-sized e-book publishing company from Canada. It's not due for release until 2013, though, so it's far away.

I intend to use 2012 as a year to write my fourth, so I'm working on a few ideas at the moment

Here are my book covers and links:

[img:$uid]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41b%2BhH5cGgL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU02_.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41rfDr8lRXL._SL500_AA300_.jpg[/img:$uid]

My website is www.fionasfiction.wordpress.com though I admit it's been sometime since I've updated, as I've been so busy.

YES!

Congratulations of your continued success!

Kimrachell - Can I ask what your experience was like self-publishing? It's something I'm giving consideration to for a project I am working on. Sounds like you've had some amazing experiences, btw!

Retina - Obsessed was only released a few weeks back, not sure how well it's selling, probably won't know for a couple of months yet, to be honest. The Banishing is doing okay - I'm quite pleased. I think it's because I have both titles available in the US and UK, also e-book is more popular than I imagined. I sold more e-books than trade paperbacks - so far. It's why I'm happy to go down the route of e-book publishing for The Shift, when it's released in 2013 with Double Dragon Publishing.

In terms of money etc, I'd rather keep that private, but I'm happy with how things are going.Suffice to say I won't be retiring anytime soon lol, but it's certainly a nice bonus on top of my wage at the charity where I work.

Unfortunately, unless you're lucky enough to be signed with one of the major publishing houses, who can pile money into promotion, you can't expect major exposure, but I think I'm on the right track.

PurpleJedi - Thanks for the congrats

[Edited 11/22/11 6:28am]

PurpleJedi said:

Wow.

No one?

I know that a few months back someone had posted about a novel they'd finished.

I write on a personal level

I also used to write for the local paper for about 10 yrs ~ once a week ( during season ) ... Men's & Woman's High School Soccer team reports

I'm about to be published. I only wrote a chapter though. It's a book about the music industry, actually a sequel to a very popular book which focused on touring, the sequel is more general industry advice and has contributions from a variety of successful artists of different genres.

Fiona01 said:

Kimrachell - Can I ask what your experience was like self-publishing? It's something I'm giving consideration to for a project I am working on. Sounds like you've had some amazing experiences, btw!

Retina - Obsessed was only released a few weeks back, not sure how well it's selling, probably won't know for a couple of months yet, to be honest. The Banishing is doing okay - I'm quite pleased. I think it's because I have both titles available in the US and UK, also e-book is more popular than I imagined. I sold more e-books than trade paperbacks - so far. It's why I'm happy to go down the route of e-book publishing for The Shift, when it's released in 2013 with Double Dragon Publishing.

In terms of money etc, I'd rather keep that private, but I'm happy with how things are going.Suffice to say I won't be retiring anytime soon lol, but it's certainly a nice bonus on top of my wage at the charity where I work.

Unfortunately, unless you're lucky enough to be signed with one of the major publishing houses, who can pile money into promotion, you can't expect major exposure, but I think I'm on the right track.

PurpleJedi - Thanks for the congrats

[Edited 11/22/11 6:28am]

Ok, thanks. I figured it was probably not your only source of income, but I'm glad it's still a nice bonus. I'm not sure how to feel about the fact that your e-books are outselling your paperbacks. On the one hand I think it's great that yet another way for an author to get their work read has been invented, and on the other hand it makes me worry that traditional books are slowly becoming extinct. It would be a huge cultural loss if that were to happen.

Retina - I couldn't agree more. I personally value holding and reading a traditional paperback way more than an e-book. I had a Kindle once and within a few weeks it was on eBay. You can't beat the feel or smell of a book. Can't beat browsing bookstores. I feel that ebooks only sell so well because a) they are cheaper than standard paperbacks, and b) It's that convenience of having something instantly - ordering a book from Amazon and waiting perhaps 5 days for it to arrive, or wanting a novel and having (for some people) to travel into town to pick it up puts people off when they can simply press one button and be reading the book a moment later.

For me I'd take a paperback over e-book, but I'm thankful it's out there as it's a new way to reach an audience.

In the US I sold more e-books, in the UK I've sold more paperbacks.

[Edited 11/22/11 9:16am]

I've ghostwritten a book (a work-for-hire project that really wasn't all that impressive at all) and I'm cowriting a book that is currently being shopped around. I'm working on a novel and some other things. If only I were more disciplined, I'd be able to change "I'm working on" to "I've finished." Soon, hopefully!

Efan said:

I've ghostwritten a book (a work-for-hire project that really wasn't all that impressive at all) and I'm cowriting a book that is currently being shopped around. I'm working on a novel and some other things. If only I were more disciplined, I'd be able to change "I'm working on" to "I've finished." Soon, hopefully!

Well, this is my problem too! I can go through phases where I want to write non-stop, and yet I experience months when I'm not in the place at all. I just ride the waves when they come, only good work comes from a genuine place, so you just have to wait for it. Good luck with your endeavours, though!

Fiona01 said:

Efan said:

I've ghostwritten a book (a work-for-hire project that really wasn't all that impressive at all) and I'm cowriting a book that is currently being shopped around. I'm working on a novel and some other things. If only I were more disciplined, I'd be able to change "I'm working on" to "I've finished." Soon, hopefully!

Well, this is my problem too! I can go through phases where I want to write non-stop, and yet I experience months when I'm not in the place at all. I just ride the waves when they come, only good work comes from a genuine place, so you just have to wait for it. Good luck with your endeavours, though!

Yeah. It's tough, because I make my living as a freelance writer and editor, so I do a lot of writing as it is and it can be tough to then transfer over to doing my own personal writing. And then there are times (frequently, it can seem) where writing is like pulling teeth and I kick myself for not being any good at anything else. Because sometimes being a ditch-digger sounds much more appealing.

LOL I know where you're coming from - at times it can be an amazing thrill, at other times you just feel like never writing a word again. It always (so far, anyway!) feels worth it though. I do get a lot from the process, and generally don't function well when I go too long without being creative.

I've had some work published. Was first published at 14.

Had an offer on a short book of erotica and a romance novel, never did go through with it. Felt

cheap next to the other works I had done (though none of those were full length books).

Wasn't sure how I was supposed to go around presenting on Medical Ethics and VAE after publishing

erotica in my name

I remembered trying to get my mini-story in an black romance magazine named 'Jive'. It was in the mid to late eighties. They liked my ideas, but I had to make so many corrections, I got frustrated and so I gave it up In the early nineties, I did some songwriting, and I had someone help me with the music. The producer said that someone from EMI was interested in me, and wanted me to cut a master tape. I backed out, after learning how the music business can be ugly, and something within me told me not to pursue this.

Fiona01 said:

Retina - I couldn't agree more. I personally value holding and reading a traditional paperback way more than an e-book. I had a Kindle once and within a few weeks it was on eBay. You can't beat the feel or smell of a book. Can't beat browsing bookstores. I feel that ebooks only sell so well because a) they are cheaper than standard paperbacks, and b) It's that convenience of having something instantly - ordering a book from Amazon and waiting perhaps 5 days for it to arrive, or wanting a novel and having (for some people) to travel into town to pick it up puts people off when they can simply press one button and be reading the book a moment later.

For me I'd take a paperback over e-book, but I'm thankful it's out there as it's a new way to reach an audience.

In the US I sold more e-books, in the UK I've sold more paperbacks.

[Edited 11/22/11 9:16am]

Exactly.

angel345 said:

I remembered trying to get my mini-story in an black romance magazine named 'Jive'. It was in the mid to late eighties. They liked my ideas, but I had to make so many corrections, I got frustrated and so I gave it up In the early nineties, I did some songwriting, and I had someone help me with the music. The producer said that someone from EMI was interested in me, and wanted me to cut a master tape. I backed out, after learning how the music business can be ugly, and something within me told me not to pursue this.

You must be old.