there oughta be a law
October 10, 2020 there oughta be a law. . . . . . Oh! There is? Tell me - Well, firstly let's clarify/confirm what this is [...]
criminal lintent?
November 12, 2020 criminal intent? What, if anything, have we learned? Not much it seems. We learned the extent to [...]
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• a photograph, a book cover, a poem, perhaps
For a first time visitor, ‘writing’ is the container that holds
Short Stories, Poetry, Works-In-Progress
writers travails | trivia
perhaps it’s of little concern – then again, perhaps not. I read recently that 35,000 new books are published every week in the USA.
Notwithstanding, most likely, self-published initiatives.
The pandemic spawned in the masses not only the raison to turn to writing the great novel – it provided the time within which
such efforts could move forward.
If one is on FB one can search for, and find, numerous groups that are focused on writers, writing. Many are dedicated to the world of Amazon/Kindle.
Thousands and thousands of hopefuls. The following might give succour to many:
- John Grisham’s first novel was rejected 25 times.
- Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen (Chicken Soup for the Soul) received 134 rejections.
- Beatrix Potter had so much trouble publishing The Tale of Peter Rabbit, she initially had to self-publish it.
- Robert Pirsig (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance) received 121 rejections before it was published and went on to become a best seller.
- Gertrude Stein spent 22 years submitting before getting a single poem accepted.
- Judy Blume, beloved by children everywhere, received rejections for two straight years.
- Madeline L’Engle received 26 rejections before getting A Wrinkle in Time published—which went on to win the
Newbery Medal and become one of the best-selling children’s books of all time. - Frank Herbert’s Dune was rejected 20 times before being published and becoming a cult classic.
- Stephen King received dozens of rejections for Carrie before it was published (and made into a movie!).*
- James Lee Burke’s novel The Lost Get-Back Boogie was rejected 111 times over a period of nine years and,
upon its publication by Louisiana State University Press in 1986, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
Hopefully the forenoted might provide a degree of relief, beyond it being a reality check.
Other helpful fact-checked statistics:
- One writer spent 17 years writing short stories before writing their debut.
- One writer wrote over 40 novellas before writing their debut.
- One writer spent 10 years writing fan fiction before writing their debut.
- One writer spent 25 years writing four books.
- One writer spent 13 years writing one book (their debut).
- Many writers didn’t sell the first book they signed an agent with.
….and,
- 16.2% debuted with their first novel.
- 17.1% debuted with their second novel.
- 13.1% debuted with their third novel.
- 16.7% debuted with their fourth novel.
- 14% debuted with their fifth novel.
- 7.7% debuted with their sixth novel.
- 6.2% debuted with their seventh novel.
- 9% wrote seven or more books before writing their debuts.
So – major takeaway? If you have the stamina – IF you have the determination, IF you are ridiculously persistent,
you may have a chance at being. p u b l i s h e d …..which, by the way, is not at all connected to whether or not one becomes
a financial success.
Ken Follet (Eye of the Needle has written 44 books. His current net worth, all from earnings as an author, is approximately, $40 million.
J.K. Rowling, however, is the wealthiest of all writers with a net worth of $1 billion!
Don’t give up