How
does someone become a writer?
Through
very hard work and through years of practice. Writing is
a craft as much as dentistry is, or as much as carpentry
is, but many would-be authors simply think it is a matter
of throwing words on to a page. People are prepared to train
as a carpenter, or a dentist, but think they can instantly
become a writer. Writing is many, many years of solitary
writing and many more years of disappointments. Mostly,
is it about learning the craft of grammar and style, and
learning how to distance yourself from your work so you
can learn from your mistakes. Novice or amateur writers
tend to think of writing as an emotional experience, a talent
that simply bubbles to the surface. It's nothing like that
at all. Writing is as mundane a job, and as hard and as
sometimes even as boring, as going in to the office every
morning. If you're in love with the romantic idea of being
a writer, then get over it! It is hard grinding work most
of the time. See my pages on Writing
for more details.
Should
I approach a publisher directly, or should I get an agent?
Tough
question, and it will differ from situation to situation
and from country to country. Authors always get asked this,
and every author will give you a different answer. Publishing
is a tough industry to crack, but the best way is to a)
be professional and b) be good (and that means the hard
years put in learning skills). Some people succeed without
an agent, some with. See my section on Publishing
and Writing for details on agents
and more ...
If
you don't have an agent then it is always a good idea to
get someone ( a professional, please, not your best friend!)
to look over your contract for you or give you some advice
on it (a contract lawyer would be your best bet). I know
a well known fantasy author who has never had an agent or
a lawyer - she told me she trusts her publishers implicitly.
She shouldn't - from what she's told me of her contracts
she's been taken for a long and appalling ride. Publishers
will try and get the best contract possible - for them.
Don't be afraid to negotiate. I also know a first time author,
no agent, who has by herself negotiated with a major publisher
a contract that many authors with agents would be envious
of.
How
do I get an agent?
Get
lists from writer's societies, or search the WWW for lists
(search for 'literary agents' on a search engine ... I've
seen the lists out there, but can't remember where they
are). Some agents are now so overwhelmed by manuscripts
that they don't advertise by traditional means (e.g. phone
books). They know that if a writer is professional enough,
they will find the agent, and agents don't want to know
about the unprofessional. Whatever, pick an agent who is
still taking on clients and who likes to work in your area.
Agents generally charge between 15% to 25% commission.
What's
better to write, short stories or novels?
Whichever
takes your fancy. Most writers tend to start out writing
short stories and then slowly graduate on to novels. This
is a good idea for one major reason: if you are writing
short stories, you'll have the benefit of finishing a piece,
learning from it, then going on to the next piece and doing
better. Novice writers who start out on a trilogy first
are probably never going to make it because they will never
finish, learn, move on. I started my fantasy writing on
a trilogy, true, but I was also a professional writer beforehand
with numerous published and non-published works (including
seven or eight novels). My first published fiction book,
BattleAxe, was the result of fifteen years of practice.
Short stories are a very good way to get that practice.
Fantasy and SF magazines in Australia and overseas are fairly
far and far between. Try Eidolon and Aurealis
(both of which have web sites - I can't remember where they
are now, but if you do a search you're bound to find them),
but be aware that they get many thousands of stories a year,
it takes them ages to get through, and they'll probably
only take 20 of the three or four thousand they get.
What's
the best way to succeed as a writer?
1.
Be professional in everything you do. No-one needs to deal
with enthusiastic amateurs when there are heaps of professional
writers around.
2.
Know how to write. Learn your craft. Don't just throw words
on a page and think they look cute and that because your
husband/sister/best friend also thinks they look cute that
you don't need to do any more work. Family and friends are
the very worst critics you will ever have. Be prepared to
write 3 or 5 novels before you get to something that might
be worth something.
3.
Find a genre that suits your skills: your favourite genre
may not be the best one for you to actually work in. For
instance, I adore military adventure, thrillers, but I can't
write them. On the other hand, fantasy is only of mild interest
for me, but I know how to write it well. Experiment a bit.
4.
Research your market. For instance, what are the
current trends in fantasy? What publishers in what country
publish what kind of material? What do they look for? A
hint: if you have a dragon, a dark lord or a bevy of gnomes,
elves and dwarves, you might not have much of a chance.
Most editors right now are sick to death of hackneyed fantasy
characters and plots. Dragons will almost certainly get
you rejected every time. Tolkien may have been the master,
but editors hate hopeful writers who can't think out something
original for themselves (and Tolkien-imitations are now
so numerous and so boring that no-one wants to read them).
Also, make sure your women characters are very strong: most
editors in the field are women, and if they see simpering,
shallow female characters you'll never make it to the short
list! Don't write in clichés, unless you know what
you are doing and you are very good.
See
also my section of Writing and
The Publishing World for some other
advice. That's about all the advice I can give you - if
you want more, most areas in the western world (as the Internet)
are overpopulated with writing courses, associations, groups
etc. and any one of those would be glad to help.
Will
you read my book/chapter/short story/poem?
No,
for varying reasons. Legally, it is a minefield for me to
do so because it could easily open me to charges of plagiarism
at a later date. Reading someone else's novel takes a lot
of time as well - I simply don't have the time to take a
week off to read and comment on your work. Be professional,
send it to an agent, writer's society, freelance editor
etc. for comment. I receive many requests to read material,
and while I wish you all the best of luck and appreciate
how hard it can be to 'break through', I can't do it for
you.
Can
I put a link to your page?
Sure,
that's fine.
Why
don't I put up reviews?
Because
I just don't have the time to type them up, because some
reviewers have objected, but largely because I don't have
time to read reviews. I don't think I've read one of them
in 2 or 3 years.
How
do I feel about reviews?
I
don't feel much about them at all. Good reviews are fine,
and so are bad ones. I often have a good laugh at the motives
reviewers attribute to me (reviewers write for themselves
more than for anyone else). Genre readers generally don't
read reviews, so they make little to no difference to sales.
The reviews that do matter to me are those that are
passed down the 9 am tram: "What did you do over the weekend,
Jim?" "Well, I read this great book ..." My agent once told
me that word of mouth sold more books than anything else,
and she was right.
