fast track my character

Is your character a writer trying to get published? Or are you asking how to do this your writing?

If it's for your character you could always make something up that sounds plausible. I don't think there is a fast track in real life. Unless you make a break out novel like Harry Potter or Twilight. And that is just luck and timing.

You may be able to find what you need without ever navigating away from this site. Check it out by browsing through the forums.

Here's a couple threads to get you started:

How long before you found an agent?

Editor-Writer Relationships

A lot of industry professional do teh blogging. Links can be found in the stickies at the top of the 'Ask An Agent' and 'Ask An Editor' forums. From those blogs, you can find links to other industry pros. There is just a shit load of information about this industry floating around out there. Research! Research! Research!

ETA: I noticed you posted this same thing in the Ask An Agent forum yesterday. Give it time, it's only been one day. Cross-posting between forums is considered a no-no. If you'd like to move your thread from one forum to another, contact a mod and they'll do it for you. That way the forums don't get muddled down with repetitive and duplicate threads.

Oh, and btw: Hope you find what you're looking for.

Have him write a vampire book.

also, why should we assume the writing is of the highest quality? The stuff that shoots straight to the heights for new authors frequently isn't of the highest quality (speaking from my perspective, anyway.)

TKofG said:

Libbie, his writing is "highest quality" because I said so. Quality is never going to be brought into question, as unrealistic as that might be.

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That's pretty lazy

TKofG said:

Megan, please, you haven't read the story.

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This may be true, but I have to agree with her. If you going to make your character's writing of the highest quality you need to have a
believable reason. Fiction needs to be realistic, whereas non-fiction does not.

The thing is, how do you show his writing to be the highest caliber? No matter what is shown of it, some readers will say: 'ugh! that's a load of bullshit. This guy would never get published in real life!'

However, showing the protagonist making astute and creative observations of his environment would imply quality writing; there would be no need to directly show the protagonist's work, leaving it to the reader's imagination of what constitutes 'highest caliber writing'.

It is totally possible that a writer can go from never having written anything to having a national bestseller. There are many incedents of a writer's first book, or the second book (Dan Brown) of an author really taking off. I think that the trick to being a
rich writer is continual output, being prolific, not necessarily one first book. These days, who knows. Some people have never written a book but have always been great writers. Perhaps this character has been writing amazing books since childhood, and this was the first he "finished." He queried it, got an agent on the first try because the subject and quality were wonderful, the printing process might have taken up to a year though-- I think even for a best seller who is not a national celebrity-- That is another way to go. You could make the character a political or celebrity figure whose work was accepted sight unseen, who was given a million dollar advance, and who had some ghostwriter pen the words. These sorts of books are contracted out and often written within a month by the ghost writer. He would then be rich. Might he also be like those boys in the cave, had an Aunt who suddenly died leaving him with untold millions. Maybe he had an insurance claim or something (usually though he would have had to be badly injured, so he can't be an action figure). I guess the question is "how rich does he need to be?" If he needs to be a multi-zillionair, then ne needs the rich aunt.

All the replies I've read have only been people trying to share another way of looking at your problem. While what was said might not be the "answer" to your question, and admitedly is straying off of your topic, I don't see how you can think anyone is attacking you or not being friendly.

I happen to agree with megan d. "Because I said so" isn't going to cut it for me. You must make me believe it like you do. While on the other hand, you're the author. It is your world and your story. Ultimatly you're going to do whatever you want to do regardless of what was said in this thread. :]

I also feel that Use Her Name has answered your question quite well and agree with what options have been presented in that post.

TKofG said:

EclipsesMuse, EyeSeaAll, and Megan: Can we keep this friendly? None of you have read the story. Any assumptions about its quality and believability are, at this point, the products of your imaginations. So just imagine that, by some strange twist of fate and incredible alignment of the stars, I actually do know what I'm doing, sorta. And when I don't know what I'm doing, I ask questions. Can we somehow, in a friendly way, return this thread back to my original question: How do I move my character quickly from rags to riches?

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They weren't trying to be mean, they were raising questions about the character that you're asking for assistance with. And since these three, and others like them, may end up being your potential readers for this story, maybe they are making a decent point. How the rise to riches happens isn't nearly as important as how you're going to make it believable to the reader, which is the point they were trying to make. Or at least, that's how I read it, rather than an attack on you, your writing skills, or your manuscript. But, even when you think you know what you're doing, as a writer it's still good to ask questions. Especially when we think we know what we're doing, most writers are their own worst editors.

As to how you do it quickly...in perhaps a chapter or so...show him rags in chapter one, then at the beginning of the very next chapter, have him be rich and slowly weave the back story in as you go. It depends on whether the story is about the rise itself, or the effects of that rise though. If it's the actual rise to fame itself, try studying the lives of real writers that had this happen to them. Kerouac comes to mind, as does Plath. Also, Meyer and Rowling if you want more recent versions.

I was not being unfriendly. If I was being unfriendly, you would know. Trust me.

I was offering a piece of advice because of this:

TKofG said:

Libbie, his writing is "highest quality" because I said so. Quality is never going to be brought into question, as unrealistic as that might be.

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No matter how accurate you are on the character going from rags to riches, if you use the "because I said so" way about an angle, then it could make for a story that is unbelievable. Now, if you have already worked that part out, then more power to you.

As, for the publishing process, you might want to check for threads on this sight for how long it takes for a book to be published once accepted. You might also want to check several agent blogs for information. It would be best to match an agent's interests with the style of your character's novel. I know that sometimes plays a big part in getting picked up.

TKofG said:

EclipsesMuse, EyeSeaAll, and Megan: Can we keep this friendly? None of you have read the story. Any assumptions about its quality and believability are, at this point, the products of your imaginations. So just imagine that, by some strange twist of fate and incredible alignment of the stars, I actually do know what I'm doing, sorta. And when I don't know what I'm doing, I ask questions. Can we somehow, in a friendly way, return this thread back to my original question: How do I move my character quickly from rags to riches?

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I absolutely fail to see where my (or Megan's and Eclipses') posts could have possibly been misconstrued as mean. Don't confuse diverging opinions of your work/ideas as personal insults. If you think this thread has been unfriendly, well, um, then you might want to hold off on SYW for awhile.

The question seems to have changed. The original posting asked about the publishing process. That stuff can be researched within a day.

Then the question concerned the character getting rich quick. Do you want him to blaze through the publishing process within a few months (which would seem unrealistic) or are you talking within the time frame of the plot (meaning the story is concerned with his downfall)?

"He stared at the screen, disbelieving the email in his spam folder. He read the offer of representation five times. After years of sharpening his craft and thickening his skin, he had finally done it: he was going to be an author. The industry's gateway opened before him and he spent the next year discussing revisions with his agent, watching the publishers bid on his work, arguing with editors, polishing his words, and tensing with anticipation as the release date approached. When the day came, he stood in the bookstore and touched the crisp pages, struck by the same sense of disbelief as the email nearly lost as spam."

That's probably a hundred-ish words. Don't get much faster than that.

Or you could do twenty thousand words of his publishing trial-by-fire. Pacing (aka: how much show?/how much tell?) is all up to what you believe serves the story best.