How Long Have You Been Pursuing Publishing?

[James M M Baldwin]

I completed my first project in early 2005, and have found minimal interest. How long have you been trying to acheive a traditional publishing contract?

[JoNightshade]

I completed my first novel when I was 16. Now I'm 26 and I've written about 4 or 5, depending on how you count. I tell people that 2007 was the first year I ever purposefully set out to write a novel and make it good enough to sell, but the truth is I've been serious about this since the beginning. I just don't think I was as GOOD as I am now. Of course, I've always thought I wasn't as good as right now, and it's probably true. It's just a matter of when I'm good ENOUGH.

[Williebee]

For fiction? About two years. But only recently have I begun to seriously search for an agent or publisher.

[scottVee]

Hi. I wrote a novel in high school (1984), two in college. Looking back, none was ever publishable. I finished one since, had a respected agent for a few years, got dumped for not producing fast enough. Whatever. Wrote one since then, best one yet - no interest. A few partials. I really got sick of writing books and hitting walls. Now there's a realistic fantasy epic in my head!

In the meantime, I've had about 450 stories, poems and articles published since 1986. My heart is with the shorter works, even though there's not much hope of income there. (It doesn't look like great hope of income with novels either, just more work.) As time goes on, I find I'm more of a poet at the core, darn it all.

I'd say do what interests you, keep at it, and don't let anyone derail you.

[HeronW]

After 20 or so rejections I had my first short story published in '92. Another 40-50 rejections of various stuff then I did doing my 'homework' and I realized I could be a better writer. My ideas were good, the presentation needed work so I improved and have several writig credits, (I'm just bad at marketing myself). Every attempt is serious, whether a short or a novel.

[scarletpeaches]

Since I was eighteen. Well over a decade, then. But the good thing is, I can see exactly why I haven't been successful. And I'm reluctant to submit the project I'm working on just now because a) it's not finished yet anyway and b) I feel that I've vastly improved in recent years...and rejection would mean facing up to the fact that no, you're still not good enough even though you think you are.

[Nakhlasmoke]

I started writing about four years ago, and sweet monkey was I bad. I'm improving, and I've written about six books, and working on seven now.

The more I write, the more I learn, the better my work gets. If I submit with the same persistence, I'm pretty hopeful that I'll get a novel published. I haven't set a time limit on it though.

[KTC]

I have completed scads of novels. I haven't really pursued publication at all. Once I procured an agent, but then dumped her like a hot potato. I currently have a novel in for consideration. It's been in for 74 days. That is, I suppose, how long I have been pursuing publication.

[Moon Daughter]

2007 was my first year trying to get published with short stories since I haven't finished a novel-length ms yet.

[Shady Lane]

I sent my first query to a publisher when I was fourteen...2004.

[Shadow_Ferret]

For a novel? I sent my first query out last April.

I've been trying to be published as a short story writer since 1972.

[jenngreenleaf]

Throughout the years, I've had ideas flitting around that were either half-purused or not at all. I decided in October of 2007 to be SERIOUS about finding a non-fiction book project to work on and, later that month, I signed a contract. The book will be out June 2008.

[justme]

I started pursuing a non-fiction book project in 2006 and I got a contract last October. I started fiction last October when I finished my novel.

[triceretops]

Started writing in 1987, mostly short stories. I think I racked up about 200 rejections before I sold the first one. Then 14 shorts followed. From 88 to 91 I wrote nine novels, of which three of those got picked up by Richard Curtiss Associates. In the mean time I was told to write non-fiction books for the money. So I tried that and sold two non-fiction books right out of the gate, and did make that money. But my heart was still in novels, and I had some really close calls, but no hits. I got really discouraged at the end of 1991 and gave up writing entirely, never to go back again.

I came back to writing in January of 2005. With a vengence. Wrote seven books, one of the them non-fiction, and the rest were in the SF and Fantasy genres. Found an agent to rep three of those books, and I sold three on my own to smaller presses.

So I guess my total time expenditure is somewhere around six years for getting my first novel published. The rest of it doesn't count. And right now the small press novels don't even count. None of it does. I want that major house, with major distribution for the novels. I still consider myself unpublished in the spec field, even with all the credits.

Tri

[Susan B]

Three years from the time I started sending out agent queries (fall 2005) till anticipated publication date (fall 2008.) This is my first book.

[Siddow]

In January 2005 I took a creative writing class (on a lark, to try out online classes) and ended up selling two of the pieces I wrote for it. So I thought, meh, maybe there's something to this writing thing. Since then I've sold several more short pieces, both fiction and non-fiction.

I don't expect to submit any novels until sometime in late 2009. We'll see how that works out.

[DeleyanLee]

Got my first (well-deserved) rejection letter for a short story in 1975.

Got my first (well-deserved) rejection letter for a novel in 1982.

After taking many years out from serious submissions for various reasons (small children, divorce, injury, BAD agent), I started working a little more seriously in 1996 and got small press published in 2000 with good reviews in RT. But it wasn't my goal of a NYC contract, FWIW.

Been SERIOUS about it since 2001 and delved into writerly study and discussion groups and am now starting the first novel aimed at publication in over a decade.

So, depending on how you count it up, it could be 34 years on May 20th (the date I wrote "I will be a published author when I grow up" in my diary at age 13) with lots of breaks for life or if I totalled up the time, it would probably be closer to 10-12 years.

[CaroGirl]

I've been pursuing short story publication since 2004 and novel publication (for my first novel) for the past year. No luck yet.

[Irysangel]

My story is actually pretty typical for the publishing world I think. I started writing novels with the intention to publish in 2001. Agent in 2006 (after 5 novels) and contract in 2007. My first novel will hit the stands in 2009, eight years after I sat down and decided "I want to write novels for a living!"

It's not a living (not yet) but it's still the best thing since sliced bread. I was hoping fervently that mine would be one of those 'quick success' stories, since I know a girl that wrote her first novel, got an agent two days after querying, and sold it two days after that. Alas, not me.

I wear slow success like a badge of pride. I may not be the overnight sensation, but it taught me to be patient (ha).

[jordijoy]

I started writing in 2000. I've been trying to get a MS published ever since 2001, I believe. Finally, got a novel coming out in Novemeber!!!!

[WendyNYC]

Since June with short stories. I've had a couple of flash fiction pieces published and one longer one coming up in the next few months, plus another out on submission.

Right now I'm working on a novel and I'm about 90 pages in.

[MsJudy]

Well, I remember sitting on the couch listening to my father read THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH to me and thinking, I want to do that someday! I must have been about 5 or 6. I turn 44 this month. So if we count from the seeds of ambition...it's been a long time. Like some of the others, I've worked more diligently at some points in my life than others. Quit altogether sometimes. Always came back to it. Made myself a promise a year ago to write every day. Went to a writing workshop in December and had an agent show interest in my current work. So let's hope she still likes it now that it's finished!

[RedScylla]

Let's see...I got my MA in 1995 and submitted 4 short stories to various lit mags--1 acceptance and 3 rejections. 10 years later, I started querying for my first novel and some short stories got published. I did nothing in 2006, and in September 2007 I started querying for my second novel. So, on the scary calculator--that would be almost 13 years of trying to get published. On the less scary calculator--I'll pretend it's only been 2 years that I've seriously been trying to get published.

Yup, feeling pretty depressed right about now...

[Harper K]

I've been writing novel manuscripts since 1990. Currently working on Novel #17. It wasn't until I was about halfway through Novel #16, though, that I realized I knew nothing about submitting a manuscript, what an agent did... basically, yeah, the whole industry in general. For years I had fooled myself into thinking that I was writing with the immediate goal of publication, but I never really was. I was just writing for myself, and thoroughly enjoying the process.

But I'm glad I spent so many years apart from the whole pub industry hustle and bustle. I learned a lot about myself as a writer before I ever tried to put my work out there -- not to say that this is the best path for everyone, but for me it was good to have some time to get over my shyness and grow a thick skin. In mid-2006 I began reading Miss Snark's page and from there found AW. Since then I've been working on novel manuscripts with publication as a not-so-nebulous goal. I started using critique groups, and beta readers who weren't my husband. I attended a conference, joined the professional organization for my genre, and started keeping up with industry news like it was my second job.

In November of '07 I started submitting short stories and essays. I expect to be sending out my first query letters in September or October of this year.

[Gray Rose]

Started to write in Aug. 2007. Sent out my first short story in Nov. 2007.
Hopeful.

[Zelenka]

I wrote my first 'novel' when I was about 13 or something, but never actually though much about it (thankfully, never tried to submit the monstrosity anywhere). I only started to seriously think about submitting stuff when I was 17 and started writing screenplays initially. Got some good feedback from agencies, including one agent who was willing to give really indepth crits over the phone and whose advice has stuck with me til this day, but I still had a long way to go, obviously. I then got a bit of a taste for prose rather than play format and converted my screenplay idea into a novel. I started querying that when I was about 19 or 20, so nearly a decade ago. Only got partial-self-funded publishers showing interest, which even if I wanted to, I couldn't afford to go with.

I then had a few years of limbo where I moved up to Scotland and was busy getting myself sorted out at university and with a job, and living some of the time at my parents house which caused a load of problems between us, so I got very little done in that time. I worked a little on a SF novel and dabbled about online forums, RPGs and the likes, but only really got serious again a couple of years back when I met Voyager and she reminded me of the fun of working on novels and of trying to get published.

I submitted one novel two years ago, which was universally rejected and I at least know why now, and since then I've been tinkering with these WIPs in my sig, one of which at least will hopefully be ready for querying by this summer.

There. 'Cause I know you all really wanted my life story...lol

[Azure Skye]

Started pursuing last year. Took a break when I realized the story needed an overhaul. Almost done with that and will pursue again.

[joyce]

I've been writing my whole life but only tried to get anything published the end of 2006. I'm still waiting and waiting and waiting.

[Susan Breen]

I'm not sure if this is encouraging or discouraging, but here goes. I started writing short stories in 1988. Spent ten years reading and writing short stories and had a lot published. In 1998 started work on my first novel. (Still unpublished.) In 2001 started work on my second novel (Still unpublished.) In 2005 started work on The Fiction Class and that is to be published by Plume (an imprint of Penguin) in 2008. So that's twenty years.

[ChaosTitan]

I've been writing for fifteen years now. I only became serious about it about five years ago. I've been submitting different projects to agents for about two years now.

[Carrie R.]

I wrote seriously for a year after college (2000) and finished two novels, submitted one to a few agents and got rejections. Then I stopped writing and went to law school. In early 2006 I started writing seriously again and sold my first book in fall 2007 (will be out Spring 2009).

[GJB]

Have loved writing all my life. In high school, wanted to be an English teacher, but did other things for the next 30 years. Indulged myself in 2001 writing my first novel. Started my second in 2003. Two months ago that second novel landed a great, enthusiatic agent, and it's out to all the big NYC houses and a couple smaller ones now. We'll see, I say hyperventilating. g.

[seun]

For about ten years. If I'm honest, I needn't have bothered for the first couple of those years because my writing was winky wanky arse.

[Shara]

21 years.

The first novel I wrote that I tried to get published, I finished when I was 17, in 1987.

Three novels later I'm still trying to become a published novelist, though there have been a few short story sales in that time.

Admittedly the first couple of novels were probably unpublishable, but now, after all this time, it does occasionally become discouraging collecting yet more rejection slips.

Shara

[Birol]

Remember, there are other forms of publishing than just novels or non-fiction books.

[Susan B]

Three years from the time I started sending out agent queries (fall 2005) till anticipated publication date (fall 2008.) This is my first book.

Interesting reading everyone's responses.

A little more of my story: I took my first creative writing class in 2000, so that's when I say I "started to take writing seriously." For the year or two prior to that, I'd been writing articles for the newsletter of a local folk music organization.

Before that--well, let's just say I'd taken a long break from writing, like 30 years, when I wrote bad poetry in high school! I'm so grateful that my discovery of Cajun music (at age 40) led me back to an old love, writing.

[Danger Jane]

Started writing in 2001, when I was twelve. Luckily I didn't submit any of that, and I'll be ready to start submitting within the next few months.

[nancy sv]

That's a hard one to answer. Way back in 1993 I finished my first book - a travel adventure adventure story about our bike trip around the Indian subcontinent. I finished it about a week before we moved to Egypt, so I really didn't have time to look for a publisher. I went to the library, found a bunch of addresses (this was before internet) and sent out a few chapters to about 50 or 60 agents/publishers??? ( I honestly don't remember what I did - I just remember sending a bunch of stuff out.) Of course, nothing happened.

Fast forward 13 years. I had just moved back to the US and was sorting out stuff that had been in storage for that whole time and found the disc with our manuscript on it. I dusted it off, and read through it - and edited it a tad bit to get rid of any obvious time issues (references to Reagan as president??). By that point, we were ready to head out again on our new trip, so I quickly wrote up a query and sent it out to about 6 or 7 agents. One agent requested a partial, but declined it about 6 months later.

Fast forward by one year. I again pulled it out and thought, "What the heck?" I sent out 6 or 7 queries again, but was really busy trying to get my new book written so decided not to spend much time on it. I got one request for a full, which is still out - I have no idea what might become of that.

I am now almost done with my second book and will start the search for agent. I would like to say I'll be serious about this one, but since we are leaving soon on yet another adventure, I can't be sure I will actually do that.

[Bubastes]

I started writing non-fiction articles in 2001 and got my first piece published in 2002. I wrote two non-fiction book proposals for collaboration projects in 2003, sold one (the project tanked, though, when my co-collaborators flaked out :() and got some interest in the other but ended up not being able to sell it. I moved to writing short fiction in 2005 and sold my first story in 2006.

Now I'm focusing exclusively on fiction and am attempting my first novel.

[IdiotsRUs]

Let's see, I started writing four years ago on a whim. I had a couple of character's in my head, and they jumped up and down till I agreed to write about them.

My first few efforts were painful, really painful, but I discovered that I loved the process of writing. And when I gave a copy of one of my works to a mate to read ( he's a big fan of the genre, I wanted him to check I hadn't done anything too cliche) I knew I was getting better when I got a late night phone call. 'You killed him!' '?' 'He was my favourite and you killed him! It had better be worth it!'

Started submittin last year, but got nowhere bar some nice comments from agents on partials. Got nowhere yet, but I will, oh yes, I plan to take over the world!!!!!!!

[ishtar'sgate]

I completed my first project in early 2005, and have found minimal interest. How long have you been trying to acheive a traditional publishing contract?

I had to shop around my novel for about three years before I sold it.
Linnea

[DragonHeart]

Hmm...well, I've always been an avid reader, but writing was something I didn't think much of for most of my grade school career. It was a requirement, nothing more. I actually found most writing assignments to be boring and never put much effort in them, though still managing solid A's and high B's. Until I hit sophomore year, that is. My English teacher had us write poems for class (no I didn't write angsty poetry) and she told me to submit mine to the school literature magazine.

It had never occurred to me to try something like that and I was really timid back then, especially when it came to personal skills (I admit some angst here, as I believed I had none at the time). She submitted the poem for me, and it was indeed published in said magazine. I was even more surprised when people who normally didn't talk to me (basically everyone) came up to compliment me about it. That was when I first thought about writing as more than just homework.

I didn't act on that thought for years, though. But then as a senior, another English teacher took me aside one day to ask if I'd ever thought about publishing my work. He'd given us a short story assignment of any topic, and he was impressed with my story. (I never had the heart to tell him the story he read was a couple of years old by that point; procrastination had led me to print the old work in lieu of writing a new one.) He also gave me an older copy of Writer's Market to get me started.

That was in 2005, around when I joined this site. I browsed around and spent hours just reading and learning, but still not writing.

Eventually I got tired of just reading about everyone's experiences and decided to collect some of my own. I experimented, deliberately choosing the most difficult type of story for a fantasy writer (which I am) to write--a short one. :D My first flash fiction, which I did post for critique here. I read the comments, played with the work, then when I was done I made the mistake of putting it aside. It sat for close to a year.

Around November '07 I finally made my first submission. Extremely nervous, fully expecting a rejection but knowing that I would have to start somewhere, and the faster I got rejections the easier it would be to accept my inexperience as a writer. And yes, my first submission was indeed a rejection. It didn't sting nearly as bad as I'd imagined, so I sent it out again.

Imagine my surprise when the reply finally came in this month, with not a rejection but my very first acceptance.

So depending on how you count, it's anywhere from four years to three months. Personally I count it as two years, with all the research finally being invested in actual writing.

I have yet to finish a novel, though I've started many. I've decided to continue experimenting and learning the craft before I tackle such a large project. Now I'm working on two short stories. Don't know where I'll go from there, but I think it's a good start.

~DragonHeart~

[TrishD]

I've been writing for as long as I can remember, but I never seriously thought about being published until late 2006.

I started a YA novel during NaNoWriMo 2006 that I didn't finish during November, but completed--well, reached a point where I felt comfortable sending it to agents--it in September 2007. I started querying in October 2007 and I found an agent in November. I just completed revisions for her and we'll start subbing to publishers very soon. So, we'll see...