The unpublishable first novel

Simply write your best, then rewrite as many drafts as necessary..

Aside from beginner's mistakes in the manuscript, the failure to sell may also lie in poor queries and/or amateurish communications with agents and publishers, the unsolicited phone call as an example. And then, there are "the dictates of the market".

Certainly the vast number of first novels don't make it to the publishing stage, but that doesn't mean they all don't. Nor do I think should your first attempt at a novel be hampered by such thoughts. More often than not a first book is based on passion, is something the author really wants to write. More often than not the passion is what leads them to a certain level of blindness when it comes to quality. But that doesn't matter. What matters most is that you write the book you want to write. That you actually finish a book, which in the end is one of the hardest things to do in writing, even harder in some cases than getting published.

Have faith in yourself, and who knows, maybe yours will be the exception that proves the rule!

If you never write a first novel, you'll never get to write a second novel, or beyond.

A first novel may or may not be publishable, but that's not the point. The point is learning to write and learning to finish what you write, which means both the first draft and all the revisions that need to follow.

Choose your best idea for the first novel, because, yes, you'll need all the passion you can muster. Look at it this way: even if you do shelve it for a while, you can always come back to it later, when you've improved your technique to the point where you can do the idea full justice.

I agree with donroc about the double hurdles to first novel publication. Many first timers are too quick to market. They need to take more time to study submission procedures and to soak up the realities of the publishing process. Worse, they may actually get an agent to look at sample chapters, only to send unpolished work that garners a quick, discouraging rejection.

Persevere and be patient. The hardest advice is also the best advice. Ain't that always the way of it? ;P

As Joe Bob Briggs said,

"What you write doesn't matter, it's the practice that matters."

You don't get on stage to play a concert for paying patrons without at least 100 hours of music practice for each song. No one sees or hears that practice--you don't want them to!-- it's the final performance that matters.

Ditto for writing. Most writers, unless they're a freakin Mozart from birth, have a million words of drek in them to get out before they can get to a place where they CAN write. Even Mozart had to practice.

I had file cabinets full of drek--all shredded and thankfully forgotten now--before I got to the point of finishing something that was good enough to sell.

Even when *I* thought it was ready, the editors had other opinions and sent it back.

I rewrote that first novel at least three times, the first chapter about 25 times (on a manual typewriter!), but it did sell. What the editors did not see was all the practice that came before.

Between book one and two I spent MONTHS on a 5K story. I went through a couple reams of paper trying to get that bleeping story right. I never meant to sell it, I just wanted to make it good. Months later I had something to be proud of, and when I turned my focus on book two I found I was a considerably better writer for all that practice.

I didn't know at the time that I was getting to be a better writer. It was a burr under my saddle, a puzzle I had to solve. Turned out it was great training, too!

The practice doesn't end, either. I still make story starts that don't go anywhere, but now I know how important they are.

A) Pick my strongest idea because I'll need all the motivation and inspiration I can get to finish my first novel.

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Yes. DO that!

B) Pick my weakest idea because odds are I won't ever be able to sell my first novel and it's the overall practice that count.

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because lame as it seems, it turns me on--I WANT to write this and make it work!

C) Pick an idea that is somewhere inbetween.

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Cut out all the navel gazing, log off of AW, and WRITE.

Don't over-think. Life's too short.

I think every writer wrestles with the question of where the main reward of writing lies for them. The problem with thinking of it as publication is that phrased that way it's out of your control and thus will drive you crazy. But if you think in terms of "getting better," "writing a story I love," "slogging through the hard parts," etc., then you have stuff that's within your control that's likely eventually to lead to publication. I want to be published. Most people here do, I think. But to get to that goal, I find I need to concentrate on the tasks right in front of me.

So get lost in your fictional world. Love it. Then step back and eye it critically with the help of feedback from informed others. Rewrite. Rejoice in seeing the story get better. It's not all exactly what I'd call "fun," but it's rewarding beyond anything else I do right now.

I agree, pick your strongest idea, because you'll need the passion to finish. There are more great ideas for you to have, so don't try to ration them because they're not a limited supply. And don't spend your time trying to calculate percentages of success. It's a waste of time. Write. Right now. No more procrastinating. Hey, that's good advice. I think I'll go do that right now...

Nicole

Great thread. I have had the same concerns-I love the ideas behind my current WIP so much that I'm afraid I'm "wasting" them by allowing them to be part of my first millions words of practice. Logically I know there will be more ideas and that, in the future, I can always come back to this novel with a more experienced eye, but emotionally it's hard to accept. Often where passion and excitement are concerned, logic tends to take a backseat.

Even if the first or first few do not sell, you may go back to them much later as a more experienced writer, revise and send it/them out.

donroc said:

Even if the first or first few do not sell, you may go back to them much later as a more experienced writer, revise and send it/them out.

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Worked for Stephen King

Basically I look at my first one as training. It may, or may not, ever get anywhere. But I've learnt sooo much by doing it, that the next one will be a) a lot better and b) will take a lot less time to write because I won't waste time on doing the things I did wrong the first time round. Even if it never gets published it isn't a waste because it's made my next effort better.

Was your first ever girlfriend / boyfriend a waste of time, because you didn't stick with them, or did that first relationship teach you something? ( even if it was 'never go out with a bunny boiler ever again')

Aggy B. said:

I keep seeing mentioned over and over that most the time an author's first novel is simply unpublishable. That makes sense, but I find myself wondering why?

Is it that for the vast majority of us we simply don't have the skills the first time around to craft something that's even decent? Is it an issue of learning how to work with language? Learning how to tell a good story? Finding the right idea? All of the above?
Thoughts? Opinions? Advice? Help? Please?

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While sometimes the problem may be with the quality of the writing, I think for the most part it's just plain darned hard to keep at the drudgery of sending out your manuscript, getting it rejected, sending it out again and on and on and on. As a debut novelist it's an uphill battle, there's no denying that.
Maybe my own experience will help. I don't remember how many rejections I got before I landed an agent. I spent a year with him while he tried to sell my novel and no one was interested. We parted ways and it turned out he was targeting the wrong market. So there was a year gone. I was pretty depressed for a bit but selfpity didn't last long. It took me another year of querying and sending out partials and fulls to find a publisher on my own. They wanted it for all the reasons the other publishers didn't. Much to my surprise the novel was nominated for the OLA Young Readers Choice Award and is on reading programs in high schools in Ontario and Nova Scotia with new readers being added every month.
You can't imagine how many times I wanted to give up, how many times I thought well, this is just crap so no one will buy it. But I'm a dog with a bone and I don't give up all that easily. I think that's the key. If you love your story and think others will enjoy reading it then don't give up.
Tenacity is a first time author's best friend.
Linnea

Just write. You'll know if your first, second... are trunk novels or not. But if you don't write the first, you will never get to write your second, third, etc. That's how writers grow and improve, and even if your first book does end up in the trunk, at least you will get better, and have the satisfaction that you've finished something you started (plus the possibility of going back and revising the thing to publishable quality).

Some people actually manage to get their first book published, too. So it's possible.

Just because your first novel may end up being unpublishable doesn't mean the experience was wasted. It doesn't even mean the idea was wasted...or the characters.

My first novel was unpublishable...but I still love the idea and the characters and see a future for both. It just needs to be done all over and in a better way.

Don't give up...most people have to practice to be good at something and writing is no different!

My first novel I finished was an idea I absolutely loved. I probably wouldn't have finished if I hadn't been that enthusiastic about it.

Still, it didn't get published.

(Not to say you won't get yours published. If a book is good, it's good, no matter if it's the writer's first, second, third, or seventy-seventh effort!)

I am not upset about wasting the idea, though. Other ideas came along that I loved, and the same will probably happen for you. You could even go back to that beloved, first novel idea one day and fix it up.

I consider my first (adult-written) novel my master's thesis in my own creative writing "program". I wrote, revised, re-wrote and revised it several times, all the while learning how to structure and write a novel. I thought the same thing you did, that it would never get published because it's my first, etc. But I knew it was gaining me valuable experience even if it never saw the light of day. But I'm happy to say that it got published (it releases this coming week from a small press). So don't give up. Finish that novel, get your first one done and under your belt. Polish it to death, submit it, and start your second one.

My first novel didn't sell, but it was a great experience and taught me so much about writing, and about the publishing business. It got me my first agent, and I rewrote it start to finish 3 times. Though it never sold, it made the rounds to editors and I got great feedback. So the first novel is a very valuable tool in the fiction writer's toolbox (shades of Stephen King here). Do it. Then write the next one after that. And the next one. See where it takes you.

I love this saying: Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want. And isn't that worth the trouble of trying?

All good advice from experienced writers. I, less experienced in novels, agree with them. One thing not mentioned is the catch 22. If you have published a novel, your reception will be much kinder and considerate when you submit your second, third, etc., and if you become a best seller you can probably publish anything; haul out the trunk and resubmit the junk. It's not always the "unpublishable" novel that is rejected, it is too often the "first novel."

Whatever happens, you are a writer, you're serious about your writing, so write. when you have something you are pretty sure others would enjoy reading, launch it and don't sweat the rejections.

I should practice what I preach. I have two novels I have tried to find an agent for, and have fallen into a funk. I stopped querying. Now everything I write seems childish to me. I need a shot in the arm, or some kind of shot of something. We all suffer, it's a requirement.

I sold my first novel - lot's of people do. It isn't a rule - it's a probability. Write it as well as you can, accept that many first novels don't sell but don't let that fact put you off. You should give it your best shot.

Well, if you wanna get techincal, my first actual novel was finished in eleventh grade. Yes, I'm serious; I simply started young. I know it really isn't publishable as is. I'd been working on that idea for many moons, since I really started to write when I was quite young. It had morphed significantly by the time I finished it. I've put it aside.

My first real serious novel has been finished for a year or so now. After a hiccup, I'm back to sending it around to agents.

You hear that first novels never get published and that it's almost impossible for new authors to be published. That simply isn't logical, or there wouldn't be any books on the shelves! I keep telling myself that new authors are published all the time and that agents have to look for new authors to keep themselves going.

Don't dwell on if you should quit and write something else, until you finish one you won't have your first novel.

Write the best story you can, then edit, edit , edit, and edit some more to make it the best you can.

Once that is done study up on here on how to propely query an agent, you know the dos and don'ts.

Any questions check the slogan under my user name.

I go with A as well - many first novels aren't publishable at first. But they give you the opportunity to hone your craft. And you can always go back with it.

My Samhain release was my first novel. In its original form, it was perfectly terrible - but after I had a few manuscripts behind me, I picked it up, dusted it off, rewrote most of it - and sold it. So you never know what that first novel's eventual fate will be.

Aggy B. said:

I keep seeing mentioned over and over that most the time an author's first novel is simply unpublishable. That makes sense, but I find myself wondering why?

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I've heard it said that we all have a bunch of crap in our heads, and we have to write it all out before we ever get down to the good stuff.

You're probably not going to marry your first boyfriend either, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't date. It's all a journey.

My first novel didn't sell, but it DID land me an agent.