How Many Novels Did You Write Before You Got Published?

I've lost count and I'm not published yet.

I didn't try to get any of them published due a combination of a lack of confidence and cluelessness about the publishing industry. They also weren't very good. (although they did get better over the years). It never occurred to me to count them.

I do intend on trying to get my current projects published though.

My third novel was the one that I got published. Although it didn't sell until eight years after I wrote it. And I'd been writing on and off for over eighteen years before I sold. So take that however you like.

1 and 2/2... But it's the first one that found a publisher. Life sometimes moves in mysterious ways. So now I'm back to working on the sequel to Number 1 and the third one I'd started is on ice.

My first one was published. Someday, when the rights revert to me, I might do a significant rewrite on it and its sequel, since I've learned so much since then and realize the story could be expanded and improved.

Anna Spargo-Ryan said:

I sold my first book to a big five publisher.

Publishing is made up of every kind of experience you can imagine

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I'm so not surprised by this. You words are pure gold. <3

The first one I took seriously sold within two weeks of being subbed by my agent. The rest (3) were NaNoWriMo projects I did just for fun -- there's a lot to be said for writing just because it's enjoyable. Those are also in a totally different genre than the one I wrote and then sent to my agent.

I've only written one novel and I haven't done anything with it but I was considering sending it out just to see what happens. I tried rewriting some parts but I realized I didn't know if the changes I'd made were better than the original. It's got proper grammar, spelling, and a fast paced story so who knows? Maybe a publisher might say, "Just rewrite X and add Y and you've got a worthwhile story we'd be interested in publishing."

I know that it definitely won't get published if I don't send it in.

I've cheated.

I wrote two travel books, and those were published (ebooks). Now I've written four novels. The first two are submitted to the same publisher who carries my ebooks, and the other two are waiting in the wings.

Book 1 is a stand alone
Book 2 is the first in a trilogy that goes backwards (2 is a prequel of 1, 3 is a prequel of 2).

Writing my fifth now.

None.

Jeff

First one is being published currently. I was in the middle of a rough draft for a second one when I got the deal.

Parametric said:

Everyone in this thread must be far more talented than I am. I'm finishing up my tenth novel with zero interest from anybody.

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Being prolific is a talent in and of itself. sigh.

InspectorFarquar said:

Being prolific is a talent in and of itself. sigh.

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Prolifically writing good novels is a talent.

I've written a total of three books. Self-published the first one and it went nowhere. Slated #2 for rewrite. Pitching #3. Currently on book four, a massive epic fantasy that will probably take the rest of the year to complete the draft.

Parametric said:

Prolifically writing good novels is a talent.

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Have you worked with beta readers? If so, what are their opinions?

pedroj012 said:

Just finished numero uno, but had written a few screenplays/short stories also. Always hear about how people write 4-5+ before they actually break through.

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I sold my first, but from all I've read, and from experience with other writers, four to five is about average for those who eventually sell. Most, of course, never sell a novel, no matter how many they write, but for those who do, it probably will take several.

Parametric said:

Prolifically writing good novels is a talent.

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Writing a good novel at all, prolifically or not, is a rare talent.

1, to a small press. Then a stall on the second because it was the equivalent of fan fiction (media tie-in which wasn't commissioned). Next to a Big 5.

Jamesaritchie said:

Writing a good novel at all, prolifically or not, is a rare talent.

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^^^ This!

Two.
The first novel I wrote was intensely horrible, simply because I had never tried it before. There's some good writing in it (IMNSHO), but I really didn't like it, so it sits somewhere, rotting on a hard drive.

The second novel I wrote will be published by a small traditional publisher on May 21. That said, I had a true crime book published before that by a different traditional publisher, so if the question were "books", I'd say ... well, two again.

Nevermind.