Getting the RIGHT people to read your work...
- Thread starter KTC
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Deep breaths, Kev. In....out....in....out....Okay, isn't that better?
I'm a pace or two behind you in publishing credits, to say the least, so disregard me as being idealistic. But from what I've experienced so far, the illusion that if I put my work "out there and the right people will find it" is naive. That's how my first novella got into a notorious author mill to languish and suffocate for the seven-year life of the contract (not the book in my sig!). I'm not quite so easy to fool anymore.
Whoever said success was 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration was being optimistic. Sure, there is luck involved, but I'm learning I have to make my own luck, which I AM NOT GOOD AT! So I share what I think is your anxiety about marketing the book to the "right people." I've only gotten a couple reviews on some short stories, so I can't advise on what to believe or not believe about reviews. I'd just as soon not read them since that starts a whole cycle of mental boogeymen that keep me awake all night.
I don't have an answer for you, but I think I know what you're getting at.
I'm a pace or two behind you in publishing credits, to say the least, so disregard me as being idealistic. But from what I've experienced so far, the illusion that if I put my work "out there and the right people will find it" is naive. That's how my first novella got into a notorious author mill to languish and suffocate for the seven-year life of the contract (not the book in my sig!). I'm not quite so easy to fool anymore.
Whoever said success was 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration was being optimistic. Sure, there is luck involved, but I'm learning I have to make my own luck, which I AM NOT GOOD AT! So I share what I think is your anxiety about marketing the book to the "right people." I've only gotten a couple reviews on some short stories, so I can't advise on what to believe or not believe about reviews. I'd just as soon not read them since that starts a whole cycle of mental boogeymen that keep me awake all night.
I don't have an answer for you, but I think I know what you're getting at.
My thoughts:
EDIT: Kevin deleted his post, for delicacy's sake, I removed my running comments.
I really don't know what to tell you by this point.
You can't search out that perfect reader, or write the perfect book for them. So what do you do? Do what you wish.
Do what makes you happy.
EDIT: Kevin deleted his post, for delicacy's sake, I removed my running comments.
I really don't know what to tell you by this point.
You can't search out that perfect reader, or write the perfect book for them. So what do you do? Do what you wish.
Do what makes you happy.
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Kevin, take some deep breaths and try not to worry so.
It sounds to me like what you need is a good agent. A really good one, who will stand up for you and find you good deals and talk to you about where your writing is going and what you might achieve.
Most agents are like this. Most agents are great. You just have to find one who fits you right.
This is not beyond you.
I wish you luck.
It sounds to me like what you need is a good agent. A really good one, who will stand up for you and find you good deals and talk to you about where your writing is going and what you might achieve.
Most agents are like this. Most agents are great. You just have to find one who fits you right.
This is not beyond you.
I wish you luck.
Tough questions.
It seems to me there are two ways to get more readers and "bigger" reviews:
-- Try the agent/big publisher route. Then try again and again and again to increase your odds of hitting at the right place and time. Because, yes, the "rights" are a factor.
-- Self-publish the right thing at the right time with the right marketing strategies (for example, teen paranormal romance + very low prices + lots of books fast = Amanda Hocking.)
But will more readers necessarily equal the right readers? There's another essential question, I think. And drawing the attention of the heavy-hitter literary critics might be like splashing to attract that jutting dorsal fin only to find it belongs to a Great White rather than a porpoise.
No joke intended, you may be having a "Franny" moment, a wondering what's the point? Money (not money)? Fame (not fame)? Simple and indubitably sincere appreciation (maybe)? You'll remember the answer Zooey eventually gave, which may well be the answer to who the right reader is.
It seems to me there are two ways to get more readers and "bigger" reviews:
-- Try the agent/big publisher route. Then try again and again and again to increase your odds of hitting at the right place and time. Because, yes, the "rights" are a factor.
-- Self-publish the right thing at the right time with the right marketing strategies (for example, teen paranormal romance + very low prices + lots of books fast = Amanda Hocking.)
But will more readers necessarily equal the right readers? There's another essential question, I think. And drawing the attention of the heavy-hitter literary critics might be like splashing to attract that jutting dorsal fin only to find it belongs to a Great White rather than a porpoise.
No joke intended, you may be having a "Franny" moment, a wondering what's the point? Money (not money)? Fame (not fame)? Simple and indubitably sincere appreciation (maybe)? You'll remember the answer Zooey eventually gave, which may well be the answer to who the right reader is.
After the book is published, it's out of our hands. Who reads it, what they say about it, whether readers recommend it to other readers, is completely out of the writers control. This is both terrifying and liberating (for me). The control I had while writing and editing my book is no longer mine, which, in a way, lets me focus on the next book.
IMO, after your work is published, always focus on the next book. It takes away the anxiety and lets you have control again. If you want wider readership, focus on selling the next book to a bigger publisher with a strong marketing department and better distribution. Sometimes it takes a successful book or two before an agent is able to get the next book into the hands of one of the biggies. But that's what I'm hoping for. Some day.
We can't rush it and some of this is not under our control. What you can control is writing a kick-ass book, and I think you now know that you CAN DO THAT.
GL, my friend. xo
IMO, after your work is published, always focus on the next book. It takes away the anxiety and lets you have control again. If you want wider readership, focus on selling the next book to a bigger publisher with a strong marketing department and better distribution. Sometimes it takes a successful book or two before an agent is able to get the next book into the hands of one of the biggies. But that's what I'm hoping for. Some day.
We can't rush it and some of this is not under our control. What you can control is writing a kick-ass book, and I think you now know that you CAN DO THAT.
GL, my friend. xo
I'm not sure. They are probably in hiding, as evidenced by the number of people trying to find the right person for the job, or trying to find either Mr. or Ms. Right. It's possibly because they have to worry about the mass of perverts who like to "get off" on the right foot. So I wouldn't want to give an additional burden to this overtaxed couple, whoever they are, by trying to get them to read my work. 
Sorry for the spaz-out, all. I realized that any way I tried to write that, it came out crazy. This skin is so uncomfortable for me.
Phaeal, YEP. I was totally Franny this morning. And you have to know that for years, everything I did was for the fat lady...and I mean everything. She was the only one who gave a shit...but she doesn't tell you she gives a shit. The fat lady is just there, and I love her for that. Thanks for reminding me. It's getting harder and harder to pick up a phone these days. I just have to keep doing stuff for the fat lady. Everybody knows, once it's in the fat lady's hands you never look back. It's because of the fat lady, sincerely, that I am alive today. Thank you for that. And the fat lady thanks you, too.
Thanks all.
It's been my experience that getting the "right"people to read your work is easy. It's making them give a damn that's the hard part.
The "right people" read anything that looks remotely interesting, and do so at every stage of the game, from submission through the published book. This doesn't mean they'll like it, doesn't mean they ever say anything about it, good or bad.
My experience also says there are no "right people", there are only right books and wrong books. The right books get read by almost everyone, the wrong books simply fade away.
The "right people" read anything that looks remotely interesting, and do so at every stage of the game, from submission through the published book. This doesn't mean they'll like it, doesn't mean they ever say anything about it, good or bad.
My experience also says there are no "right people", there are only right books and wrong books. The right books get read by almost everyone, the wrong books simply fade away.
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