Teens Writing for Teens, the 5th

Thread is sooooo dead. Anyone on?

I'm here.

Hi, guys.

I had a epiphany this morning, concerning TMB. If I finish writing Sticks and Stones before April, I write TMB as a script. If not, as a novel.

I kept thinking about this in class, and a big part of me thinks TMB would be better as a film...

Okay, so I'm writing the second last book of a series, and I don't even have a first one written. It's sort of the only actual plot I have at the moment...

Last night I had a mental dilemma about my series. Like a horrible grand realization hit me. I was so horrified by it i couldn't even sleep. Now I cant write a word...of anything.

I dont know what to do now... what to think... i just wanna cry.

What's wrong, Ally?

Its a long story but to put it shortly. I just came to the grand realization that I might have wasted years of my life. I've always known that agents and publishers and editors kind of get to control your books in a sense... but it just really hit me last night. What if i wrote 8 other books in the series... that arent going anywhere? What if i potted out 10 years of my characters life in fine detail, only to have it all change...

Not like this is a new revolution, I always knew there was a threat this could happen, but last night as i was writing, I really realized just how irrelevant to the overall series this book was. I wanted to write it to get better understanding of the characters of the villains that are going to be a bigger part of the series later on... and it tied together elements that really couldnt fit into any other book. Like Ally and Rob's engagement... and why it crashed and burned.

Then it got me thinking about the next book after this one... was that all that relevant? Now that i know how the whole series is going to end... i'm starting to think its not... but how else am I going to introduce Rachel and Michael? They are vital... there story though... it might not be.

I think everything that is going on with school has got me so depressed that its starting to screw with my head with my writing. These now sudden real realizations are just really killing me now.

Ally, everything will be fine. You know you can self publish, right?
Your writing is great, you shouldn't worry about people not liking it. Sure it might not be to everyones taste, but what you've written isn't irrelevent and you haven't wasted 10 years. If anything, you've gained experience in writing.
*hugs*

HOLY CRAP.

Next episode it is.

Taylor_Writes said:

HOLY CRAP.

Next episode it is.

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*grins*

I know i can self-publish... but i'd rather get published the traditional way. But i'm starting to worry that if i do, they might make me change everything i had set in stone. Yeah i gained experience but I crafted these lives of people... and i dont want to have to change it drastically.

Ok i can see that maybe the House is rather irrelevant... i can live with giving that one up but then the 10th on too? How the hell am i going to do that? The new MC's in that are soooo damn important!

GRRRRRRRRRRR i know none of this makes any sense to anyone because no one knows what each of my books is about, I'm talking to Will right now who is trying to calm me down, but its not really working.

Trade publishing has a lot of rules - that's just the name of the game. Following them will necessitate some drastic changes to your series. There's no getting away from that unless you choose to pick up your ball and go join a different game.

You're going to have to kill your babies, that's the sad and sorry truth of any kind of writing.

How drastic are we talking? If i were to get picked up by a traditional publisher, would they just tell me what they want the rest of the series to look like and i have to go with it?

amlptj said:

How drastic are we talking? If i were to get picked up by a traditional publisher, would they just tell me what they want the rest of the series to look like and i have to go with it?

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It's usually the other way around. When the editor makes the offer, they'll tell you what changes they want you to make. You can then decide whether to take the offer or refuse. But the likelihood of getting an offer (or an agent) isn't that high unless you bring your series more in line with trade publishing norms for the YA genre, ie. each book under 90k, protagonists aged 15-18 (for the whole length of the series), etc.

Human plus Timelord DNA? And I have to stop for supper?

But I am a bitter little snowflake who has no desire to ever query again, so don't mind me.

amlptj said:

How drastic are we talking? If i were to get picked up by a traditional publisher, would they just tell me what they want the rest of the series to look like and i have to go with it?

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There's a lot of factors involved. They probably wouldn't say "this is how we want the story to go, write it." You would write the sequels and then they would give you editorial advice. It could just be the basics or they might want you to change things.

The absolute worst thing that could happen is they ask you to make the first book a stand-alone and scrap everything else. It really all depends on the books and how well they sell.

ETA: Also what Para said about them asking if you would make the changes and then you have the option to accept/refuse the offer.

Now just to see what my other option are. Say the first book is picked up. First off when do they decide they want more to the series? After the first is published? In the process?

Second thing, is a scenario. they want it to be a series. I explain to them the overall plot of it, they dont like it. Can i walk away if the first one is already published? Can i still have that book or is that like there's now?

ETA: after reading HR's post i have another question. Say worst come to worst and they want it to be stand alone. Can i still make it a series on my own?

amlptj said:

Now just to see what my other option are. Say the first book is picked up. First off when do they decide they want more to the series? After the first is published? In the process?

Second thing, is a scenario. they want it to be a series. I explain to them the overall plot of it, they dont like it. Can i walk away if the first one is already published? Can i still have that book or is that like there's now?

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1. Depends. I think Divergent was sold as a trilogy.

2. Also depends on the contract. You might be contracted to the same publisher for one book or more. But the publisher would have the rights to your first book since they published it.

amlptj said:

ETA: after reading HR's post i have another question. Say worst come to worst and they want it to be stand alone. Can i still make it a series on my own?

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This would not be ideal. You would have given the publisher the exclusive right to publish your work, so you can't republish it yourself. You could sell the sequels to another publishing house, or self-publish them, but then you can't take advantage of all kinds of marketing tactics. For example, the covers wouldn't match because the original publisher owns the rights to the cover art of the first book. You couldn't bundle the first book with the others in a special promotion. You might not be able to sell all books at the same price or through the same retailers. It would get very complicated because you wouldn't have exclusive rights over the first book.

HR and I are a tag team.

Parametric said:

This would not be ideal. You would have given the publisher the exclusive right to publish your work, so you can't republish it yourself. You could sell the sequels to another publishing house, or self-publish them, but then you can't take advantage of all kinds of marketing tactics. For example, the covers wouldn't match because the original publisher owns the rights to the cover art of the first book. You couldn't bundle the first book with the others in a special promotion. You might not be able to sell all books at the same price or through the same retailers. It would get very complicated because you wouldn't have exclusive rights over the first book.

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Also the first book would've been marketed as a stand-alone. So there would be the added complication of writing the sequels plus getting people to buy sequels for what they thought was a stand-alone.

I'm not planning on writing the sequel to Underdogs unless I get an agent.

Turns out I'm writing a story about fallen angels and the like. Wow. Didn't see that coming. At. All.