...So that's it? (Moved from Novels to Roundtable)

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BlueLucario

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All it takes is luck to be published? Not the fact that your story is good enough to be read? It takes luck to have someone read your story?

For some reason, I feel so reassured. Irritated, but assured. :(

All I can do now is just write the story, edit it and hope for the best? I still read good books, hoping to see what I can learn from them.

I have to be stupid to figure this out now.
 

JustGo

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What makes you say it's all luck? 'Cause, from all my research, luck doesn't seem to be all that important to getting published. It takes some, yeah, but that's not what it's about.
 

Mr Flibble

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No, it doesn't take just luck.

However luck doesn't hurt...:D

If you write like a five year old - you won't sell a novel. Some books we might consider bad get published, this does not mean that it's 'just luck'. Someone fell in love with their story. Because of the writing ( or maybe even in spite of) Simple as.
 

Ken

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... if it's just a matter of luck than that's great news because all a writer needs to do to get published then is to carry around a rabbit's foot or toss salt over their shoulder ;-)
 

Horserider

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Where the heck did you hear that?

Let me tell you this:

Will your novel ever get published if...

...you never finish it?

...you don't edit it once?

...your query letter sucks?

...your synopsis sucks?

...your first five pages suck?

...YOU DON'T EVEN TRY?

Here let me answer all those questions in one word: NO. And therefore it is not just luck. Luck plays a part, of course. It always does. But you play just a big a part.
 

Claudia Gray

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Luck helps, but luck alone isn't going to do it. If the best agent in the world gets a call from a publisher asking for a cozy mystery set on a pirate ship because that's the Next Big Thing, and really good cozies on pirate ships are about to routinely receive six-figure offers, and you've sent in a pirate cozy that happens to land on the agent's desk the next second -- you've had a huge stroke of luck.

But if you're written the absolute worst pirate cozy ever, your luck isn't going to get you further than the reject pile.
 

Prozyan

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Where the heck do you get all it takes is luck? That is one of the most absolutely false things I've ever read.
 

dnic

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- grabs a rabbit foot and goes out hunting for a four-leaves clover -

Luck always play a factor in any audition/selection type of thing, but it will never, ever be just that. It takes a good deal of skill, time, and effort.
 

Bluestone

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You make your own luck, BlueLacario, by working hard at your craft and, if you've done a good job, working just as hard at finding the right agent to represent you. If you're "lucky" you'll find a match and if you're "lucky" that agent will find a publisher who believes in your work as much as the agent does.

In the meantime, I hope you're spending some time listening to good, solid, logical advice that actually helps your writing - and its progress towards publication, if that's your goal.
 

dreamsofnever

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All it takes is luck to be published? Not the fact that your story is good enough to be read?

Umm... say what?

Okay, here's the thing...

There is SOME luck involved. But luck is only a tiny part of the process.

Yes, it takes luck to have the right type of story at the right time. There is some luck involved in finding an agent in that your query letter might get a rejection if the agent is in a particularly bad mood or the market's just not right at the moment, or whatever.

But I think you've got the idea reversed.

Talent, hard work, dedication, perseverance, and a devotion to writing a story that YOU feel passionate about it and telling it not only to the best of your ability, but pushing yourself to improve your abilities so you are telling an extremely solid and well written story.

After you have finished this story and gone through edits and beta readers and every channel you can to make sure it is the best story you could possibly tell and told in the best way you can possibly tell it, then you have to put in the work in finding an agent that will be passionate about your story.

From there, luck does come into play to some extent. But there's no room for the luck to come into play until you have finished a story that is solid.

Now, I think you're referring to the fact that there are books out there that are best sellers that a lot of people think are not terribly well-written or original.

The thing with that is... there has never been a book that pleases ALL readers. And there never will be. Everyone has different tastes. And the tastes of the masses change, just like clothing styles change and fads change.

But what it all comes down to is that each book that has done well has done well because the author has poured years worth of hard work, blood, sweat and tears into. The only way an author can stick with it for this long is to choose a story and characters that they feel passionate about. I don't believe that JK Rowling said "gee, I think a book about a boy wizard is going to be a money maker. I'd better write one." She, like so many other bestselling authors, wrote a story that she couldn't get out of her head.

The hard truth of the matter is that writing is a labor of love. A lot of work needs to go into a novel and you need to be willing to stick with it. You need to face the truth that the majority of published writers are not famous, are not rich, and have to work their tails off to make a living on writing. If you are in this for the money and hoping it's a get-rich quick scheme (and not saying that you are), you will be disappointed.

In fact, if you spend all of your time trying to figure out how to write a book that will appeal to an agent, publisher, or the masses, you will fail. You need to find a story that appeals to YOU and if you write it well enough, then you have a much greater chance of finding an agent and a publisher and readers.

It's similar to many writers mentioning that they thought they should write romance novels because it's the top selling genre and therefore the money is better. The writers who decides to write a romance novel 'for the money' soon realize that you can't write something for the money and have it turn out well. You have to write the type of book that YOU would like to read. And if it's the type of book that you would like to read and you work hard at your craft and write it well enough, then chances are there are other people who are out there that will enjoy it.

But I would say that you're wasting precious writing time trying to find out the 'magic' secret to getting published. And unless you have finished a novel yet, you should save that for later. Finish your novel. The amount you will learn about the craft from finishing it, as in reaching THE END not only in the first draft but then going back and editing until you feel it is the best it can possibly be is more useful than trying to figure out how to get published when you don't have a story that's ready TO publish yet.
 

MelodyO

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All I know is that if a little luck comes my way...I'm damn well going to be ready for it with a professional attitude, a current knowledge of the industry, and a novel so polished you need welder's glasses to read it. What's that old saying about the harder I work, the luckier I get?
 

The Lonely One

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Blue, if I think I know where you're going with this...

It takes luck to flagship a market trend and become wealthy beyond frickin' reason on royalties.

It takes talent, drive, bleeding from ears and persistence to publish a book you probably won't get rich with, but it'll be the kind they teach to high school classes after you're dead.

And I can settle for that...
 
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You make your own luck.

The only novel that's sure to never be published is the one that's never written.
 

James81

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Let me give you a nickel's worth of free advice:

Stop focusing on JK Rowling and Stephanie Meyer and start focusing on BlueLucario.
 

allenparker

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luck

Luck is to getting published as luck is to winning a Super Bowl.

You can win the Super Bowl without luck. You can get published without luck.

You can't win the Super Bowl by luck alone.

You can't get published with only luck.
 

benbradley

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... if it's just a matter of luck than that's great news because all a writer needs to do to get published then is to carry around a rabbit's foot or toss salt over their shoulder ;-)
Be sure it's not a monkey's paw ...
Luck is a part of anything, but when has luck ever counted as everything?
The Lottery? In a casino?

Even there, I recall a Georgia Lottery slogan: You can't win if you don't play.

"Playing" as far as getting a novel published involves writing one and getting someone in the industry to read it. Like the lottery, you can increase your chances by buying more tickets writing more novels and sending out more queries. But unlike the lottery, you can also increase your chances (greatly - this will surely increase your chances more than anything else), by polishing, rewriting, whatever it takes to make the novel and query letter good and "compelling."

At least that's what I read in these forums...
 

RichardB

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You would have to be incredibly lucky to get a bad book published.
You would still have to be pretty lucky to get a good book published.

If an author is not skilled at selling the book, the odds are significantly reduced.

The problem for the undiscerning author is determining whether he is unlucky, has written a bad book, or cannot sell it properly. Can't do a thing about luck, so best thing to do is raise the odds by working on the other factors.
 

Ms. Jem

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Don't let rejection get to you, because then it won't matter how much luck you have. Take a breather if you have to, but come back strong mentally (positive and believing in yourself.) Someone here mentioned persistence, which is more than half the battle.
 

stormie

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I think, Blue, you're taking all the "good luck" sentiments you see in different threads on AW, too literally.

First the writer writes. Then rewrites until the piece is polished. Then writes and rewrites the query. Then submits the query to a well-researched publisher or agent. That takes time and dedication. It takes talent and perserverance.

Luck is only part--a small part--of the whole entire process, from beginning to end.
 
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