What Are Some Benefits of Being Pub'd

I write more and enjoy it more when I feel like my stories are likely to find a market.

Hmmm... Good question. I guess for me:

*Meeting other authors and getting to know them as people instead of just worshipping them from afar as a fan.
*Hearing war stories from the same famous authors and finding out they have the same frustrations and joys with editors, agents and getting words on the screen.
*Meeting fans from other cities and states who know your characters as well as you do and actually want to know what happens next to them.
*Seeing your title on a best seller's list for the first time. That was an amazing feeling!
*Hearing your name read as the winner of an award in front of other people.
*Talking to your agent about your NEXT contract, because you've just turned in the final book of your first one. That happy never gets old.
*Having an editor contact you to ask if you'd write something for them--story, article or book, it doesn't matter. It's still cool.
*Meeting the publisher at your publishing house at a conference and hearing them say, "Oh, yeah. I saw your stats the other day. Nice. Good to finally meet you."
*Getting a direct deposit into your bank account for what seems like no reason. Always a thrill.

There are lots of very cool things. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

I knew two people who died young (of illness). I miss them both.

So I decided long ago that my first and second novels would be dedicated to them. It's a way of making sure they'll never be forgotten. And that's something I wouldn't have done with a manuscript, only a book.

Holding a hardcover edition of a novel I'd written was a biggie - it had been part of the big dream for so long.

Also getting a recent story on bookstore shelves in an anthology alongside the likes of Jim Butcher and Neil Gaiman was nice.

And getting a couple of stories into NATURE magazine - a journal I used to have to peruse for work, was pretty nifty too.

Money.

Well, seeing my work in a literary magazine makes me feel pretty confident. So, self-esteem, I would say.

Knowing that it's out there for people to read.

And money is good too. When it's there.

Well, I'm done with being pubbed now, but at the time it was quite cool to meet my agent in person, and to have breakfast with my editor (and then dinner and drinks on another visit), on my infrequent trips to NYC.

Made me feel like a bit of a celebrity, for a few minutes.

swvaughn said:

Well, I'm done with being pubbed now, but at the time it was quite cool to meet my agent in person, and to have breakfast with my editor (and then dinner and drinks on another visit), on my infrequent trips to NYC.

Made me feel like a bit of a celebrity, for a few minutes.

Click to expand...

Yeah, this is definitely cool--especially when the famous people at the place the agent takes you all know her and see you as someone special because you're with her.

Limos.
Groupies.
Drugs.

The only benefit I've ever seen, or sought, was getting paid. I don't write for my ego, or to better my fellow man. I write for the money.

Yeah, I guess I am cynical.

Jeff

Knowing I have completed step three of my master plan to conquer and rule this world.

Also fun to throw copies of my book at people I don't like as I scream, "See? I told you so!"

The happy Snoopy dances.

Ken said:

... in your own experience?
Things that made the achievement feel additionally good.

Click to expand...

Ego gratification.

The payment for the long short story didn't hurt either. I bought the camera of my dreams with it (now obsolete).

Oh, and the dress code for the job. Suits me very well.

Definitely money.

1. Seeing my book on the shelves.
2. Money
3. Knowing that several professionals in the book business agree that I can write a decent novel.
4. Hearing my kids tell their teachers/friends/strangers that daddy writes books.
5. The knowledge that all the time and effort I put into writing hasn't been for naught.

I'm only a tiny bit pub'd at this point. The main benefits for me are money and the feeling of validation I get that I can do something other people like.

I haven't achieved it, and probably won't, but I always thought it would be awesome to be a panelist at conventions, and being a published writer is one way to get invited to do that.

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

I've mostly published non-fiction. So, the real reward is when people come up to me and tell me how my books have changed their lives for the better, when they tell me how they've longed to meet me. One of my fans paid for my dinner once after a workshop we were both attending. And the sudden respect on people's faces when I tell them I'm published is priceless.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

1. Money
2. Seeing books with your name on them sitting on your bookshelf
3. Money
4. Um...more money

Money.
Raised eyebrows from former co-workers. That never gets old.
A few like-minded friends to share the journey.

I have much simpler goals in my forties than I did in my twenties.

Validation.

Of course, I can only speculate.

caw