Wow. I hope novels come out better than those AI-written songs...the rise of AI in content-production.
Wow. I hope novels come out better than those AI-written songs...the rise of AI in content-production.
I’m so sorry, APM. Hoping the book that your agent is reading is the charm.
It really is rough out there.
I lurk in some self-publishing groups. Recently someone expressed incredulity because they’d just heard that trade-published authors publish only one book a year, and how can anyone make a living that way?! I don’t know whether to be happy that some people are making a great living from writing (enough to assume that’s the norm) or to cry. If I quit my day job, I could write several hundred thousand words a year, but I wouldn’t be able to sell those words and make a living—not unless I switched to writing very different stuff and self-publishing it, and even then it would be an iffy proposition.
I have no desire to write three books a year. Or whatever it is. But some people truly do. I keep coming back to the idea of food. Street carts can serve fantastic food of one sort. Michelin star restaurants can serve a different sort of fantastic food.
Congrats, utesfanimi! I'm just curious, why have you been waiting for 2 months on the contract? Does it usually take this long to draft a publishing contract?Well, I've been pretty tight-lipped, but I got an offer for publication in January. My agent and I are waiting on the contract. We're thrilled with the editor and publisher. Came in our first round of sub.
I can't believe this is happening. I'll share more when I can.
So excited about this. Just so pleased and proud and ... for the last couple months I've just started laughing at random. I can't wait to hear readers' thoughts!
Congratulations!Well, I can talk about it now. My announcement went live yesterday!
I'm so excited and can hardly believe this is happening!
Hey, congratulations!Well, I can talk about it now. My announcement went live yesterday!
I'm so excited and can hardly believe this is happening!
Contracts are behind across the industry. It's an issue with a lot of publishers right now.Congrats, utesfanimi! I'm just curious, why have you been waiting for 2 months on the contract? Does it usually take this long to draft a publishing contract?
I’ve got a demanding day job, so I couldn’t write more than one book a year at this point. If I were trying to make a living from writing (and believe me, I’ve thought about it!), I would probably use a pen name to self-publish rapidly in a different genre, one that does better in self-publishing than the YA books I write. Assuming you have a good agent to vet your contracts, publishers’ non-compete clauses won’t stop you from publishing in another category or genre, whether with another imprint or by yourself.Somebody shared some trade-pub statistics a while back and, from what I recall, it didn't look like the one-book-per-year crowd was earning a lot. Then again, Mark Twain had a few words when it came to statistics (or, I guess, statisticians).
Honestly, the idea that trade-pubbed authors are encouraged to cut back on what they write -- since agents and publishers worry it could cannibalize their other sales -- has made the whole thing sound a bit less appealing.
Even if I was able to trade-pub 1-2 books per year and make a living off that, I'm not sure I'd be comfortable not writing the rest of the time (or doing something with that writing). It reminds me of those stories about the government paying farmers to burn half their crops.
Then again, this past year and a half I've been making up for decades of lost time and I might feel differently down the road. Who knows?![]()
Congrats again, Marc! Thanks for answering my questions.Contracts are behind across the industry. It's an issue with a lot of publishers right now.
A lot of people are overwhelmed.
You're very welcome!Congrats again, Marc! Thanks for answering my questions.
Congratulations!Congrats Utesfanami!
It’s US publication day which means I’m officially a published author in America.
Congratulations!My MS went on submission in early March. I got two offers. Last week, after speaking with both my agent and my author friends, I made my choice. Hooray! I'm going to be a published author!
Thanks to utesfanami, I wasn't shocked when my agent told me that the contract would take 1-3 months.
Congratulations! Do you have an estimated publication date?My MS went on submission in early March. I got two offers. Last week, after speaking with both my agent and my author friends, I made my choice. Hooray! I'm going to be a published author!
Thanks to utesfanami, I wasn't shocked when my agent told me that the contract would take 1-3 months.