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Generic_Commenter-X t1_ivoiunm wrote

Writing. Now to nail down an agent. Getting an agent is like courting a nun...

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Electrical-Bed8577 t1_ivq1hjf wrote

Consider this, novelist: Self publish. Then you get to keep more of your money. It isn't difficult to court book stores. Publishing houses will do that for you for less, after you prove your public demand. Making a cover can be done fairly easily as well. It's the inside page and back cover that the Houses are really good with. If you want an agent, quietly wait for their critique and advisement on page and cover. That's how you'll know how good they are. Forgive me if you know all this. Vermont is perfect for writing in the fall; many a foliage emotion poured onto my pages. Can't wait to leave this beach for the snow.

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Generic_Commenter-X t1_ivqejz1 wrote

To be a successful self-publisher, one has to put the time into self-promotion and, I think, have some knowledge of marketing. I'm a terrible self-promoter and have no knowledge of marketing. All I want to do is write. I actually approached two hybrid publishers for my first novel, but wasn't all that impressed by what they offered. They won't do marketing (despite their somewhat vague claims) and that's where the rubber hits the road. That's the skin in the game. But none of this is to say that I don't appreciate your insights and experience. And yes, Vermont is perfect for writing. Have you published anything?

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Electrical-Bed8577 t1_ivqfofk wrote

Haha I also just really do not want to do promotions, signings, etc., so I stick to ghost writing. I've been rewarded and had pages stolen, co-opted and all of the above by some well seeded authors and producers. I'm OK with that since it's more fun than vocation. It's alot easier to copyright than it was 20 yrs ago (been writing and hanging with writers since a teen) but it's also easier to infringe without penalty. Edit: Please don't let my statement about the nature of the business slow you down. Sometimes others can do more with your work than you could have imagined, or they put it on screen nearly exactly as it was in your imagination. Also, marketing is really just talking to people who Are interested in what you have going on, they just don't know it yet.

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Generic_Commenter-X t1_ivr1nl4 wrote

Oh cool. Ghost writing! That's sort of like translating. Sort of. I've always wondered what it would be like to ghostwrite. Give me something of yours to ghost write. You can claim it as your own. It will be ghost-written ghost writing. I remember many of the books my daughter read when she was in gradeschool—most of them ghost-written if they were a series. Hey, that reminds me, I wrote 2/3rds of a Star Trek novel when I was in my twenties. I wonder if I could still find that somewhere? It was Next Generation is the problem. Never liked Next Generation. Sort of poisoned the well. Never finished it, but it was a decent novel. Sometimes I'm tempted to write a Dr Who book (through the franchise). I've heard some books are turned into episodes. That would be a lark.

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