Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Offer some unusual tips from your line of work

Baraka_Guru · 02-05-2009, 10:37 AM

I work as a book editor in small-press publishing.

If you wish to get a book published, here are some universal tips (this is not a complete list). These I consider unusual because too many people don't know these enough and often get a surprising wake-up call.

Be absolutely sure to follow all of the publishers’ guidelines to the T when making a submission. Failing to do so can easily give your proposal that “kiss of death” in publishing: the rejection. Always remember, it’s so easy to say no.
For the love of literature, please, please! if you want to be a published author one day…please read books…and lots of them. Do it lots, please. I’ve seen far too many submissions where I’ve found absolutely no evidence that the writer has ever read a book published within the area of their submission. Read everything. Read good things; read bad things. Just read. It’s beginning to seem as though there are more writers than readers out there, and that’s a bad thing. Bottom line: a writer (especially the published and/or professional kind) is a reader first and a writer second.
Publishing some of your material in non-book publications greatly increases your odds of publishing something as a book publication. Books are at the top end of the financial risk spectrum. New and emerging authors are huge risks. Lessen the risk by getting a publishing track record of some kind under your belt: think articles/pieces in journals, newspapers, magazines, and other forms of publishing.
Don’t do it for the money. If you’re in it for the money, it means you don’t quite understand one or two things: 1) money and/or 2) book publishing. Or maybe you have a fetish for lottery-like long shots, I don’t know. If you want to write and publish a book, make sure it’s a labour of love. This is the kind of mindset most successful authors have, and it will show in the writing. Contrary to what you might think, book publishing is not a fat-cat industry.
This last one can’t be stressed enough: Writing just isn’t an art form; it’s also a craft—some would say primarily so. If you don’t develop your skills and techniques (as would, say, a musician or a painter), your odds of ever producing anything worthy of the public eye will be slim to none. A budding writer once asked a prominent writer how many hours one should devote to working each day to be a successful writer. The answer? Twenty-four. As a writer, your materials are language, thought, and experience. Don’t forget that. You can’t call yourself a writer unless it’s what you do even when you aren’t physically writing.

02-05-2009, 10:37 AM	#3 (permalink)
Baraka_Guru warrior bodhisattva Super Moderator Location: East-central Canada	I work as a book editor in small-press publishing. If you wish to get a book published, here are some universal tips (this is not a complete list). These I consider unusual because too many people don't know these enough and often get a surprising wake-up call. Be absolutely sure to follow all of the publishers’ guidelines to the T when making a submission. Failing to do so can easily give your proposal that “kiss of death” in publishing: the rejection. Always remember, it’s so easy to say no. For the love of literature, please, please! if you want to be a published author one day…please read books…and lots of them. Do it lots, please. I’ve seen far too many submissions where I’ve found absolutely no evidence that the writer has ever read a book published within the area of their submission. Read everything. Read good things; read bad things. Just read. It’s beginning to seem as though there are more writers than readers out there, and that’s a bad thing. Bottom line: a writer (especially the published and/or professional kind) is a reader first and a writer second. Publishing some of your material in non-book publications greatly increases your odds of publishing something as a book publication. Books are at the top end of the financial risk spectrum. New and emerging authors are huge risks. Lessen the risk by getting a publishing track record of some kind under your belt: think articles/pieces in journals, newspapers, magazines, and other forms of publishing. Don’t do it for the money. If you’re in it for the money, it means you don’t quite understand one or two things: 1) money and/or 2) book publishing. Or maybe you have a fetish for lottery-like long shots, I don’t know. If you want to write and publish a book, make sure it’s a labour of love. This is the kind of mindset most successful authors have, and it will show in the writing. Contrary to what you might think, book publishing is not a fat-cat industry. This last one can’t be stressed enough: Writing just isn’t an art form; it’s also a craft—some would say primarily so. If you don’t develop your skills and techniques (as would, say, a musician or a painter), your odds of ever producing anything worthy of the public eye will be slim to none. A budding writer once asked a prominent writer how many hours one should devote to working each day to be a successful writer. The answer? Twenty-four. As a writer, your materials are language, thought, and experience. Don’t forget that. You can’t call yourself a writer unless it’s what you do even when you aren’t physically writing. __________________ Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing? —Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön Humankind cannot bear very much reality. —From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot Last edited by Baraka_Guru; 02-05-2009 at 10:59 AM..