Anybody who can string together a decent sentence can write a best selling novel. It’s as simple as that. There are three reasons why more of us don’t do it.
The first is that it requires perseverance. It’s becoming something of a cliche to say that the secret of successful writing is simply to apply bum to seat and write, but it’s absolutely true. The potential best selling author can’t afford to wait for the muse to visit before putting pen to paper, and it’s no good offering up excuses about how demanding family life is, or how tired we are at the end of the day, we just have to sit down and write. Sick or well, hungover or buzzing, tired or alert, we’ve got to get those words down.
A novel is by definition a book made up of lots of words, each of them needs to be written down, letter by letter. Many of these thousands of words then have to be erased and replaced in the first edit, then again in the second edit, and so on. A 100,000 word novel can easily require the author to write 400,000 or more words. Not everybody can do it; in fact, most of us can’t.
For every 10,000 people who sit down to write a novel it is estimated that only 800 succeed in finishing it. And of those 800, only 90 are eventually published. And how many of them become best-sellers? Maybe one or two. Maybe none.
So, the first hurdle the author of the best selling novel has to overcome is to actually write the book.
The second reason more of us don’t write a fiction best seller is that the book we eventually write is simply the wrong kind of book. Not every novel is destined to sell millions of copies and, sadly, literary merit is often a hindrance to sales, rather than a help. Take a look at the fiction best seller lists for the past 20 years. Dan Brown, Jeffrey Archer, Ken Follett and Stephen King have all sold zillions of copies but no one would ever accuse any of those guys of being literary geniuses. What they do and what they do well is tell stories and stories are what you see piled up at the front of bookshops. ‘So-and-so-author is a great story teller’ is another way of saying that so-and-so can barely write his own name, but never mind, he’s great at creating plots.
Plots and not fancy turns of phrase or a brilliant ear for dialogue are what really sells books.
And the third thing the would-be best selling author needs? Luck. Or rather, they need to make their own luck. How often do successful authors, publishers and agents hear the words, ‘He was lucky, he found a publisher just like that and I’ve been submitting my manuscripts for years without success’? Let me tell you: they hear it all the time.
I ran a book publishing company up until three years ago. On the top of the front page of the The Do-Not Press website it now says (in big bold letters): ‘We are currently NOT looking for submissions from authors (so please DO NOT send us anything - it will not be read)’. And yet even now 5-10 manuscripts somehow land on my doormat in the average week. Is it because their authors are so very unlucky that their submissions end up, unread, in my recycling bin? I think not. And by the same token, is the author who spends a couple of days researching his market before sending anything out the luckiest guy alive? Obviously not.
Remember, just about everybody has it within them to write a best selling work of fiction. All they need is someone to tell them how to do it.
Jim Driver is an author and former publisher who lives with his wife and son in London, UK. He splits his life promoting rock & roll, lecturing on creative writing and reviewing fiction.
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You’ve written what you are sure is a great novel and the obvious next step would be to have it published. But, as every pre-published author knows, it’s not quite as easy as that. Getting a book into print can be even harder than writing it, unless you know exactly how to go about it.
A common misconception among authors is that publishers aren’t looking for new books. Wrong. Every commercial book publisher in the world is on an endless quest for potential bestsellers. If they think you have what it takes, they will beat a path to your door and shower you with riches. Really. Get two or more publishers interested in your work and they will try and out-bid each other in order to have you sign with them. If that happens, get out the champagne!
It goes without saying that your novel will have to have what it takes to get published. Let’s assume you’re sitting on a blockbuster: how do you get interest from potential publishing houses?
The hardest part is to get editors interested in you and your work. Every day they are bombarded with mediocre (and worse) manuscripts from idiots who don’t know what they are doing - universally called the ’slush pile’ - and that makes them wary. They will assume that you are just another idiot. So, before you get to the point of submitting a manuscript anywhere, you have to make a name for yourself.
It could take a year or so, but it’s not as hard as it sounds. If you can write a novel you can write reviews and articles. Start a blog concerned with the style of fiction you write. If you are into crime and mystery, for example, set up a site that reviews crime and mystery books. Call it something like bestcrimebooks.com - though that name has already been taken. There are lots of articles online on how to optimize your website and get it listed by search engines.
Fill your site with reviews of books you’ve recently read, though be careful not to say anything too scathing. You are trying to get the publishers and authors of these books on your side. The unspoken etiquette in reviewing is not to review rather than write a bad review. Make sure your site is well presented and that your writing is spell-checked and properly edited. If in doubt, cut. Short snappy reviews and articles are what the internet wants.
Approach authors about being interviewed, probably by email, for the site. Ask people to write you reviews, but make sure your name is splattered all over the website. Don’t forget, it is you and your books it is really promoting.
Approach your local newspapers and regional magazines. Get them to publish articles about your website/blog. Suggest you write articles and/or a regular book review column for them. Stress that you won’t want money for it… don’t forget: you’re in this to make a name for yourself and become part of the literary world in your field.
Once there are a few reviews on the site and maybe in local publications, write or email publicity departments of publishers who publish crime fiction (or whatever it is you are blogging), and request review copies. Ask to be put on their mailing lists. Send them print-offs of your site, showing the type of reviews you are doing. Tell them how important the site is and how many hits you are getting - exaggerate if you have to.
Find specialist and local bookshops, tell them about your website. Offer to put up links and include their signings and talks in your news section. Become part of the scene. Attend functions. Buy books off them. Ask for their advice on new talent.
Always talk up your website, what an important resource it is, how many visitors you get. Send copies of reviews to the people who sent you the book. Without being pushy, become their friend. Help them when they ask for it. If they push something you don’t think is very good, bend over backwards to accommodate them without ’selling out’, they will appreciate it. You should eventually find yourself on most publishers’ lists, be invited to book launches, where you will meet authors, publishers, agents and… you get the picture?
If all goes according to plan, you will come into contact with someone (or maybe several someones) who can and will help you. Perhaps an author suggesting that you should speak to his or her agent, maybe a publisher who’d be interested in looking at your manuscript. You’ve become their equal and left the ’slush pile’ behind forever. You will also have gained valuable insight into what makes a best seller and your novel will stand a hugely better chance of being published as a result.
by Jim Driver
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