If you write well, how hard is it to get a book published?

Question

I have written for newspapers and was always told I have talent but for some reason I don't have the confidence to write a book. I guess I am afraid it would be rejected. I am desperate for money and an advance from a book being published would be VERY nice right now. How hard is it?

Answer 1

Read on. . .especially the last sentence, then, go on to the source URL.

JK Rowling and Harry. . .


Joanne Kathleen Rowling was born in Chipping Sodbury, England in 1965. She began writing at the age of 6 with a story called Rabbit, which she never finished.

In high school her favorite subject was English. From High School, Rowling went to Exeter University where she earned a degree in French. After graduating, she spent a year studying in Paris and then went back to London where she worked in a number of jobs, including a year with Amnesty International and a short time as secretary for a publishing company, where she was responsible for sending out rejection slips.

Answer 2

Hard.

And don't take it personally. I've been writing for almost 20 years now, and I've had over 100 rejections. It's not because my stuff is absolute CRAP, it's because the agents and publishers simply don't find what I write to be what they are seeking.

But I haven't stopped writing.

However, If you're afraid of rejection, then don't try.

But if you want to try and write that book anyways (just for the hell of it), then expect REJECTION.

I'm desperate for money at times, too, but getting published right off the bat isn't going to solve your financial problems at all. In fact, you may find that if you DO get published at some point in the next 20 to 30 years, that advance you were dreaming of may be SMALLER or insignificant compared to what you were expecting--as a first-time author.

Also take into account: 90% of new authors rarely make back their advances. In fact, the majority don't make any reasonable money afterwards--even AFTER they cover their first advance.

Answer 3

Unfortunately, good writing is only about 20% of the process in getting a decent advance from a publisher. Fully 50% is having a good agent to present your work and the other 30% is luck. As for an advance helping you out of your current financial problems, you can forget that. If you had a finished manuscript today, found a viable agent tomorrow and the agent started "shopping" your book immediately, you could be looking at a year before you see any advance money. And that's if your book is a slam-dunk piece of work. If it needs a lot of editing, add three more months to the process.

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Here's a dose of reality about book sales:

In 2004, Nielsen Bookscan tracked sales of 1.2 million books in the US.

Of those 1.2 million, 950,000 sold fewer than 99 (yes, ninety-nine) copies each.

Another 200,000 sold fewer than 1,000 copies.

Only 25,000 books sold more than 5,000 copies.

Fewer than 500 sold more than 100,000 copies.

Only 10 books sold more than a million copies each.

THE AVERAGE BOOK IN THE US SELLS ABOUT 500 COPIES.
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Now that I've opened your eyes, forget all that hooey about going the Lulu route, etc. POD books DO NOT SELL WELL. If you are in the book business to make money, then spend your time and available cash finding an agent. If you don't, you'll be sitting in the same place this time next year, wishing you had gone the agent route. I've been there and done that, as they say. And to repeat, talent in the book biz does NOT mean you'll get noticed. Take that as FACT and you'll be ahead of the game.

Good luck, whatever you decide.

Jon Baxley
(A published author who's seen it all and lived to tell about it!)

PS: For more detailed info on agents and advice on getting published, take a look at my other Yahoo answers.

http://profile.myspace.com/jonbaxley

Answer 4

If rejection is to be avoided then don't write a book. Famous authors and not so famous authors go through the same thing. They get their manuscripts rejected, time after time. Stephen King had a mountain of rejection slips before his book Carrie turned the tide. For your information, only a few authors, relatively, get rich off of their writings. So keep your day job while you write. Write your first draft in secret. Then write your second draft and show a really fair trusted friend. Good writers are good readers. They tend to write in the area they read. You will have to find the publishers that publish your kind of book. Then you have to send the manuscript to them with a self addressed return envelope with enough postage on it. You need to get "Book Proposals That Sell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success" by Terry Whalen. He also has written a blog on amazon.com and you can buy it for 0.49 cents: Straight Talk from the Editor, 18 Keys to a Rejection-Proof Submission. Read Stephen King's "On Writing" -- You'll have to muddle though a somewhat autobiographical self portrait, but you will get good instruction on writing. That should get you started. Just remember what Richard Bach said, "Argue for your limitations and sure enough they are yours."

Answer 5

it is not important how difficult this is as long as your e book is a million) properly-written, 2) unique, and 3) marketable, which means it appeals to a brilliant purpose audience. in case you write that style of e book then the opportunities of being printed does not count. the opportunities are against human beings whose books do no longer do those 3 issues. think of approximately it. the only factor you're able to do is commence writing and proceed honing your skill in the approach. I advise you examine a thank you to place in writing a special with the aid of fact it is not common experience. I additionally advise you examine publishing if this is something you're questioning approximately. putting the cart before the horse does not provide help to. you have't even written a ordinary e book yet and you're already questioning if it incredibly is greater handy to get a ordinary e book printed or a sequence. lower back, it is not important in the adventure that your e book does not meet the three standards i discussed above. it incredibly is hard adequate attempting to get one e book printed, so centred on that first. Your first e book ought to consistently be stand on my own, even nonetheless it could have sequel skill. this is a greater effectual use of a few time, in case you're extreme approximately attempting to post, to place in writing one e book that has sequence skill (if that's what you pick for to place in writing) and then commence a thoroughly new novel. in case you commence writing all 3 books then you definately've in simple terms wasted distinctive time and power if the 1st e book does not sell. there's no use for the different 2 if no person is fascinated in the 1st one. properly, it does no longer all be a waste. till you're a expert author, each and every e book you write helps you hone your writing skill and making you a greater effectual author in the approach.

Answer 6

You can always self publish through iUniverse - you won't get an advance, and you'll have to put up $ 499 of your own money up front - but you will get 20% royalty on every book they sell.

I know - I've publshed 2 books through iUniverse.

Answer 7

It is hard....but not if you self-publish your book. Check out the link below and get to work!

Answer 8

It's very hard.
You have to be dedicated. And you have to really want it.

Answer 9

Try this site -
www.lulu.com

Answer 10

very