What would you need in a first novel to make it different from the rest?

Question

I understand fully that a first novel 9 out of ten times sinks, but that is just how life is within the book world; everyone has to start at the bottom (even if you're lucky at first) and this is done by a first novel in my case - my problem however is that if the world needs another novel, then it must be different; i'm not talking about that different novel that will change the world as that's for the future, i'm talking about how to start of a possible career or whatever the outcome with a first novel without it being the same normal novel that friends shrug and adults laugh and say 'Oh look, another desperate hopeful trying to climb the ladder - it's okay though, he'll slip in a minute!'.

What is needed from the eyes of you, the real authours, the real critiques and other non-desperate but passionate authors-to-be to make a first novel different - not to just sell because that's pathetic, to sell and to open the eyes of the reader - I want the speech to be 'Wow, this is unreal!'

Answer 1

Wrong question. Don't ask what the public wants, ask what you want to write.

1) You can't predict what the public will want. Editors can't predict it, and neither will you. Nobody expected the Da Vinci code to be a great commercial success and most editor thought Umberto Eco was way too intellectual to please the masses.

2) You can't fake writing and that's not why somebody writes anyway. If you want fame and money, go to law school. It's a lot easier. As a writer, you're an artist first and foremost and the very reason you're writing is to express something you have to say.
But furthermore, it's the only reason you'd ever have success anyway. Unless you're writing about what you have to say, you'll have no substance to your writing. I'm not saying spy novels, romance novels, etc..., etc... are without value; but if that's not you, you're not going to get away with it. Good romance authors are good at it, because that's what they want to write.

Answer 2

Wow, you got an excellent response right off the bat. I was scrolling down while reading your question, thinking it was very unlikely that you'd hear from any "real authors" and then - WHAM - I scrolled down to Opinionatedkitten's response and was struck by how spot on it is. I hope you pick his/her response as Best Answer.

I'll just add that you need to just WRITE. Don't filter or self-critique what you initally put down. Just write. Don't wait for that One Great Idea. Write, write, write. That's the only way that your writing will get better and better. Write little snippets of things: a character sketch, a description of the scene from out of your car window, keep a journal, write out how you feel, how do you think that stranger on the street corner feels?... Please understand that that so-called "first novel" that 9 out of ten times sinks is actually the one the author finally submitted after writing many, many, many short stories or other works.

Answer 3

I think the first commenter pretty much summed it up- people who write do it not to be commercial or superficial its to point blank make yourself and others who can connect with your work happy every artist is a starving artist-unless you feed into the crazes you may get money but you will not gain respect and more than likely be forgotten not really making the mark you wanted to in the first place- if you're worried about not getting read so easily or people not finding your work i guess you just have to get a good agent who can put your books to the masses a bit easier in locations that get a lot of people coming in and out tell people about what you're doing then just wait and see how it goes

Answer 4

There are some the thank you to make it distinctive to twilight sequence. I advise i won't be in a position to stand it how human beings make each and everything bypass decrease back to twilight whilst ever everybody talks approximately vampires. yet besides you're able to make it that the vampire and werewolf do become acquaintances on account this is distinctive. In twilight Bella become a vampire have you ever heard of a lycanthrope? this is a human became somewhat in to a wolf you're able to upload that for the duration of somebody the place by using fact Twilight does not even skim that. you're able to create different races that are distinctive like a million/2 fairy a million/2 vampire or something or incredibly. anybody is putting a school around vampire theory's now. in case you are trying this ensure you're making it distinctive from a boarding college make it that the college is inhabited with the help of no longer in easy terms vampires and human beings. Or while you're going for a distinctive physique of strategies make it in a distinctive timeframe or something like that.