Aspiring writers

[arthurcross]

Anyone out there know any tips for aspiring writers. I've been shopping around my manuscript without success. I was wondering if anyone had any info that might help out.
Any help would be appreciated. Any questions welcomed.

[DrayvensCrow]

Have you tried a Writer's guild? Sometimes they can help new writers get a helping hand...

[arthurcross]

Been there. They have some interesting information, but overall, it's nothing that you can't figure out yourself. And the majority of the resources seemed to be geared toward writers who have published something, somewhere. But thanks for the suggestion.

[DrayvensCrow]

Wish that I could be more help as I am trying to get my own book published. My problem is trying to get it approved by the original author. He has to approve any story for publication(except fanfic) and he's sent mine back four times.

[arthurcross]

original writer? that sounds interesting. Looks like you have a heads up on me. At least you have an original to look over your manuscript. I can't even get an agent or a publisher to look at mine. I mean I send it to them, but when you get it back three days later, you know they never even read it. I don't even know if I'm actually doing something wrong or not. It's hard to try and improve your work when you don't know what's wrong with it in the first place (or if anything is).

[DrayvensCrow]

In my case, anything concerning The Crow must be approved by James O'Barr. And he is verrrry particular about that property. Don't get down; your case is the norm when it comes to new writers. You just have to keep plugging away and sending out your story to houses and agents.

[Kordmalgemar]

Ah the crap we aspiring authors have to go through. I'll give you a sit rep because I've been briefed on just how the publishing industry works. Be prepared to be disappointed.

First off, arthurcross, your work is hitting an editorial assistant. There's a good chance you already know this, but when you send your manuscripts in without an agent to represent them, they're dropped in what's called "the slush pile," a large pile of manuscripts that editors rarely read because they order their subordinates to do it for them. Subordinates who will usually be given other assignments in 5 seconds, forcing them to give page one a quick glance over. I've known editorial assistants and interns before, and I can tell you, the only way they survive, professionally, is by glancing at page one of a manuscript and throwing it aside if it doesn't make their heart stop.

The best thing for an aspiring author to do is establish their "platform." Again, you may know this, but I'm typing it anyway in case other readers don't. Anyway, having a strong platform always helps a writer. Essentially, what I mean here is "fan base" or "readership." It's a lot easier to sell a celebrity than it is to sell me, for example, because everyone knows a celebrity and no one knows me. So the best way to fight this is to establish some way to sell you. Whether that means writing short stories for submission to magazines, writing stories for local newspapers, or even writing a professional online blog, publishers will always be more intrigued by whatever popularity you can muster as a writer.

So, if you have any short stories already in the works or finished, try really hard to get those published. That, in turn, will make agents more interested in you. And an agent along with your platform, in turn, will make publishers a whole hell of a lot more interested in you than they are in anything they're likely to find in the slush pile.