publishing
Writing Business Basics
New writers often ask me about the business of writing, and they’re curious about what writers earn, which reminds me that the process can be rather opaque. This is partly because individual writers are reluctant to reveal publicly what they earn and partly because the range of earnings varies so much that it’s hard for a new writer to be able to predict what a project might be worth. Now with the potential for independent publishing (as opposed to traditional publishing with an established, royalty-paying publisher), writers have more publishing… Continue reading
How Long Does It Take To Publish a Book?
My editor Nancy Mercado delivered an orange with her offer for Birthmarked. The fruit is an important symbol in the novel, and one of my reader friends later gave me an orange bracelet.
I recently received these questions from a thirteen-year-old reader, and others have asked them, too, so here’s my reply.
By the way, how long does it take to have a book published? What’s the process? As an ambitious writer I would like to know.
How long? I can tell you about publishing a YA novel… Continue reading
To the New Novelist:
Sometimes I hear from old friends or former students who are working on their first novels. They wonder if we could meet up for a cup of coffee to talk about the writing process and publishing, and I’m always delighted to reconnect. To be honest, I’m touched that they thought of me, sometimes after a separation of years, and it’s so cool to talk with such a friend about how fascinating and frightening it is to write. I become inspired by his or her determination, especially if… Continue reading
The Secret Club
I venture to say that for writers, a mystique persists around publishing, as if all the published writers and people in the business were part of a secret club where they shared special handshakes and insider knowledge. I suspect it has something to do with rejections, and the polite but impersonal way editors and agents say no to projects they must decline. Writers outside the circle might well wonder why they can’t get in when the rules of admittance seem so capricious. To make it worse, there’s… Continue reading