tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post5957796942293551215..comments2024-03-29T07:43:01.003+00:00Comments on Help! I Need a Publisher!: WHY DO I WRITE AT ALL?Nicola Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12189894289540344094noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-82371533544650071382009-09-26T19:04:40.963+01:002009-09-26T19:04:40.963+01:00Douglas - I hope you get this message, as I don&...Douglas - I hope you get this message, as I don't have your email address. (Maybe will put a comment on your blog in case). I am very sorry I didn't make it to the launch - I ran out of time as I suspected I would. It has been a manic week because I'm away most of the next two weeks doing talks, plus my daugher was needing nursed, plus I've taken on a load of new work. I hope Nicola Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12189894289540344094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-59407122398626782712009-09-21T19:18:38.851+01:002009-09-21T19:18:38.851+01:00Nicola - that would be great. No worries either wa...Nicola - that would be great. No worries either way. It is happening at the 'Out of The Blue Drill Hall' (30-36 Dalmeny Street, Leith, EH6 9DB)... 6.30pm onwards.<br /><br />I cannot believe that you already have a copy... that's so weird... I first read you three or more years ago...more I think... with my youngest (now 17!)... and now you have a book of mine... yep, really weird. Douglas Brutonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12625886640338360592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-89317613826127316412009-09-21T18:58:19.696+01:002009-09-21T18:58:19.696+01:00Rebecca - i quite agree: the comments make it a ...Rebecca - i quite agree: the comments make it a discussion instead of a lecture. That's why, much as I'd love to turn this blog into a book, I feel it works very nicely as a blog.<br /><br />Marshal - well, that's good because I don't think the challenge ever goes away!<br /><br />Jo - that's a good attitude to have and probably keeps you grounded and sane. I just felt INicola Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12189894289540344094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-5706663498974065062009-09-21T17:58:09.737+01:002009-09-21T17:58:09.737+01:00Nicola--what a wonderful blog this is :). I love ...Nicola--what a wonderful blog this is :). I love that the commenters provide a fascinating discussion even after the post is done! <br /><br />I'd have to agree with the recognition part. If my novel were read and loved by one person who is not an immediate family member, that would be a dream. Validation, galore!<br /><br />However, the money thing would let me live in that dream without Rebecca Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15214077952378770753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-76883542730348088712009-09-21T16:53:34.551+01:002009-09-21T16:53:34.551+01:00I write because a brilliant idea was handed to me,...I write because a brilliant idea was handed to me, and then it became a challenge to write the book.<br /><br />Then it became a challenge to get an agent.<br /><br />Now the challenge is to find a publisher.<br /><br />And... writing the second book in the series, and the third, and fourth...<br /><br />As long as the ideas keep coming, I'm going to keep writing.<br /><br />Because, it seemsMarshall Buckleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07362417446783286392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-76154968836203104642009-09-21T16:50:56.811+01:002009-09-21T16:50:56.811+01:00I find it interesting, Nicola, that you said you w...I find it interesting, Nicola, that you said you wanted to be published so that you could call yourself an author. When people ask me am I working (as opposed to a lady that lunches) I tell them that I am writing. When someone asks my daughter (aged 7)what I 'do' she says I am an author. I think she doesn't distinguish between published and unpublished. If I was published and my booksJo Franklinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11863749932391225653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-17685206914265907062009-09-21T14:07:20.206+01:002009-09-21T14:07:20.206+01:00Many years ago I was sitting by my jewellery stall...Many years ago I was sitting by my jewellery stall in Covent Garden, and a nice American got chatting.<br /><br />He'd been to a craft fair, and paused to admire some work. He said to the craftsman, 'It must be marvellous to be able to earn your living making beautiful things like this.'<br /><br />'Yes,' said the craftsman, 'It must be...'Lexihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14404818053292364819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-91061134278221023802009-09-21T11:05:13.329+01:002009-09-21T11:05:13.329+01:00Hey Nicola - great post as usual.
I have a fairly...Hey Nicola - great post as usual.<br /><br />I have a fairly unusual reason for continuing to write, even though I now earn nothing from it at all (the last dregs of my freelance work dry up this month - http://dailyimprovements.blogspot.com/2009/09/reason.html).<br /><br />It's part of my post-surgery pain management programme! Seriously, writing takes me out of myself, into a (much more Catherine Hugheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17540552933192453722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-82993220466136369912009-09-21T09:14:14.063+01:002009-09-21T09:14:14.063+01:00Nicola
Not put on the spot at all. I'd be hon...Nicola<br /><br />Not put on the spot at all. I'd be honoured by your being there. Really. But equally I would understand if you were already booked up - it is short notice. Just let me know.<br /><br />best<br /><br />DDouglas Brutonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12625886640338360592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-41325201492242275532009-09-21T08:40:21.400+01:002009-09-21T08:40:21.400+01:00Douglas - ah, for some reason, I thought it was ...Douglas - ah, for some reason, I thought it was last Thurs, otherwise I wouldn't have mentioned it. Didn't mean to put you on the spot!Nicola Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12189894289540344094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-64723057025697471092009-09-21T08:29:10.278+01:002009-09-21T08:29:10.278+01:00Dear Nicola
Sorry if Floris have not invited you....Dear Nicola<br /><br />Sorry if Floris have not invited you. I supplied them with a list of my friends and family and they did the rest. I have no idea who they have chosen and who not. It is this Thursday coming and if you really do want to come just send me your e-mail address and I will send you an e-mail copy of the invitation.<br /><br />Best<br /><br />DouglasDouglas Brutonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12625886640338360592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-70003389333283476532009-09-21T07:49:06.406+01:002009-09-21T07:49:06.406+01:00Thanks, all, for your comments - glad it chimed ...Thanks, all, for your comments - glad it chimed with so many of you. It's hard, isn't it? But if it wasn't, it wouldn't be worth doing.<br /><br />You all hit nails on heads but I'm picking SueG's phrase: "Acknowledgement, power, creativity, yes." Sums it up, I think.<br /><br />Good luck to those who are looking for agents/publishers at the moment - it IS Nicola Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12189894289540344094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-10226684659391824302009-09-21T02:53:22.240+01:002009-09-21T02:53:22.240+01:00That was some beautiful honesty.
You hit the nail ...That was some beautiful honesty.<br />You hit the nail on the head for the main reasons I write. Sometimes writing is so challenging that I wonder why I do it at all. But then I go a week or so without it and I get CRANKY. Masochistic? Maybe. But I get a thrill from creating a world and characters and just nailing a tough scene.<br />I'm sure getting paid for it would be awfully nice, though.Donna Gambalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00317767593205769881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-743353649834528822009-09-20T22:01:03.138+01:002009-09-20T22:01:03.138+01:00I'm at the stage of having 2 agents interested...I'm at the stage of having 2 agents interested in my book and although exciting it's still painful because the rewrites are difficult...and even if I get an agent, it doesn't mean I'll get a publisher etc. It's sobering to hear from you that the whole darn thing never gets any easier!<br /><br />I often tell my friends that my writing is a hobby but I'm lying because it&#Susan Wallmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09032815721592124711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-63720921504055024942009-09-20T18:59:03.056+01:002009-09-20T18:59:03.056+01:00How timely.
I came downstairs for lunch and said...How timely.<br /><br /> I came downstairs for lunch and said to my husband, "I don't know why I'm doing this." <br /><br />By habit I refreshed my dashboard on the laptop island and there you were: Why Do I Write At All?<br /><br />I can't understand. You've been published. You have an agent. A shot at an advance? Good Lord, woman!<br /><br />And then I thought <i> well Patience-pleasehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13262203054740351060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-73466357524905252672009-09-20T14:52:48.235+01:002009-09-20T14:52:48.235+01:00I'd do it just to be published and read. I hav...I'd do it just to be published and read. I have a full-time job as a high school teacher, but I commit all my other time to writing. It means I am not dependent on writing for my income and so my first book, just published, has half the royalties going to a charity to help abandoned children on the streets of Peru.<br /><br />I do it because when I was eleven and I read my first real book (&#Douglas Brutonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12625886640338360592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-87408328909332858292009-09-20T13:53:57.082+01:002009-09-20T13:53:57.082+01:00What a wonderful post. It really captured the love...What a wonderful post. It really captured the love/hate relationship most writers have with their writing. :-)Debbie Ridpath Ohihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11784775687291535329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-52841851732687327282009-09-20T13:31:57.561+01:002009-09-20T13:31:57.561+01:00What a terrific post! Thanks so much for this. It...What a terrific post! Thanks so much for this. It is exactly what I have been thinking and struggling with for the past two months as I finished my latest novel and prepare to send it out (unfortunately, my agent retired so I have to find a new one and it feels like I'm starting all over again). I had given myself permission to stop after I finished this WIP, and-- surprise -- I'm stillSue Guineyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13556228394020314560noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-17203559515627849572009-09-20T13:09:29.726+01:002009-09-20T13:09:29.726+01:00I read somewhere that on the day a novel is launch...I read somewhere that on the day a novel is launched, there are forty others launched on the same day (In the UK, USA, the world? Don't know...). Writing can be somewhat soul destroying – chip by chip – even for established writers, I'm sure.<br /><br />I'd like to think that the majority of writers start with the love of writing, then the wanting to be read. When published and a David John Griffinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01524610087056533062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-59681491651116949282009-09-20T11:36:37.188+01:002009-09-20T11:36:37.188+01:00Nicola
Great post and very honest. As one of the &...Nicola<br />Great post and very honest. As one of the 'great unpublished' being told my writing is good but that there is no place in current market for my latest effort, I obviously do it for love (don't I?)After all, I earn money doing other things. But the money thing matters. I have worked most of my life in academic libraries where measuring personal success is well nigh Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-61727274858858290012009-09-20T09:49:01.535+01:002009-09-20T09:49:01.535+01:00I agree with most of what you say but have to draw...I agree with most of what you say but have to draw a line at pointy shoes as motivation.<br /><br />I love/hate writing. I love/hate any creative process. I am impelled to execute my ideas, be they drawing, painting, designing or writing, by the Dark Side.<br /><br />That said, first time I saw my name under an article I'd written it gave me a buzz. <br /><br />I always knew I'd end up DOThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00719312854612984929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-34051105630604824932009-09-20T07:00:54.060+01:002009-09-20T07:00:54.060+01:00If you had to choose between writing and something...If you had to choose between writing and something else you like to do a great deal (okay, we will forget eating chocolate - I understand that is an integral part of your creative process but some other activity you absolutely love)... Now, if you had to choose? Maybe I should say the chocolate?<br />Someone asked me that question the other day - I said writing without hesitation and I am catdownunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06959328192182156574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-49948315539729668512009-09-20T06:11:13.632+01:002009-09-20T06:11:13.632+01:00Oh, it did my heart good to read this.
Loved hea...Oh, it did my heart good to read this. <br /><br />Loved hearing how your attitude towards money changed. It makes sense.<br /><br />But mainly, it was good to hear that sometimes (often?) it's hard for you write, too. <br /><br />Thanks.Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06909176210194176373noreply@blogger.com