tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post1424684207265242212..comments2024-03-29T07:43:01.003+00:00Comments on Help! I Need a Publisher!: SELLING BOOKS IS NOT A BONUSNicola Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12189894289540344094noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-82922362844157259242011-07-29T17:31:28.296+01:002011-07-29T17:31:28.296+01:00A million years ago, Nicola, a million years ago.....A million years ago, Nicola, a million years ago...Sarah Duncanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12530089356370140344noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-47535267421910173712011-07-29T10:01:04.215+01:002011-07-29T10:01:04.215+01:00Sarah - "I take your point that publishing is...Sarah - "I take your point that publishing is a business and if you want to get published you have to embrace the business." Yup, that's the point. Writers can write for all different reasons and with different goals, but if we want publishers to pay us (in effect) we have to write something that they can sell.<br /><br />By the way, you were Vicky, Rodney's girlfriend in Only Nicola Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12189894289540344094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-13317783180541656942011-07-28T18:27:32.341+01:002011-07-28T18:27:32.341+01:00Selling my work was always top of my list because ...Selling my work was always top of my list because being paid validated its worth. But that's my personal take, and I wouldn't push that on anyone else although I take your point that publishing is a business and if you want to get published you have to embrace the business. <br /><br />I've never been fussed about seeing it in bookshops or bothered if no one reads it (so long as Sarah Duncanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12530089356370140344noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-33029793039801159492011-07-26T20:27:32.490+01:002011-07-26T20:27:32.490+01:00I would like to sell enough that the publisher is ...I would like to sell enough that the publisher is willing to take another shot on me and let me write more books for them! If I could sell enough that I would never have to write another nonfiction book on hospital management, that would be icing on the cake.Julie Nilsonhttp://julienilson.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-66848631040907242452011-07-26T10:00:36.066+01:002011-07-26T10:00:36.066+01:00Dan - it's a fair question but I think misses ...Dan - it's a fair question but I think misses a point and oversimplifies. People buy a writer's first book partly for the reasons you suggest (the premise etc) but also because they trust (rightly or wrongly) the opinions of reviewers, whether established reviewers or blogs that they trust, for example. So, yes, people may buy the book before a non-publisher-led judgement has been made onNicola Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12189894289540344094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-80949513516490528562011-07-26T08:37:42.983+01:002011-07-26T08:37:42.983+01:00I'm slightly unclear on one thing - people wan...I'm slightly unclear on one thing - people want to sell their books because it shows people value their writing enough to invest in it.<br /><br />But surely this is only the case with a second book, not when we go into the process of putting our books out there. No reader buys a first book by a writer because they value that writer's prose - aside from the opening page they don't Dan Hollowayhttp://danholloway.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-54492947555492168432011-07-26T00:09:57.947+01:002011-07-26T00:09:57.947+01:00I like this post. I write for me first, to make su...I like this post. I write for me first, to make sure I get clarity in my mind. I hope for it to be published someday, but as long as I am writing I am very happy.Reginahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03493618594406138554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-78447765428724306052011-07-25T22:03:35.926+01:002011-07-25T22:03:35.926+01:00Love this post - and agree, of course. Stories of...Love this post - and agree, of course. Stories of any kind are there for telling and sharing and passing on - that's the human experience, surely? A story you write isn't completed until someone else reads it - the two coming together make the experience. (This was something said much more articulately by critics I read on the Children's Literature MA course at Roehampton.) I Inkpenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03596202836670669564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-15959424752971087422011-07-25T20:21:21.483+01:002011-07-25T20:21:21.483+01:00I want to sell books, not so that I make lots of m...I want to sell books, not so that I make lots of money - do you think that's what that tweep meant? - but because it means that people value my writing enough to want to invest money in it!<br /><br />With my non-fiction, though, I am also desperate to actually help people and genuinely feel, as a specialist in something, that there's a gap in the market for this...but then that goes Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-59658498331664583292011-07-25T19:49:56.088+01:002011-07-25T19:49:56.088+01:00Ghostiegirl - unfortunately, the great majority of...Ghostiegirl - unfortunately, the great majority of writers don't. I don't - not from writing, I'm afraid. And that's after 90 books...<br /><br />Scooter - verty wise :)<br /><br />Margaret - ooh, are you the Margaret Kirk who tried to leave a comment on one of my Write to be Published pages, abaout my Stirling event? I' sorry - I'd forgotten to click the "disable Nicola Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12189894289540344094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-62582241240088680692011-07-25T19:44:24.157+01:002011-07-25T19:44:24.157+01:00I'm commercially-minded enough to want people ...I'm commercially-minded enough to want people to buy my books - I agree that I write what I would like to read, but I'm definitely trying to do it with a slightly larger target audience in mind!<br /><br />I'm not a 'literary' writer, but if I can write something well enough, with a decent enough plot to keep people interested and entertained, that'll do for me.<br /><br /Margaret Morton Kirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01932292910281160827noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-38143674247389328722011-07-25T17:52:43.660+01:002011-07-25T17:52:43.660+01:00I was shooting for universal adoration.I was shooting for universal adoration.Scooter Carlylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06193754150220063430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-49893355078373835152011-07-25T16:04:46.861+01:002011-07-25T16:04:46.861+01:00Nicola, I'm going to reply to that on my blog....Nicola, I'm going to reply to that on my blog. Hope that's okay.Miriam Drorihttp://andewallscametumblindown.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-43474875759747036242011-07-25T14:22:25.470+01:002011-07-25T14:22:25.470+01:00Selling books is key but I don't care what the...Selling books is key but I don't care what the numbers are, I just want to be able to make a living from it.KamilleEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06845951906601926878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-14041593309142282962011-07-25T13:52:31.327+01:002011-07-25T13:52:31.327+01:00Personally, I view book sales as crucial – because...Personally, I view book sales as crucial – because I know that I don’t have a hope of becoming a full-time author without them. It’s a symbiotic relationship that I’ve learned to accept as a journalist, because if the money stops rolling in on a publication, then the writing – regardless of how good it is – will always follow… When it comes down to it, publishers care about the numbers and Nadia Damonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08196903495005068114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-38580288707398340492011-07-25T12:56:21.517+01:002011-07-25T12:56:21.517+01:00Miriam - tbh, you will probably raise awareness mo...Miriam - tbh, you will probably raise awareness more by your blogging and other work. After all, the book would be read mostly by people with the condition already.<br /><br />Cat, Lynda, Alison, et al - Doesn't really matter whether you aim to sell many thousands or a few thousands (the former is not "better" than the latter), only that a) you know what you should expect from your Nicola Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12189894289540344094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-38270784386610672802011-07-25T12:48:56.922+01:002011-07-25T12:48:56.922+01:00I think we need to separate writing and publishing...I think we need to separate writing and publishing in our minds. We write because we have to, most of us anyway, without any real regard for who will read us but simply to get the words out of our head. Then one day we realise that what we have created might actually be something we could market. It then becomes a product and we need to view it as such, not our baby. I understand totally wanting Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-64393200390591292812011-07-25T12:08:10.588+01:002011-07-25T12:08:10.588+01:00In the same respect, I don't understand author...In the same respect, I don't understand authors who write what they want to write and don't care that no one wants to read their particular story. There is a lot of that in middle grade fiction, hende the lack of skateboarding stories!Ms. Yinglinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17805324364289597178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-59680457239198390062011-07-25T11:52:04.101+01:002011-07-25T11:52:04.101+01:00So true; I relatively recently underlined the fact...So true; I relatively recently underlined the fact to myself (in a post on my ailing blog... poor blog) that a novel - whatever its genre - is, at the end of the day, a product to be sold.<br /><br />Like most writers, I also would like a ton of my novels to be read and the financial rewards would be the bonus. No really, to actually be read (widely) for me is my writing raison d'etre.<br /><David John Griffinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01524610087056533062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-22885072432042890112011-07-25T10:01:09.034+01:002011-07-25T10:01:09.034+01:00I've always wanted to make money from my writi...I've always wanted to make money from my writing. Not just because I need to pay my bills, but because it gives me validation. If someone likes my writing enough to pay for it then I think I must be at least doing *something* right!HelenMWaltershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16182100572365505905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-18865345825114748822011-07-25T09:22:17.261+01:002011-07-25T09:22:17.261+01:00It is the aspect of writing that hits home most pa...It is the aspect of writing that hits home most painfully for self-publishers. All very well holding a book in your hands, but surely it must - at the very least - pay for itself. We don't have to like the marketing-hype, but we do have to do it.JOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03127111575563904349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-2228234467152607382011-07-25T09:21:39.696+01:002011-07-25T09:21:39.696+01:00You are absolutely right. selling is important bec...You are absolutely right. selling is important because it gives value to the words. I think someone is more likely to read a book if they have paid for it than if it is given away. many years ago a group I was in ran an underground newspaper. We always insisted on selling it, even though it was very cheap. We knew that those who bought it, read it, whereas when we tried giving it away we found rodgriffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07071168728713662123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-69489069503004156212011-07-25T08:41:44.238+01:002011-07-25T08:41:44.238+01:00"the ability for your book to sell copies is ..."the ability for your book to sell copies is utterly central to its chance of publication."<br />And actually selling books is essenial for staying published and getting a second book to hold in your handsDan Hollowayhttp://danholloway.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-75262137302596086682011-07-25T08:29:36.341+01:002011-07-25T08:29:36.341+01:00As Samuel Johnson said 'no man but a blockhead...As Samuel Johnson said 'no man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money.' I've always thought that was a bit harsh, but his point has endured over 250 years, and he has other less stringent suggestions such as 'read just as inclination leads you, for what you read as a task will do you little good'. I think he's definitely on the side of the more commercial novelists!Ninahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01617479966533024323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-42298880047572362862011-07-25T08:14:32.367+01:002011-07-25T08:14:32.367+01:00Selling books is not a bonus. It's a big step ...Selling books is not a bonus. It's a big step towards my ultimate goal: raising awareness of social anxiety (and making lots of money).Miriam Drorihttp://andewallscametumblindown.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.com