CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

It's a question I've heard several times in the last couple of weeks. Usually along the lines of: "I've finished my book, how do I get published" or "Does anyone have any advice on how to get published?" or "What's the best way to get published?" or words to that effect. I only have one piece of advice for this and it's: Do your research. The slightly expanded version reads more like this: Do your research and decide which path suits you best. The really LONG version is more like this: Investigate your options and understand your goals. You can take the traditional path and query agents and publishers. That has the upside that people will give your book respect because someone else chose to publish your book and you will have easier access to a few markets others have difficulty getting into.   You can take the independent path and hire a professional editor and cover artist, then do the processing, upload and marketing required...

This month I made a concerted effort to get back to reading blogs - especially those of writers with more experience and knowledge than I have. I need to learn and I need to try and maintain something of a decent perspective from this somewhat sheltered and blinkered corner of the world. Also, I write in isolation. I don't have a lot of in-depth contact with people, let alone other writers. Too shy, not enough time, strong feeling of being too different and not welcome, and not fond of people, pick your reason, but those sum it up for me. Anyway, here are the blogs I got caught up on this month. There are a lot, and if one author seems to be a focus, just remember that I'm working down a list and I'll be culling that list as I go. These are the folk I am learning from at the moment, my unwitting mentors who don't know me from a bar of soap, and to whom I am very grateful. These are their words. Publishing Industry http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/writing-in-public-ye...

There are many who will say that you should never release your first book, or your second or even your third. There are some who say, finish your work, do the best you can at it, (including having it professionally edited) and then put it out there, that your work will improve as you practice your craft, improve your craft, and work at continually improving your craft and doing your best work and that your readership will grow as put more work out. And I agree, but, like many writers I always doubt that any piece I do will be good enough, and like all writers who put their work out there, or submit it to a publisher, I have to find enough courage to write and finish and share my stories anyway. So, why release titles from earlier in my career? Why now? When I have over twenty years’ writing experience, why release something from early on? Why expose work that might be different to what I do now, maybe not as polished—especially on the internet? Why release this work when it will...

Another long week, but I am starting to find my feet once more. Projects are starting to settle. Sales figures have come in, showing where the best areas are to concentrate on. The point raised about how breaking out several author names at once increases time to break out is true, as is the point about some genres selling much more strongly than others. While I am still a long way from where I need to be, sales aren’t too bad for this stage of my career, and I’m learning what I need to focus on. Let’s see where we are at Christmas. Overview New words produced: 7,232; Old words revised: 4,332; Works completed: 0; Works revised: 0 (20 poems revised, but incorporated into a larger work); Covers created: 0 (1-3 variations); Works published: 0 (2-3 release platforms); Works submitted: 1 (complete work-up of proposal from last week); Competitions Entered: 0 Tier 2 Tasks RomNov1A—Country Rush (was Taylor’s Story): Added 1,000 words Extra Tasks Annual12: ...

It all started because I couldn’t get a broad enough view from inside Australia, either by reading what was available from the Australian industry or talking to those in it. I grew frustrated because all I heard was the same views again and again, but I was working for e-pubs based in the U.S. I was freelancing as an editor, admin i strator and writer; selling novellas (six before I stopped submitting them); and reading the mainly U.S.-based e-pub market news, as well as blogs and articles by traditionally published and e-published authors based world-wide. I started having trouble believing what I had heard over fifteen years of listening to advice at every Australian workshop, bookshop, convention or book launch I attended, which was: To get novels published, you first have to have short stories published; To be considered by an Australian publisher, you had to have a recommendation from a reader, whose opinion the publisher recognized; this from at least two editors I had...