I Am a Published Novelist !! (page 5)

SYN

Cool stuff Jim. Hopefully I'll be able to work on the editor when I have time again! (I'm kinda busy right now...)

Yeah, it's always great to have someone critiqueing (SP?) your work for you. It's actually vital!

Jim: I note (if I read correctly) that you do NOT have an agent. Can you share with this writer why you chose to go it alone? Did you try to find an agent and fail and decide to move directly to an editor and book publisher? Do you recommend that path? Just looking for insights...

SanFranciscoJim

Jim: I note (if I read correctly) that you do NOT have an agent. Can you share with this writer why you chose to go it alone? Did you try to find an agent and fail and decide to move directly to an editor and book publisher? Do you recommend that path? Just looking for insights...

willyloman,

Since this is my first novel, I decided that finding an agent at this time would not be prudent because I wanted to establish myself as a bona-fide member of the published literary community first. In corresponding with other published writers, I was told that most agents are hesitant to take on a client who has never had their work published before. Although I have been published extensively in trade journals, magazines, and on the internet, this is my first attempt at writing a full-length novel, and my first attempt at writing fiction. I want to see where this book takes me before soliciting an agent for my future works.

My publisher assigned an editor to edit my novel after the initial manuscript was submitted. I did not care for much of their edit, so I re-edited their edit, and they accepted it.

As to recommending this path, I don't know what to say. This is all new to me, and as I gain more experience in the literary field, I believe I'll be able to offer suggestions with greater confidence at that time.

willyloman

Thanks for your reply! Can I ask a few more questions?

How did you locate the publisher? Did they charge a fee to edit your book?

Country_Woman

I'll put it on my Christmas-list next year.....

Congratulations.
Branda

Robdar

Congrats for your good news!

Cheers

Robyn

SanFranciscoJim

How did you locate the publisher? Did they charge a fee to edit your book?

I located the publisher through a fellow exJW author who writes metaphysical novels.

You better believe they charged me for the edit! It cost a small fortune, in fact, since they charge by the word. I had the option of using an outside editor, but decided to stay in-house. Next book, I will probably do the edit myself, because the way they tried to re-edit the book made it lose a lot of the flavor I was trying to project. Their editor apparently didn't like the fact that I know how to use "big words". The editor did catch a few glaring errors of syntax and repetition, but I re-inserted much of the original text. It is, after all, my book, and I wanted it to reflect my writing style. Had I accepted the publisher's edit 100%, the book would have read like an oversimplified collaborative work and not recognizable as anything I would be proud to have my name on.

I was fortunate that the publisher accepted my re-edit without further changes.

SanFranciscoJim

For what it's worth, I just found my book listed on Barnes & Noble's website tonight.

My publisher told me that Amazon.com will have it on their site next week or the week after.

This gets more and more exciting every day!

I Am a Published Novelist !!

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