Is writing a novel a waste of time?

>>16659328
whats your story about anon

Overall yes, it's very inefficient if you're trying to make a buck off it. However, it's a very fulfilling hobby otherwise.

>>16659328
i'm about to try writing a blog and getting good enough at music to be a street performer in hopes of getting out of my factory job someday. fuck anon, if it's something you'd prefer as a career choice, try and who cares if you fail. otherwise be complacent like the people who trained me at this job, saying they'd stay for 1 year and now have been there for almost 40. i'm sure their life has been fulfilling work-wise

>>16659328
No. It's fun and if it's any good then we all have an extra book to read. Go slow and take 10 years if you need to (which you will, because they won't accept a no-name's book unless it's perfect).
Your second book which you contractually have to release the following year will be a waste of time. But if your publisher is nice they'll see the error in this and give you enough time for your third and last book to be mediocre.
Unless you're loaded, then you can just keep going full time until you're good.

I work in publishing, OP.

Your book doesn't need to be brilliant to get published. Most people lack the discipline to ever finish a manuscript in the first place. After the writing and editing, then you can spend years looking for an agent or a publisher, waiting for the right person to see your work and match it with the right market niche. Then it may take another couple of years before the book actually sees print.

Most people simply do not have the patience for this, which is why most people are not published authors.

If you are persistent, you will eventually find a traditional publisher.

Supply and demand works in your favor in this case.

Many thousands of people attempt to get published every year, and are turned down. But these people submit unfinished manuscripts, pitches without writing samples, unedited manuscripts, 3000 page schizophrenic stream-of-consciousness political manifestos with no marketing potential....you get the idea.

A person who can write a mediocre book and submit a clean, complete manuscript is a true rarity. Even more rare are the people who can follow the publishers basic instructions on how to format and submit said manuscript. Those who keep pitching their book to other publishers after their first rejection are rarer still.

This tiny minority will almost certainly get their work published.

Many of their books are crap, but hey, demand for new books is greater than supply.

If you have ever read a terrible paperback novel and wondered how it ever saw print, well, now you know.

The author was persistent and had a little common sense.

Good luck, OP, and enjoy the journey.

>Is doing something difficult but potentially very rewarding worth it?

You tell me.

>>16659328
>should I do something
Absolutely not, op. Don't do anything even if you want to.

If you're hoping to make lots of money and live off royalties, it's a waste of time because it's unlikely to happen.

If it's something you're doing and you care about, you should keep at it.

There's a lot of garbage that's published, so if your novel is decent and you try lots of different publishers I'm sure someone will publish it.

>>16659328
If you're enjoying this, and having fun, I don't see it being a waste of time. Sure you technically could be doing something more profitable, but if this is something you have fun with, why stop?

i think you should write your book

>>16659328
It's not a waste of time. Even if your story is shit, you might get lucky.

>>16660694
When you say "unedited," do you mean in the traditional sense, like checked for spelling, grammar, and other issues? Or do you mean edited to a particular publisher's specifications?

>>16660725
Fucking this OP what are you thinking

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>>16660694
Not op, but which publishers should I market to if I have a finished illustrated gaphic novel? It's a teen drama, not a comic. Think Lynda Barry, Alison bechtal and derf backderf

An audio version would be best also keep that in mind.

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Not OP, but I decided to revisit an old project of mine and rewrite it from scratch. Thoughts so far?

>>16661088
A bit too much redundancy. especially in the second paragraph. Rubbing hands in excitement should just be reduced to rubbing hands -- the reader's knowledge of the character, and context, will inform them that he is excited and that's why he's doing that. Same goes for shifting uncomfortably and glancing nervously, and everyone's muscles collectively tensing (if everyone's muscles tensed, then it is collective). Plus, there's always a good replacement for an adverb, usually just a different verb before it.

Novels are personal adventures for readers and authors. Obviously it's much for of an adventure for an author, but if you enjoy doing it then why quit? Life's too short to not do the things you enjoy.

>>16661088
Perfectly fucking adequate. Finish it, self-publish it on the Kindle Store and start getting paid for it. Make it into a series for maximum profit. Learn how to market your shit for maximum profit.

We live in an age where writing can be very lucrative, but only if you take a quantity over quality approach. Stop "rewriting from scratch" and get you shit out there. You're never going to be the next Hemingway writing about singwolves so self-publishing is perfect for you. Just aspire to give people a fun adventure they can escape into and they will be grateful. No need to over-scrutinize.