Debut writers/authors

this is whats killing the board asshole

>>8810397
tl;dr your shitty post, fag

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>>8810519
Genuinely curious, though, about the performance element of contemporary literature.

>>8810531
TL;DR: What's the process, from a publishing industry point-of-view rather than aesthetic POV, for becoming an overnight success? It wasn't that long of a post to begin with

I wish I knew, Anon, then I'd be the next Joyce and I'd only come back here to gloat.

>>8810621
It takes a lot of luck. The big thing in the traditional publishing process most people on this board forget are AGENTS. To send a brilliant manuscript to slush and have it come out an instant hit is pretty much impossible. There are some very, very good and well connected agents that will read all that is sent to them, and they can really influence how a book is placed.
From the start, they help edit the boom before even sending it to the publisher. When it comes to shopping to publishers, they normally have a direct line to one of the more senior editors at most if not all of the big 5. They use this to begin a bidding war on the book. If they drive the price a publisher pays to get the book up, the publisher is more likely to sink more/better resources into editing and marketing the book to justify the cost. They make sure it is well advertised, sent to major reviewers, that it gets put on displays in Barnes&Noble, etc. Kaboom.

>>8810644
Neat, that was a concise and enlightening response. So the follow-up question, which I alluded to in the OP, is how do I attract one of the really good agents?

Assume I already have a manuscript etc. Also assume that I'm not confident in simply getting lucky with an agent, and am willing to pull gimmicks/stunts. What guerrilla marketing tactics might attract an agents' eyes in particular? Where do they live (as in, what cities)/hang out/spend off-hours time? Are they influenced by reading other publishers? What professional class of people are considered an agent's "competitors"?

Et cetera. I'm trying to get a sense of what the attack surface looks like.

>>8810723

Just write a query letter you stupid faggot

If you had done two seconds on how to publish you could have found out all this yourself

>>8810727
So you're saying a no-name first-time author can send a query letter to the best agents in the business without it being thrown immediately into the trash?

>>8810738
You can try

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>>8810753
>It takes a lot of luck
>I'm not confident in simply getting lucky with an agent

Boyoboy, we're back to >>8810723 again. I'm looking for an attack surface. Avenues I can exploit that don't solely rely on a no-shot query letter. I was almost starting to think that /lit/ could read, there.

>>8810531
>>8810519
>actual posting and discussion is killing the board
>/pol/ and /r9k/ invasions spreading hatred for ethnic groups and women are fine though

Why does every other literature board on the internet suck worse than this one?

>>8810806
you can always just use the pizza method

>>8810738
Yes. It's more in their interest to find and develop new talent than it is for the publisher. A big thing that will help the query is having a really strong opening sentence and, and by extension first page. Get them I into the book, show them what they're selling.
Prior publications help to an extent, but they aren't a big deal if you're sending in a novel, or if the places you published weren't fairly well known. They can help some, but a lack of them won't kill you. Unless you're trying to publish a short story collection, of course. (I have some additional info on collections, things work a little differently there)
I know some people try to attend some writing conferences to meet their agents, but I only know one person who actually met their agent irl first.
A lot of the things you seem concerned qith regarding social media and outside popularity won't greatly affect whether you'll get published or not, but it will be a tool for driving up the price publishers will pay. Even then, unless you're properly social media famous, it won't be a lot.

>>8810644
My problem is I don't think my novel appeals to the sort of person living a literary agent lifestyle in New York City. It's a good novel, but the subject matter is rather detached from what they might empathize with. Most of the agents I've come across are either women or nu-males and I'm afraid the novel (an extremely violent lamentation of Rust Belt industrial/sociological decay) won't pique their interest.

>>8811411
>A big thing that will help the query is having a really strong opening sentence and, and by extension first page

Good hooks, the first line, help but a lot of agents are getting sick of them, they're kind of cliche at this point. It's acceptable to have a decent one, if the rest of the query is good.

>and by extension first page

Uh....a query should NEVER be more than a page. Much less in fact, around 250 words is max.

>Prior publications help to an extent, but they aren't a big deal if you're sending in a novel

Uh yeah, it actually is a huge deal. If an agent is on the fence with your query (which they are with a lot of them) and you're published they generally will give you the benefit of the doubt just to read your sample, if not they'll just throw your stuff in the trash and not think about it. The difference between being published (and a real, well know publisher at that) is massive.

>They can help some, but a lack of them won't kill you

No....it can and will kill you.

>>8810397
The tree of fame is full of farce and illusion, ALL our Great Writers have their dose of Farce. If you want to be a shamish neomachiavelo go ahead, try and be famous, but fuck, you're vain.

The process is different in every case obviously. And today there'll be little to no consensus in terms of artistic merit in a field like literature.

>>8810397

Some just get lucky by sending the right manuscript at the right person at the right time.

Some get into the social aspect of it, going to writers conferences, networking, hobnobbing, all that shit. Actually very time consuming and expensive to do this, and the payoff might not even be worth it.

Most people just start small with short stories and such, and work their way up.

>
Sure, most of them may be talented writers, but no one (in this day and age) is SO GOOD that they could have possibly typed up a manuscript and hit "send" and become a rock star

Like i said, some people just get lucky. Winning the lottery sounds ridiculous, but it happens too.

Also, don't ever make the mistake in thinking that just because somebody is published, then that means they're successful. Most published writers, in fact, don't sell any books and make almost nothing doing it.

>>8810822
Go back to tumblr, faggot.

>>8812026
Wow, you sure are edgy.

>>8811428
A good way to pick an agent is by who they represent already. You probably wouldn't want to try Tony Tulathmutte's agent for example. Find someone who represents writers similar to you.

>>8811436
Sorry, jumped from query to manuscript without making it clear. It is utter horseshit that agents are tired of seeing a strong start though. Maybe if the rest is extremely weak in comparison, but otherwise what you said is not true in the least.
I've heard mixed things on priors though, some are like you said, others aren't.

>>8812026
Lol what am embarrassingly outdated post. Fuck off yourself, come back when you can think for yourself memefriend

>>8811409
>the pizza method
splain?

>>8811411
>>8811436
>>8812109
OP here again. Thanks for the helpful input bros

>>8811428
sounds like shit, sorry about your bad wriitng

>>8812109
>but otherwise what you said is not true in the least.

Yep, kind of is, deal with it shit boy.

Too many people writing queries now get it into their head that all they have to do is write that one perfect sentence, the very first one, and they're golden, nevermind that the rest of their query sucked.

There's literally millions of these queries out there that get rejected.

If you can write good hook, ok that's fine, but that's just the first sentence, most agents want to see more than anything, just a coherent, entertaining, and succinct summary of what your book is about.

Also...any agent will also tell you that they end up signing people who sent them terrible queries, just depends on what they're looking for, how they feel that day, if their taint got licked last night, w/e.

Is it common for agents to stick to a specific genre, or wing, of writing?

I write science-fiction and fantasy, but I also write literary fiction and magical realism. Would I need to get two different agents for both of those interests? I know genre and literary fiction don't always overlap.

>>8813068
>Is it common for agents to stick to a specific genre, or wing, of writing?

Yes, the better ones will say exactly what they're looking for in their bios.

>but I also write...magical realism

Lol! Fag.

>Would I need to get two different agents for both of those interests?

Most likely, yeah. Unless you developed a really good relationship with one, I dunno. An agent represents a book, usually, not a writer.

>>8810397
I think you would do better on hipsterrunnoff

>>8814404
could another one be made with minimal effort?

>>8813061
Did you even read his post, you idiot?

>>8810397
All it takes is years of dedication against terrible disappointments and failures. Come back when you've had at least 10 rejections. Or in your case at least 1.