Good and Bad Advice About Writing and Getting Traditionally published

by Stephen Aryan

This ebook contains Good and Bad Advice about writing fiction and, specifically, getting traditionally published.

It answers common questions about writing novels, finding an agent and getting published. It debunks widespread bad advice and pulls back the curtain on the traditional publishing industry. It breaks down the stages a manuscript will typically go through from the moment you submit to an agent to when it comes out in a bookshop.

Stephen Aryan is an award winning fantasy author who tried for years to find an agent before he was eventually successfully. Since then he has gone on to publish six fantasy novels with Orbit books and two more have been announced with Angry Robot Books.

This ebook condenses his experience and the lessons learned along the way to help others avoid some of the same pitfalls. He provides examples of good advice to follow and bad advice which should be ignored. He goes into detail, picking the bad advice apart, explaining the repercussions it can have on a writer and their career.

129 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 24, 2020

About the author

I’m a lifelong fan of fantasy and science fiction. It started with The Hobbit, The Belgariad, the Earthsea books, the Shannara books, DragonLance and then David Gemmell, who was a huge influence on my writing.

My novels include:-

The Nightingale and the Falcon trilogy

The Judas Blossom (July 2023)
The Blood Dimmed Tide (9 July 2024)
The Judas Blossom 3 (July 2025)

The Quest for Heroes duology

-The Coward (June 2021)
- The Warrior (August 2022)


Age of Darkness (first trilogy)
- Battlemage
- Bloodmage
- Chaosmage

Age of Dread (second trilogy)

-Mageborn
-Magefall
-Magebane

A prequel novella to everything, Of Gods and Men, was published in February 2018.


I am represented by Juliet Mushens of Mushens Entertainment.

Reviews

[marc | bookmarcreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book highly informative as well as motivating. Definitely worth a read if you’re looking to write your first novel and might want to get it traditionally published. It was a quick read with no filler, just valuable information from every step of the writing process, to getting an agent, and more while debunking all the myths and bad advice along the way. Highly recommend! 👍🏽

[Katie]

Some great advice, some bad advice pointed out so you can avoid it, great section on querying.

[Michelle Marie McGrath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Down to earth, practical advice for anyone writing a novel about the traditional publishing industry. Helpful and realistic with real life examples of interactions with his own agent, submitting to agents and keeping going in the face of years of rejection - which is tough when dealing with such an opaque secretive industry.