Goodreads Sci-Fi/Fantasy Authors discussion

Hi. I'm working on two different books. I've never had a story I've written published, so I need some help. Please?

What sort of help?

I'm told that the trick is to become known - to develop your own followers. I've been advised to use Facebook, Twitter and even MySpace. I've also started a blog. It's a slow and uphill climb, but I'm determined to climb it, though I get discouraged from time to time.

Everybody has their own ideas about the best approaches to marketing and publicity. My editor is on me to do a blog tour, for instance, which I'm not even sure how that works. (If you go on an actual tour, you can give the same talk every time, but when you're online you have to come up with something new every day. Ai yi yi.) The big thing, though, the really important thing, seems to be never to give in to discouragement. And that's the hardest thing of all, sometimes. The best thing is to do at least something every day. Even if it's just a little thing, it's something more than you had yesterday.

Thanks, Broos. It's nice to get a little encouragement from time to time.

Matthew wrote: "I'm in the same boat. I've written a trilogy and two other books - none of them professionally published.

I did self-publish my Pazuzu series on lulu.com, but I don't think I'll be doing that aga..."

Well see, I'm only 15 and not many people would be interested in anything I've writen. ive asked several people but the say i should wait but i dont want to. i want to become known.

The only thing you should wait for is to make sure your writing is the greatest it can be. Until then, do all you can to become known. It's a long climb.

Consider it a li'l sock on the arm, Anna. But to address Kathryn's original plea, there's an astonishing number of blogs by editors and agents that offer lots of free advice and industry news. And since they're written by people who love books, they tend to be entertaining, too. I'm particularly fond of Nathan Bransford's blog. He seems like a genuinely nice guy, he's knowledgeable, and he's often pretty funny, despite his fondness for The Hills:

http://blog.nathanbransford.com/

Oh yeah - I love him too.

Thanks for the advice. I'll b looking into it often

Broos wrote: "Everybody has their own ideas about the best approaches to marketing and publicity. My editor is on me to do a blog tour, for instance, which I'm not even sure how that works. (If you go on an actu..."

I have done several virtual and actual tours, quite successfully, and plan them for the authors we publish as well. It's all in finding the right venues and demographics, which sometimes can be a bit of a gamble.

Getting your name out seems to be extremely hard. I don't seem to do a very good job of it

Yes, getting your name out there is quite tricky. I have a forum, a blog, am active in various social circles, and have been for about 6 years or so, and am still largely an unknown. But then, I only just finally published something (Arcane Synthesis: A Blended-Genre Anthology). I have shown my work off before, but there is a bit of a catch-22. In order to become known and get respect, you generally need to be known and have your work on the market. That is also one of the big stumbling blocks on Kickstarter. It's hard to get people to back you if you aren't already well established. You need a following and generous family and friends to get your book funded, unless you get very lucky.

Gaining a following by regularly blogging about your work and showing your work, helps (I keep so busy that I don't blog as often as I should). I know of authors that regularly release stories on their blog in serial form, or just short stories. It's a way to develop a following.

One of the biggest hindrances to me in purchasing work by new authors is editing. Many beginners don't get their work professionally edited (I know, you haven't made any money yet), but editing is crucial. I paid through the nose for editing, in addition to my own editing, and numerous rounds of it all, plus several rounds of proofing. Good editing shows and even a great author can benefit from a great editor.

No one is going to become a fan unless they can see your work and then like what they see. Read and write like mad! While there are some pretty good books out there on writing, if you spend all your time reading how-to books, you'll never get anything done.

Don't worry about getting famous. In fact, don't worry at all. Just do your best, be friendly and talk with a lot of people. Let them read your stuff. Show that you have talent, that you have something to say, and never, ever give up!

I agree, Bob. Getting a good professional edit is crucial (and I'm not just saying that because I am a professional editor!). So many self-published books aren't what they could be, usually merely because they haven't had a professional edit.

Hi Lynne, with how hard it is to turn heads when so many books are hitting the market every year, I don't think authors can afford to skip pro editing. We need every advantage we can get!

I've done some editing before for projects, but there are far better editors out there than I am. For Arcane Synthesis, in addition to writing two of the stories, since the book was based on my universe, I was the Developmental Editor, and handled all the early copy editing. Later, I brought in two pro editors as well, both of whom went over the entire book, plus proofers at various points, so while I can't say the anthology has no errors, it wouldn't fall into the camp of most small press, I'd imagine (of course it wasn't cheap, but it was worth it).

The Wow factor can and should be taken up a notch. It might mean that the first novel doesn't generate any money, but if it gets you fans and street cred, that can only help the next book. No doubt many novels with lots of potential never get noticed for lack of good editing.

Absolutely. Whenever I'm talking to a new author, I recommend at least one professional edit before they start sending their book around to publishers and agents, and if they're self-publishing I recommend three professional edits and one professional proofread. That's in addition to self-editing and editing by friends. Considering how easy it is to lose people if your book is poor quality when you release it, I think it's a worthwhile investment.

As a new SF eBook Amazon author (“The Alien Species Challenge” due out in 2 months) I’m thinking of a new follow on book that would have a lot to do with time travel. I would be interested to know how any of you deal with the complications of time travel in your stories. I am concerned about the different ways time travel can influence causality/plot.

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