I heard it. I didn't listen. Don't pay anyone any fee to be your agent. Nada. Zip. Nothing. I paid copying fees. Didn't break the bank but it was so wrong.
I wish I had known more about marketing. I assumed that a traditional house would handle all of it. I was wrong. When I first began writing, I was an introvert, had very few friends, spent no time on social media. I am a different person now but one who still guards her privacy.
Be skeptical of advice. People will give you advice, but what they are telling you is how to be published in 1966, 1979, 1985, etc. They might have the best intentions in the world, but they can mislead you.
Interestingly, I think I did learn before I could get burned never to pay to get published or to get an "agent". (I think I was told this by a published author.)
However, one thing I learned the hard way was that if one person writes a book and someone else illustrates it, and it's submitted for consideration, it guarantees that it won't get published. A friend of mine wrote some children's books and asked me to illustrate them, and there was nary a nibble. Eventually, he talked with someone who knew the dark secret of the publishing world, and that's how we learned the bitter truth. By then, I'd also done a lot of other work for which I'd never be paid.
I ceased doing any more illustration without a contract stating that I'd at least be paid, and that at most I'd just do a few sample illos without a contract from the publisher. I'd also let these potential authors know what they'd be up against.
At least I got some nice portfolio pieces out of some of these. Not all, though... Some of those stories were pretty bad, and since these writers weren't art directors the pictures were purely functional and not very interesting.
Business from Madison Heights, MI
Answered on May 17th, 2022
As an Indie Author, it would have been helpful to understand the nuances of the long marketing slog involved with publishing. This journey is not "Field of Dreams". Just because you write it, doesn't mean people will buy it. The awareness campaign you have to wage is more involved than the writing. However, now knowing this today, I still would not have chosen to publish any other way. I'm proud to be an Indie. Now, I put more effort and attention toward marketing, with the understanding that becoming an overnight success could take ten years or more! :-)
That no one's voice is the same as mine, no one's experiences will be the same as mine and I shouldn't care about criticism of my work. Took me way too long to learn that.
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I heard it. I didn't listen. Don't pay anyone any fee to be your agent. Nada. Zip. Nothing. I paid copying fees. Didn't break the bank but it was so wrong.
I wish I had known more about marketing. I assumed that a traditional house would handle all of it. I was wrong. When I first began writing, I was an introvert, had very few friends, spent no time on social media. I am a different person now but one who still guards her privacy.
Be skeptical of advice. People will give you advice, but what they are telling you is how to be published in 1966, 1979, 1985, etc. They might have the best intentions in the world, but they can mislead you.
The only good advice is "Write every day."
Interestingly, I think I did learn before I could get burned never to pay to get published or to get an "agent". (I think I was told this by a published author.)
However, one thing I learned the hard way was that if one person writes a book and someone else illustrates it, and it's submitted for consideration, it guarantees that it won't get published. A friend of mine wrote some children's books and asked me to illustrate them, and there was nary a nibble. Eventually, he talked with someone who knew the dark secret of the publishing world, and that's how we learned the bitter truth. By then, I'd also done a lot of other work for which I'd never be paid.
I ceased doing any more illustration without a contract stating that I'd at least be paid, and that at most I'd just do a few sample illos without a contract from the publisher. I'd also let these potential authors know what they'd be up against.
At least I got some nice portfolio pieces out of some of these. Not all, though... Some of those stories were pretty bad, and since these writers weren't art directors the pictures were purely functional and not very interesting.
As an Indie Author, it would have been helpful to understand the nuances of the long marketing slog involved with publishing. This journey is not "Field of Dreams". Just because you write it, doesn't mean people will buy it. The awareness campaign you have to wage is more involved than the writing. However, now knowing this today, I still would not have chosen to publish any other way. I'm proud to be an Indie. Now, I put more effort and attention toward marketing, with the understanding that becoming an overnight success could take ten years or more! :-)
That no one's voice is the same as mine, no one's experiences will be the same as mine and I shouldn't care about criticism of my work. Took me way too long to learn that.