LonerAndy Posted September 10, 2020 Group: Senior Member Followers: 4 Topic Count: 19 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 693 Content Per Day: 0.42 Reputation: 396 Days Won: 0 Joined: 10/28/2019 Status: Offline Share Posted September 10, 2020 So I'm having a blast doing this, but I'm concerned about confirmation bias. Meaning... I think it's great... of course... it's my story, so of course I think it's fantastic. But what if no one else does, and thinks it's terrible, and this is a huge waste of time? What do you do about that? Not sure if there is anything I can do to even find out if what I'm doing is garbage or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speks Posted September 10, 2020 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 17 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 192 Content Per Day: 0.14 Reputation: 145 Days Won: 1 Joined: 09/03/2020 Status: Offline Share Posted September 10, 2020 (edited) Maybe you could link to a chapter or 2 of your work? Is it Christian-based? Fictional? Maybe you could try publishing through a 'blog' or website of some kind that includes a downloadable .pdf file? A proper standard of English and carefully researched content that is informative or keeps the reader hooked is a great start. I've had a go at writing myself over the years and for a time self-published a 100-page book through Amazon. I've learned with my own writing that few were interested, but it didn't stop me! I enjoy it and it's a kind of hobby too. Maybe, like me, you're not too interested in the official side of writing and publishing, but check out this website: https://www.writersdigest.com/resources/about-us . Edited September 10, 2020 by Speks Link 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Who me Posted September 10, 2020 Group: Royal Member Followers: 5 Topic Count: 17 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 3,300 Content Per Day: 1.72 Reputation: 1,686 Days Won: 0 Joined: 01/27/2019 Status: Offline Share Posted September 10, 2020 48 minutes ago, LonerAndy said: So I'm having a blast doing this, but I'm concerned about confirmation bias. Meaning... I think it's great... of course... it's my story, so of course I think it's fantastic. But what if no one else does, and thinks it's terrible, and this is a huge waste of time? What do you do about that? Not sure if there is anything I can do to even find out if what I'm doing is garbage or not. I assume this is about your writing a book. I can only give you two pieces of advice. Review, review, review and rewrite as required. Read what you wrote last week for basic tried, for how it flows, clarity etc etc. Periodically re read from the begining all the way through with a note pad and make notes. When you are satisfied give your work to someone else to read and ask for comments on spelling, grammar, flow, believability, accuracy etc etc Then rewrite. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnDB Posted September 10, 2020 Group: Members Followers: 2 Topic Count: 2 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 49 Content Per Day: 0.04 Reputation: 17 Days Won: 0 Joined: 08/13/2020 Status: Offline Share Posted September 10, 2020 Be somewhat careful with your book. Russian publishers have been stealing online books and reselling them with no royalties whatsoever paid to the author. One claims a million dollars per year income from selling stolen books. Amazon is a great place to sell your book... until someone else gets a copy and then reports you for plagerism because again they are selling your book. It will take a year to straighten out that mess too. One of the best things to do when it's finished is to send it off for professional editing...where the grammar is likely correct, there's usually a better way to write it so it reads more profoundly. Then once it's completed with good editing you will need a cover... graphic artist. Don't get in trouble here...make sure your graphic artist is selling you an original work with out selling it a dozen times again later. You want to completely own your cover without anyone else owning it. Endorsements actually work...pay for them...the good ones will cost money. (And will give you some idea as to how well your book fits the genre you are placing it in) Don't get the genre wrong... Science Fiction love stories full of romance and very little shooting up bad creatures with proton lasers only works in the writers mind. A little romance in a Sci-fi novel isn't bad...nor is a little bit of sci-fi in a romance novel a bad thing...but in a historical fiction piece? Then be generous with the completed work. You have no other work out there to be known by. (Publishers want an established writer with an established fan base before they will pick you up) Post a few chapters free...but then charge minimal sums for remaining chapters. You might (considering the acceptance level) having it translated... spanish, french, and portuguese will greatly increase your market size. (And fan base) and again this will cost money. By the time the sales of your book finally wane (market saturation) and you are absolutely sick of it (as is those who have read it 5x now) it will be time for the sequel. (got to have at least two of these) But you will need to spend a few thousand dollars in advertising for your book so people know it's out there before you can even claim market saturation. You can again use the same graphic art work with the new book title. And go through the process again. Eventually if you get enough of a fan base...have good work...and a marketable brand you can finally contact an agent to sell your next trilogy for you. Then come the book signing tours and your personal website is going to pay off here... you want to have it look like you are a rock star when you show up. Not the geeky dork we all feel like. Have your fan base notified that you are going to be somewhere and that you will sign their previous hard copies...get them to show up for freebies and mentions... But first.... Finish the first book... only completed works get sold. And the ending is important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. Hartono Posted September 10, 2020 Group: Royal Member Followers: 0 Topic Count: 771 Topics Per Day: 0.34 Content Count: 6,938 Content Per Day: 3.06 Reputation: 1,979 Days Won: 1 Joined: 02/15/2018 Status: Offline Share Posted September 10, 2020 Better write a blog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnthebaptist Posted September 10, 2020 Group: Non-Conformist Theology Followers: 6 Topic Count: 118 Topics Per Day: 0.06 Content Count: 4,361 Content Per Day: 2.31 Reputation: 2,109 Days Won: 0 Joined: 02/25/2019 Status: Offline Birthday: 02/03/1953 Share Posted September 10, 2020 7 hours ago, LonerAndy said: So I'm having a blast doing this, but I'm concerned about confirmation bias. Meaning... I think it's great... of course... it's my story, so of course I think it's fantastic. But what if no one else does, and thinks it's terrible, and this is a huge waste of time? What do you do about that? Not sure if there is anything I can do to even find out if what I'm doing is garbage or not. I've written a bunch of novels. I enjoyed doing it, but I think they are pretty bad. I published several on Amazon Kindle and had only one compliment. Maybe you should ask someone to read yours. Maybe you have talent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Robinson Posted September 10, 2020 Group: Senior Member Followers: 6 Topic Count: 22 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 903 Content Per Day: 0.20 Reputation: 516 Days Won: 0 Joined: 11/01/2011 Status: Offline Birthday: 05/03/1952 Share Posted September 10, 2020 (edited) I second what Who Me said. My wife and I are published writers with five novels out to date. The first three (published as John Robinson, although my wife Barb wrote at least half) are a trilogy featuring a newly-saved Christian PI) titled Until the Last Dog Dies, When Skylarks Fall, and To Skin a Cat. They came out through a Christian house, David C. Cook/RiverOak. The next novel, Heading Home, is also under my name, and is a stand-alone end times thriller published through Sheaf House. When the rights were returned to us a few years later we put it up on Kindle as Last Call. Finally our newest novel, Pitfall (that's a partial shot of the cover featuring the title) is the first of a new suspense series featuring a wounded Army Ranger, and came out a couple years ago through WildBlue Press, a general market (that is, non-Christian) house. All that said, if you take Who Me's advice you'll be miles ahead of the pack. Edited September 10, 2020 by John Robinson typo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LonerAndy Posted September 10, 2020 Group: Senior Member Followers: 4 Topic Count: 19 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 693 Content Per Day: 0.42 Reputation: 396 Days Won: 0 Joined: 10/28/2019 Status: Offline Author Share Posted September 10, 2020 12 hours ago, Who me said: I assume this is about your writing a book. I can only give you two pieces of advice. Review, review, review and rewrite as required. Read what you wrote last week for basic tried, for how it flows, clarity etc etc. Periodically re read from the begining all the way through with a note pad and make notes. When you are satisfied give your work to someone else to read and ask for comments on spelling, grammar, flow, believability, accuracy etc etc Then rewrite. Hahaha! I don't why, but when you said "When you are satisfied with everything.... have someone read it..... Then rewrite it" XD Ok.... right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David1701 Posted September 10, 2020 Group: Royal Member Followers: 8 Topic Count: 15 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 5,731 Content Per Day: 3.55 Reputation: 3,522 Days Won: 12 Joined: 11/27/2019 Status: Offline Share Posted September 10, 2020 6 minutes ago, LonerAndy said: Hahaha! I don't why, but when you said "When you are satisfied with everything.... have someone read it..... Then rewrite it" XD Ok.... right. You might even want to consider something that no-one has mentioned yet: pray about it. If God is in it, then He is well able to lead you in the writing and publishing; and get it out to whomever He wants to read it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LonerAndy Posted September 10, 2020 Group: Senior Member Followers: 4 Topic Count: 19 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 693 Content Per Day: 0.42 Reputation: 396 Days Won: 0 Joined: 10/28/2019 Status: Offline Author Share Posted September 10, 2020 9 hours ago, R. Hartono said: Better write a blog. I've been writing on forums for now, 21 years? Since 1999, I have written forum posts, some as long as 5 pages. I usually do this 4 or 5 times a week. People have told me that I need to write a book, but most of my writing even to this day, is non-fiction. This would be the first novel, or fictional story of any kind, that I have attempted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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