Showing posts with label publishing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label publishing. Show all posts

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Should I get a Degree in Writing?

 "Should I get a Degree in Writing?"
----- Original Message -----
I've being toying with the idea of getting a degree in 'Creative Writing' recently and was wondering if this is a good idea or not?
 -- Wanna go Pro
WARNING! RANT Ahead...!

If you want to write professionally, Don't Waste your Money on 
Creative Writing courses. 

What they teach you in those so-called Creative Writing classes is how to break rules, not how to USE them to write a story a publisher will accept. In addition, they may RUIN the instincts for storytelling you currently possess and destroy your ability to write publishable fiction.

Instead, take a few cheap writing courses on COPYWRITING because that is how published fiction (and non-fiction) is actually written.

If you don't plan on writing Professionally then knock your socks off and take as many Creative Writing courses as your bank account can handle. I hear they're a lot of fun. Just don't expect any publisher to ever accept your...results.

As an author of over 30 published titles, I can tell you from years of experience that:

1) You DON'T need a degree of any kind to write Fiction successfully.



What you need are Life Experiences to write from.

You can't describe what you don't Know, so pack your back-pack and Go places, See things, and Do things. Join a Living History group or three. Learn how to; shoot a black-powder musket, ride a horse, belly-dance, wield a sword while wearing armor, spin wool, weave cloth, play a musical instrument, train dogs, speak a foreign language...etc. (I've done all of these.)

2) ANY fiction-writing course that isn't taught by a multi-published Fiction Author is a waste of your time and money.


You need to learn from those who actually DO IT, not from those who wish they could.

3) Realize and Accept that there is absolutely Nothing CREATIVE about writing for Money.


The Writing Guidelines posted by publishing houses are NOT Guidelines, they're absolute and unbreakable Rules. If you don't write what they want in the way they want it you WILL be Rejected --no matter how brilliant it is-- simply because it's Not what they asked for in their Guidelines.

"Is Writing Fiction
a good Profession?"

Not really. The pay sucks ass, especially if you are writing for a New York publisher. If you work for an ePublishing house the pay is better and far more frequent, but it's still not impressive.

For the Dirty Details: $Money Facts$: Ebooks & NY Print Publication


Just so you know, the ONLY ebook genre that actually makes good money these days is Erotic Romance (Women's Adult Pulp Fiction.)


"What sort of job opportunities
are there?"

Lots of people (read: Businesses,) are looking for good writers, but none of them are willing to pay a writer what they're actually worth because they all think Writing is EASY. (We all learned it in grammar school so it must be easy, right?)

For the Dirty Details: How Much Does a Copywriter Actually Make?

"If you have a degree in English and/or something writing orientated,
is it worth it?"

It's NOT, especially if you plan to write Fiction.

A degree in English will only teach you how to TEACH English -- not use it, and critique books in ways even the authors don't get. Unless you intend to make a living writing essays, teaching school, or as an editor correcting other people's fiction manuscripts, an English degree is a waste of your time and money.

"What are your thoughts on going to University to learn to Write professionally?"

If you want a degree Get One.

However...! Most universities prepare you for Teaching, Research, and Business -- NOT fiction writing. Be prepared to spend a lot of money learning a ton of crap you will not only never use, but may possibly Damage the fiction-writing skills you've already developed. 

If you're bound and determined to take classes on writing, go to Fiction Writing Workshops. Those are usually hosted by published authors and you'll actually learn things that are useful to your writing like; plotting, character design, pacing, narrative tricks, and the grammar authors use.

For the Dirty Details: The Secret to Proper Paragraphing for Fiction. 

If you want to write professionally then simply WRITE and post where your work can be found. Hang out where the authors hang out and Pay Attention when they give advice. Read as many books on writing as you can get your hands on; but only those written by Published AUTHORS. Most importantly, Keep Writing until a publisher spots your work and offers you a contract.

That's what worked for me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Tuesday, April 05, 2005

If You Can't Take an Edit, Stay Out of the Publishing House

The Editor is Your Friend
Or
If You Can't Take an Edit,
- Stay Out of the Publishing House
Stefani V. Kelsey
Editor-in-chief of eXtasy Books

Back in the day...
...in order to see a book in print, you were forced to do it the old-fashioned way: submit to a major publishing house and use the rejection slips to dab your tears. Repeat the process until you either buried your dreams--and your manuscript--in the bottom of a trunk, or by God and by Golly...Hit the Big Time!

Now, the world is your publishing house.
If Doubleday is foolish enough not to recognize your genius, you can hit small press, or POD, or ebook, or even do it yourself, whether by paying someone to do it for you, or truly making it your own. With so many options, finding the right fit is worth taking the time.

A huge factor in the decision-making process is that of the most feared facet of the publishing world: The Editor.

One misapprehension that the editor is out to hack, twist, trash, or otherwise fold, spindle, and mutilate your work. The true job of an editor is to take what you have and make it the best it can be, not to rewrite it in their own image and likeness. Spelling, grammar and sentence structure are standard, as is consistency.

You may get a manuscript back marked with enough red to illustrate the St. Valentine's Massacre, and still find not all that much is changed, as far as the true heart of your work: the story.

An editor doesn't bake the cake, just decorates it.

Unfortunately, not all editors know their role.

Some want to rewrite a story in a way they like, regardless of author's voice. Others fail to understand the author's world building, and end up literally destroying the carefully wrought storyline. Still more take on the role with a minimum of training and experience, and end up putting in more mistakes than they take out.

Usually because of a bad experience such as this, the author goes into the publishing world mistrusting the editor, and the relationship is doomed from the start.

The trick is knowing the difference between a professional edit, and the evil alternative.

Editing can seem traumatic...
You just handed over your baby, and when you get that book back, you feel like you've been attacked. Sentences you labored over have been hash-marked. The quaint turn of phrase you spent a good amount of time getting just so has been designated "too passive", and there is a detailed note attached asking you all sorts of inane questions you thought were made perfectly clear in line 18 of page four.

What would bring an otherwise kind person to perform such brutality?

Oddly enough, they're doing it to help you.
If a publisher signs you, they think you have a good bit of writing that the public may enjoy. So their goal is to put out a book that people will want to spend money on.

Now, no matter how good you and your crit group are, things will be missed.
That's the editor's job.
What seems perfectly clear and right to you after fifty readings may not be so to a reader during their first. A certain turn of phrase may read as offensive, or it may just not fit the image the house wants to project.

And of course, two words to strike fear in any wordsmith's heart:
House Style.
Every publisher has their own style, terminology, and formatting methods. Which, in most cases, is nothing like yours.

But the end result is not intended to send you into a fit of weeping and bosom-rending, but merely to create a marketable product.

If it's not about the money, or you think your misspellings are creative, and should be left in for emphasis, or you truly fear the evil editor, don't go to a publisher.

Insane advice?
No, self-preservation.

You're better off going to a vanity press, or simply doing it yourself, because all it will result in is bad blood between you and the publisher.

If you sign their contract, you are in essence agreeing to do it their way. If you don't like their way, don't sign the contract.

And yes, an ebook publisher is a real publisher.

And a contract is a contract.

Going to an ebook publisher is not a "last resort."

It also does not mean you get the right to do or say whatever you like. An epublisher commands the same respect as any other.

If Doubleday signed you:
  • Would you argue with and/or insult the editor?
  • Would you ask the publisher after they spent hours editing and putting your book up for sale to dissolve your contract because you want to go to another publisher?
  • More important, would they?
Straight up answer is no, on all counts. You wouldn't do it, and they wouldn't take it. So keep that in mind when you make your decision.

© 2005 Stefani V. Kelsey,
Executive Managing Editor, eXtasy Books
Also writing as Eppie Finalist and CAPA Nominee Rian Monaire
Article Featured in Xodtica Magazine March 2005

Posted with Permission