What it takes to be a first-time author?
Okay, so one fine day, you feel you have a story to tell the
entire world. You believe it can influence many people and touch many hearts.
And then, you start writing a book, not knowing what is gonna come your way.
You write just because you want to write, nothing else matters. You start
living in your own world, creating a beautiful world bit-by-bit and moving
towards your wonderful dream inch-by-inch. You are always writing, either in
your brain or on a paper or on your laptop. But you always keep writing a story
in your head. You just never stop.
Day by day week passes, week by week month passes and time
flies like a supersonic jet plane.
But like a snail, even though the pace is slow, you keep
moving forward. And on another fine day, after writing thousands of words and
editing hundreds of times, you are finally done with the manuscript. A sense of
joy fills your heart and you wonder if it was really you who had written a
book. You start dreaming of people reading your book and appreciating your
effort and saying how much they liked your work. You imagine your book lying on
the front shelves of the book stores alongside the best authors’ books. You
wonder if you’ll become famous and if everything is almost done. But if you
thought that you’re done, you are wrong! The journey has not even begun yet.
Welcome to the world of publishing!
So, you’re done with your magnum opus and you start your search
for a good publisher. But after a little research on the internet and after
talking to a few people in the industry, you’ll very soon realize that writing
a book is far easier than getting it published, especially if you’re a first
timer.
In this 21st century, where almost everything happens at
lightning speed, you’ll be shocked to know that publishers can take anywhere
between 3 weeks to 6 months to get back to you. (All through the article, when
I use the word ‘publisher’, I am excluding the publishers who publish just any
crap under the sun) You may have to wait for weeks to get a reply. Most
probably, the reply would be a sorry message saying your manuscript was
rejected. If the editor is kind hearted, he will mince words and justify why
your manuscript was rejected. If not, just a brutal rejection. Worse, no reply
at all.
You soon get depressed when you see rejections all over. But
then, you have to understand that this is the test of time and you’ll have to
be stronger than you ever were. In Paulo Coelho’s language, the universe is
testing your strength of character and your will to achieve what you want. What
might give you solace is that Harry potter was rejected by dozen publishers and
five point someone was rejected by nine publishers. So, if your manuscript gets
rejected, it doesn’t mean it is a bad book.
‘How can one person in a publishing house decide the worth
of a manuscript?’, so you may ask. Frankly, I don’t have an answer.
And then, after experiencing rejections, you’ll figure out that
there is a smarter way of getting a publisher – literary agents. A literary
agent doesn’t guarantee finding a publisher for your book, but the chances are
high and you can hope for the best. Yes, hope – the beautiful four letter word
that has been the basis of every wonderful dream ever realized. And you hope
and you’ll be surprised that the very publisher who had rejected your
manuscript earlier considers this time and may even accept it for publishing.
So, you finally get a publisher – after few rejections or through a literary
agent. You pay good amount of your hard-earned money to the agent. But you know
that it’s totally worth it. Totally. You forget the past and feel elated. You
feel you’re done and you will be signing autographs in near future. But wait,
the show has just begun!
Again, you’ll be surprised to know that it takes anywhere
between 6 months to a year for your book to finally see the light of the day.
But then, since you don’t have too many options, you go for it. You sign the
contract for a meager royalty as you realize that getting published is in
itself a big deal. Money doesn’t really matter. You tell yourself – “Let me
earn good name with my first book. I can demand something for my next book.”
And then, you start working with your editor who, most
probably, has a different perspective of your book. A writer-editor
relationship is as intriguing and interesting as a husband-wife relationship.
But you’ll give your best shot to get along well with your editor. You’ll
insist sometimes, you’ll compromise
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