How do you deal with the stress of trying to get published?
I've finished my novel and am currently in the 'finding an agent' phase of my writing career. I find the process particularly stressful because very rarely, if ever, does an agent provide feedback as to why they chose to pass. Have you gone through this process and, if so, what did you do to keep positive and motivated?
I went through it in submitting short stories to literary magazines. It's hard -- that's for sure -- but keep at it. I have since been published in several literary magazines on honest-to-goodness paper! Don't give up! Think of it as paying your dues.
Have a few beers. It always calms me down. Most of the greatest writers were heavy drinkers, probably because of the agents:)
I prefer self-publishing through Amazon either through the KDP program or Create space. The eBook market does well for unknown authors some like Amanda Hocking even received book deals after going through this method.
I think the best thing you can do if you are finding the process of leg-working your novel around the agents is getting stressful for you is:
1. Start writing the next novel.
2. Detach yourself emotionally and don't expect a critique.
3. Draw up a short list and a long list of agents and publishing houses you think might be suitable and then just send it out on automatic. As soon as one comes back, send the next one out. Then forget about it.
4. If you can afford it and really believe in your work, get a paid professional critique. Be careful here, however, these waters are full of sharks. However, I can personally recommend The Literary Consultancy which 100% for real and has direct links with hundreds of the main agents and publishers.
5. Don't forget that some of the world's greatest writers had their manuscripts rejected hundreds of times before they found success. Agents reject work for all kinds of reasons, as many business related as literary.
6. Keep writing.
Hope that helps and all the best.
I stopped trying to get published long time ago, and just write for my own pleasure, looking at it as a hobby after my long day work....I can not stop writing but I can stop stressing about writing, for me it is not worth it, but Jenna is right, perservere if getting published is important for you:)
I spent 10 years "finding an agent." Sadly, it often does not matter if you are a good writer with perfect grammar, it's all about what's marketable "right now." And that can be quite stressful. I've been able to get a few pieces published and some magazine articles. I don't feel like it's worth the time and effort anymore since eBooks and self-publishing have hit the scene. It makes things much easier. I still use an editor and graphic designer. But I stress less and make more. Plus, its much more fun and you get to have total control.
by M. T. Dremer 11 years ago
Is anyone out there trying to publish their book the old fashioned way?All I hear now-a-days is that writers are self publishing. In some cases they aren't even considering traditional publishing as an option. Agents (and publishers) claim to get thousands of submissions each month, so who out...
by HannahRiley 13 years ago
How could I get a Children's book published?I have had this story in my head for forever!
by Chaotic Chica 13 years ago
I have been writing a short, nonfiction book for a while now and I believe that I am ready to publish. Having never done this before I would really appreciate any advice that any of you may be able to offer to help me to make sound decisions. I am aware that there are a number of scams...
by Jes Mathias 12 years ago
this post is part rant, part need help.I was very excited recently that an "agent" picked up my MM for publication and actually I received quite a bit of slid feedback and even submission requests. But, that happy kite soon turned into a what the ---?!First to my surprise three...
by Brett Foster 12 years ago
I have created this forum for anyone interested in writing or publishing their manuscript. I would like to awnser questions on why you should avoid vanity or self publishing companies. Discuss the rigors of finding a lit agent and the bonuses of doing so. Why it is good to enter writing contests. I...
by Marcy Goodfleisch 11 years ago
Do you plan to write a book someday?Many writers have secret dreams - what's your dream?
Copyright © 2024 The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers on this website. HubPages® is a registered trademark of The Arena Platform, Inc. Other product and company names shown may be trademarks of their respective owners. The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers to this website may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website.
Copyright © 2024 Maven Media Brands, LLC and respective owners.
As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.
For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy
Show DetailsNecessary | |
---|---|
HubPages Device ID | This is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons. |
Login | This is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service. |
Google Recaptcha | This is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy) |
Akismet | This is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy) |
HubPages Google Analytics | This is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy) |
HubPages Traffic Pixel | This is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized. |
Amazon Web Services | This is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy) |
Cloudflare | This is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy) |
Google Hosted Libraries | Javascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy) |
Features | |
---|---|
Google Custom Search | This is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy) |
Google Maps | Some articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy) |
Google Charts | This is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy) |
Google AdSense Host API | This service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy) |
Google YouTube | Some articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy) |
Vimeo | Some articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy) |
Paypal | This is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy) |
Facebook Login | You can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy) |
Maven | This supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy) |
Marketing | |
---|---|
Google AdSense | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Google DoubleClick | Google provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Index Exchange | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Sovrn | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Facebook Ads | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Amazon Unified Ad Marketplace | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
AppNexus | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Openx | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Rubicon Project | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
TripleLift | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Say Media | We partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy) |
Remarketing Pixels | We may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites. |
Conversion Tracking Pixels | We may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service. |
Statistics | |
---|---|
Author Google Analytics | This is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy) |
Comscore | ComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy) |
Amazon Tracking Pixel | Some articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy) |
Clicksco | This is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy) |