So I finished my Story

[Push R Truth]

I should say I finished a first draft of my story so I have something to edit over vacation when I get bored.

I really don't know what to do next. I have an 80,000 word work of fiction and I wouldn't mind attempting to get it published. Although I don't even know where to start and am totally clueless about the industry.

Three years ago somebody told me to just free write for fun and this hobby morphed into this big story. I feel kinda odd to actually have it finished. (I know first draft and finished are two VERY different things, but the main story is done.)

[TK The Friendly Robot]

I'm currently writing a lot as well. I've got a novel in the works and have wrote a lot of poetry and I mean a LOT. I've been trying to get into the industry and get published for a hell of a long time but I've no idea where to start and every time I've tried to get my foot in the door it seems to have been slammed on me. Not going to give up though and if you would like to get it published then I'd say go for it and keep on trying and also wish you luck.

[Bo Rida]

If you're like the vast majority of people and can't catch a break from the publishers don't rule out self-publishing an ebook via amazon or one of their rival services.

[khyledeen]

I wanna read it!

I also would like to write a story, solely for fun, been watching too much Californication and would like to write something lol

Any tips?, inspiration?, I write bullet points in my iPhone's Notes app, so far all I have is "struggling unemployed male" which is me (will change name), thinking of setting the book in Virginia (I'm in Liverpool, England)

Any and all tips/help would be greatly appreciated

[dav]

This forum is a good place to look for advice when it comes to potentially publishing a story:

absolutewrite.com/forums/index.php

[Banjo Is Broken]

I finished my novel the other day. It's a bout a futuristic amusement park where dinosaurs are brought to life through advanced cloning techniques. I call it "Billy and the Cloneasaurus."

[Deleted]

Publish it as a web-series.

Get a nice looking blog and start to put out parts of it a time. Try and build an audience for yourself that way maybe? I think the guy who did Monster Island started out that way.

[twiggy101]

I'm currently writing a Planet of the Apes story that's over 80,000 words as well. Been writing since April last year.

My story takes place thousands of years in the future where apes with technology equivalent to late 20th century humans rule the world. And humans are their slaves and can't talk. Not very original but this time there is a race of cyborgs who were responsible for destroying human civilization prior to the events of the story. They remained hidden in their last city on earth until apes learned of it's existence and sent an army to destroy them but they only pissed off the cyborgs and they began wrecking havoc on the planet.

I'm just writing this story for fun because if I let people read my story then they'll say that it's unoriginal, dialogue is crappy, the grammar is piss poor and finally they'll think I'm a sad lonely man.

[TK The Friendly Robot]

Feb 15, 2013 18:12:08 GMT -5 @personman01 said:

Publish it as a web-series.

Get a nice looking blog and start to put out parts of it a time. Try and build an audience for yourself that way maybe? I think the guy who did Monster Island started out that way.

I tried this on Tumblr for a while but nobody gave a rats ass and I ended up deleting that blog.

Does anyone know what blogging site would be best for something like that?

[Deleted]

Feb 15, 2013 18:20:01 GMT -5 TK The Friendly Robot said:

Feb 15, 2013 18:12:08 GMT -5 @personman01 said:

Publish it as a web-series.

Get a nice looking blog and start to put out parts of it a time. Try and build an audience for yourself that way maybe? I think the guy who did Monster Island started out that way.

I tried this on Tumblr for a while but nobody gave a rats ass and I ended up deleting that blog.

Does anyone know what blogging site would be best for something like that?

Tumblr about as good as anything else, you've just got pimp your stuff like ka-razy.

Wordpress is pretty reliable.

[TK The Friendly Robot]

Feb 15, 2013 18:23:09 GMT -5 @personman01 said:

Feb 15, 2013 18:20:01 GMT -5 TK The Friendly Robot said:

I tried this on Tumblr for a while but nobody gave a rats ass and I ended up deleting that blog.

Does anyone know what blogging site would be best for something like that?

Tumblr about as good as anything else, you've just got pimp your stuff like ka-razy.

Wordpress is pretty reliable.

Will definitely have to give Wordpress a go then

I might give Tumblr another try as well, no harm in it I suppose.

[Ryback on a Pole!]

I also recommend absolutewrite. Was helpful for me when I wrote my books and has a nice section about agents/publishers, which are good, which are trustworthy, which are utter scam artists etc.

And there are some scam artists. The first publisher who accepted my book had in their small print that if I accepted I would have to pay them a fee of £2000 to publish with them! Worst thing is, they hadn't even read my story. I submitted them the first 10 chapters and they thought that was it :/

Also, be careful which publisher you send too. My first book was published by one who had the world's worst editing team so it was published with quite a few glaring mistakes that the editors should have picked up. My second publisher was good though, a small firm but they design good covers, are good at editing etc.

[wrestleauthor]

Take it from someone who's walked the same path.

1. Never give up. For 1,000 no's, there's bound to be someone who's willing to take a chance on your manuscript sooner or later. I'm proof of that.

2. Just because you don't get accepted into the big, well-known publishing houses doesn't make you a loser. About 92 percent of authors don't. In other words, don't rule out small or independent publishers. One of them published my first book, and I had great success with it for a little over two years.

3. For the love of all things holy, DO NOT PAY any "publisher" who promises the moon to publish your work. This goes back to the old adage of "if it's too good to be true, it actually is." Example: stay away from AuthorHouse. These scam artists have been at it for years. A legitimate publisher - large and small - pay their authors, not the other way around.

4. When you're offered a publishing contract, read it carefully. Make sure you understand terms such as exclusivity, (e.g. if the contract is "exclusive," you can't publish with another house during the agreement's duration), what percentage of royalties you'll be paid, and other issues. When in doubt, find an expert to help.

5. Promote, promote, promote. A web site is good to have. Mine is hosted by WordPress. Also talk up your work on social network sites.

6. As Bomber mentioned earlier, don't rule out self-publishing if all else fails. It no longer carries the stigma of "loser" as once did. As a matter of fact, some quality self-published work got picked up by actual publishers. If you wish to stay on the independent route, self-publishing is the way to go. You also have more artistic control over your work. Best places to start? Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing or Barnes and Noble.