I write some fan fiction for fun but my first love is poetry and short stories. I want to get published and make money writing, lol! Anyone who’s been published have any tips?
1 Like
A long time ago a friend of mine drew and published a manga I wrote
2 Likes
I write stories
1 Like
@HaruTheCatGirl hey what happend to the story that you wrote?
Back in high school I had to write and draw out a classic children’s story twice. So much work involved, it gave me a big appreciation for artists and writers.
2 Likes
@Samicless33 hey do you still have that story
2 Likes
@superdcoolkid, I honestly have no idea… she has all rights and my name wasn’t even on it. Not the coolest friend ever…
This may sound stupid, but it’s not a job… It’s a calling.
" bump" I wanna write for teen titans & young justice
3 Likes
Most professional publications will only consider work represented by a literary agent. And an agent will only sign you with an impressive portfolio. Build a portfolio by writing a respectable amount of stories and poetry, and then when you have a body of work you can be proud of, approach an agency.
HubCityQuestion is, as always, correct. Even so you can always try publications like Writer’s Digest to look for short story and poetry magazines that will look at your work.
Not published, but I’ve got a complete story kind of gathering dust. It’s about 430 pages long. Looking back, I’m not sure if I like what I wrote, but maybe one day, it’ll hit print. I can’t even find a good cover artist to make the right cover and I don’t know how to self-publish off of Amazon. I’m close to a published writer, but not there just yet.
I’ve had a few short stories published.
I got hired to write a screenplay a while back by an indy producer. The movie went into production, but the director didn’t have it, and they couldn’t put together a solid edit.
I’ve had several unproductive years as of late. Been too busy with day job and raising daughter etc. I basically have to wake up at 4am if I want to get any writing done each day. I am successful at this in spurts, but haven’t been able to sustain it long enough to get a project across the finish line for a while now.
In terms of tips, I think Heinlein’s rules are a solid place to start:
1.) You must write.
2.) You must finish what you write.
3.) You must refrain from rewriting, except to editorial order.
4.) You must put the work on the market.
5.) You must keep the work on the market until it is sold.
Some people get hung up on that third one, but you can just interpret it as don’t get stuck rewriting and never writing, don’t get analysis paralysis.
These rules are simple but extremely difficult and they’re still how you get published.
The market can be traditional or self-publishing.
Rule three is hard to reconcile with another basic tenet. “Kill your darlings.”
@MH I think that’s why he includes editorial order as a part of it. If editors ask for a cut, be willing to kill your darlings. But Heinlein is also of the pulp school of thought which is very much about writing quantity. They made money per word and lived that way. They also didn’t see much difference between the quality they produced and the people who spent a lot of time rewriting. Obviously, that’s a debatable issue. But if the primary goal is to make money writing, you can’t expect that you are going to be J.K. Rowling or Gillian Flynn, and have a big hit book. But you might be able to steadily produce books that sell acceptably well, if you focus on writing a lot of books and selling them.
Lately, I can’t get past rule 2. So, I don’t know how much my advice is worth.
Well, do us both a favor and add something to the I AM THE KNIGHT thread. Pressure free practice. As for rule 2, most people I’ve met in this world who tell me they are a writer also say they don’t know how to end it. If I like them, I run a few ideas past them. Mostly I walk away. But this sounds like a temporary block in your case. So pick a story you have. Give it an ending. Any ending. Give it the ending of Star Wars or the Maltese Falcon. Put it aside a while, then when you pick it back up, ask yourself how do I make this more mine.
@MH done.