Dear Mary Jane:

Writing is indeed a complicated business - like any other it has its' quirks and it has standards.  I have been a writer for more than twenty years, the last decade as a full-time writer and I'm the first to admit it's far from an easy business.

 

Unfortunately, the public perception is often that writing is "easy" and that anyone can "get published" so that their feet are set on the road to fame and fortune.  The reality is just not that way.

 

Seven agents is a very small number to query and be rejected by before giving up.  Although an agent does indeed work for the writer, they are versed in the publishing business and have connections that most writers, especially novices, lack.  It is possible to have book length fiction published without an agent but the odds against it are astronomical.

 

As the economy suffers as a whole so does publishing.  Agents are cautious about taking on new writers.  As one example, when fuel costs soar, consumers cut back and one of the first luxuries to go is often pleasures like buying books.

 

I wish you well in your endeavor and choice to self-publish but it's not a route that I myself would choose.  Some POD companies are better than others but a certain stigma clings to such books.  

Patience is a virtue and a necessary part of being a writer.  If you had but waited and queried more agents before chosing POD you might have gained a different perspective.

Rejection, patience, and perserverance are just some of the ways that writers pay their dues.

If isn't supposed to be easy to gain an agent.   In the real world there is no free lunch or magic formulas.   It's not easy to find a literary agent or to become a major league sports player or an actor or broadcaster or attorney or physician or anything else.

If self publishing is the route chosen by others, then I wish you well but what beginning writers don't often seem to understand is that self-publishing is meaningless in the literary and real world.   Self-publishing is not an accomplishment but self-gratification.

A writer doesn't start seeking an agent in the middle of the first book - a writer waits until they have a well edited, often rewritten and marketable work.  

And in the real world, most book purchasers are not going to opt for a self-published book over a mass marketed book put out by a reputable publisher.

But I wish you both well in your endeavors - if self-publishing makes you happy, then be happy.

There's no point in even thinking about an agent halfway through your novel.  Giving a single thought to an agent before the novels is finished and polished to perfection is self-defeating.

In all honesty, finding an agent and getting published is ridiculously easy.  There's never been a time in history when so many new writers were published.   In 1947, the "golden age" of publishing, there were a grand total of 374 publishers of all types and sizes.  Today there are 55,000 publishers of all types and sizes.

Getting published is ridiculously easy.   It's writing something that's good enough to attract an agent or editor that's darned near impossible.

Self-publishing isn't going to help.  If your writing is good enough, finding an agent and a publisher really is easy.  If your writing isn't good enough, self-publishing won't make it read one bit better.  Just take a look at all the self-published novels out there.  About 99.99% of them stink on ice. Even if you perform a miracle and manage to write and self-publish a good novel, it'll be buried under mountains of pure garbage.

The writing business is not reall all that complicated.  At it's base, it's about as simply as it gets.  Agents and editors want new writers, and need new writers.   Agents and editors are constantly on the lookout for new writers.

Yes, your self-published book will be all yours.  And it will almost surely be so bad no one except you, and whoever you dislike enough to force it upon, will ever read it.

Writing simply does not work the way you seem to think.  Niether agents nor editors have any plans for redoing your work.  This isn't their jobs.  And the cut they take is a cut they earn many times over.  Agents do not EVER cost a writer a penny.  Agents make writer many, many times more money than the writer could ever earn without one.  The same is true for publishers. 

You can certainly self-publish, but don't do so for such silly reasons that have nothing at all to do with the real world.   Yes, your self-published book will be yours, all yours, and you only you will care.  At best, it won't be half as good as it should be, and at worst it will read like all the other self-published novels out there, most of which really are God-awful.

If you can actually write well, finding an agent and a publisher is easy.  If you can't write well, and until you run the gauntlet yu have no way on earth of knowing just how good or how bad your writing is, getting published is impossible.

And pleae, God, spare us all from one more self-published contribution te the literary world.  We already need a new landfill to hold what we already have.

And for God's sake do not ever repeat the phrase "But, it is who you know and what nationality you are in order to get published in America."   This shows so much ignorance it's hard to believe you've ever read a book, let alone written one.  It's also lousy grammar.

Who you know does not matter in the least.  Not in any way, shape, or form.  This is something new writers want to believe because they can't write well enough.  And because they can't write well enough, they think everyone who does get published must have known someone.  It's foolishness.

Even more foolish is thinking your nationality has something to do with it.  Have you ever even been in a bookstore or a library?  There are books on the shelves and racks from writers all over the country, and from all over the world.   There are bestselling books by caucasians, Afgrican-Americans, Mexicans, and you name it.  One of my favorite writers is Japanese, and another is from Brazil.  Every race and darned near every nationality is represented in force. 

It takes only one thing to be published in America, and that's talent.  Unfortunately, about nine out of ten who try lack any talent at all, and most of the remaining either lack enough talent, enough discipline, or enough knowledge.

Dear Jamesritchie,

 Thank you very much for the information. I am going to go with a traditional publisher for my second book even if it never gets picked up. I am almost finished writing it. I truly do appreciate your input. I still think this is a very difficult field  to break into and having been in many different arenas in the working world, this one is quite complicated. I will always maintain that.

Yours Truly,

Claude 

It's not really as much complicated as it is hard. But then, whatever profession a person chooses, he/she must study and learn the ropes, and yes, it takes time and persistance. That is, if you are really set on following your dream.

That said, write the novel. Polish it. Read all you can about writing. (A good library has many, many books to help you, as do several reputable writer's sites.)  Write the best query you can. Make it short and to the point. Hook the agent!  Submit. First to ten agents, then, if all responses are "no" or you get no response, revisit your query. Rewrite it. Send to the next ten agents on your list. If you still get "no" revisit your ms. Could be the story line is same ol', same ol'. Don't give up! Sometimes it takes at least fifty queries to agents.

A good writer should never have to pay to get their book published.

     I could understand, what you're saying, but self-publishers go thru it too. I just self published, my collection of short stories, and had to put it on hold. Some how the raw draft got mixed up with the, final proof, it was a ugly nightmare. I had heart surgery last summer, my blood pressure is way too high-this making it skyrocket. It is a living nightmare, the book will be out one Amazon.com, in september, but Iam, exhausted. Keep trying, i kill paper versions of people, everyday.--rixxie

http://www.writing.com/authors/rixxie