Message Board Topic For 9/20

[Comicality]

 

Writing online seems to be such a liberating and easy going experience for many authors out there, giving it their all. I'll admit myself that I love the freedom of it. Freedom of structure, freedom of ideas, freedom of concept. It feels like I can be myself 100% without any restriction whatsoever. You know?

 

But...suppose a writer wants to make the sudden jump to actually being in 'print'. To have their books on shelves all over the globe? Suppose you wanted to get professionally published, with paid editors and rules of grammar and mechanics? What if the very thing you want to write about is frowned upon, and they want it changed or toned down? What if your story needs to be compromised for the sake of making it more marketable? Even if you get past all that...what's gonna make YOUR book stand out at Amazon.com when there are so many other talented writers out there doing the sam thing that you're doing?

 

This week's question is...what changes for a writer when they make the leap from online writer to being published in print. Not SELF published, but being under the wing of an actual company that is looking to turn a respectable profit off of your work. What would you have to change? What would you work harder on? What would you be willing to sacrifice? Is online writing and published writing a totally different discipline? Let us know!

 

 

 

 

 

[Nephylim]

That's easy... the answer is - nothing.

 

If I were to find someone who was intersted in my story they would have to be interested in the story for what it is. It comes out of me as a complete work and I don't generally rewrite once it's down. If anyone wants me to change what I wrote I don't want to work with them.. end of. I have never expected to make money for my work and I suppose whether you are prepared to compromise or not depends on why you write.

 

If your write for love and art you would be less likely to compromise. If you write for commercialism or money you will be more prepared to compromise

 

Me, I'm uncompromising when it comes to my work which is probably why I am never likely to be in print

 

 

[phana14]

That's easy... the answer is - nothing.

 

If I were to find someone who was intersted in my story they would have to be interested in the story for what it is. It comes out of me as a complete work and I don't generally rewrite once it's down. If anyone wants me to change what I wrote I don't want to work with them.. end of. I have never expected to make money for my work and I suppose whether you are prepared to compromise or not depends on why you write.

 

If your write for love and art you would be less likely to compromise. If you write for commercialism or money you will be more prepared to compromise

 

Me, I'm uncompromising when it comes to my work which is probably why I am never likely to be in print

 

 

 

All it took was one simple word...

I read Comicality's question and immediately thought that there (wow-a triple) was NO way that I would want my favorite stories to be compromised!

If an author feels comfortable with their work, I cannot imagine them compromising a story that already has a following. If said author wants to write something to generate an income, by all means go for it! I just don't think it would be fair to alter a favorite story which someone holds dear to them, simply to make it a profitable venture.

So my answer to Comsie (and all of the authors) is: "Please don't ever change any of your stories just for the sake of money. Rob convenience stores--hold up banks--pull off purse snatchings, either sex idc---but do not sell your *children* down the river!"

And the one simple word that started this mini rant: "nothing". Just one simple word that meant EVERYTHING to an old jaded man.

[Welshdude]

I beieve a lot of the freedoms you have as a online write are far more greater than someone under a publisher. Your more than likely going to be fixed to some sorta contract where they have a say in most things. To long, cut it down. To short, add more. Don't like the setup, change this part. And of course you'll more than likely have a deadline. The writing may feel forced or rushed wheras online writers do it for a passion. You're your own boss Com and you write cos you want to, not cos you need to. Thats why your stories are better than any published ones IMO:). Though GFD in print would be awesome XD

[StoriesByCirrus]

For me "compromise" does not equate with "sell out". I don't see my "artistic vision" as some rigid, inflexible thing, incapable of changing in any way. I have something to say, but there are a million different ways to say it. I'm pretty sure I could find one that would satisfy both me... and my publisher.

 

I'm a big customer of the "young adult" section in the bookstore. Blow-by-blow, graphic descriptions of sex might be out... but you might be surprised what you can get away with even writing about teenagers these days. And just because sex isn't portrayed "on the page" doesn't mean that a book can't be sexy. "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" (the book) fairly seems with the sexual attraction between the two protagonists - even though they almost, but don't quite actually have sex. Ironically, the movie (in which Nick and Norah *do* have sex) doesn't have a fraction of the chemistry between the two characters. It's just boring.

 

And why would I compromise to get published, when I could put my work on the internet with no one editing it by myself? For money. For respect (because getting through the gatekeeping process of the publishing industry gives you a bit of respect, whether or not your writing ability deserves it). To reach a wider audience. Because while the *potential* audience on the internet is in the hundreds of millions, I imagine the *actual* audience for the writers here is more like in the thousands. Being out there, on the bookshop shelves, exposes your work to an audience that might not necessarily hunt it down on the internet. And I'd like to see a book I had written on my own bookshelf.

 

I've been bugging Comsie for *years* to quit stalling already and try to get published. And for years he's been fobbing me with off with bullshit excuses. "Oh I don't want my name to be out there!" "Oh I couldn't compromise my vision!" "Oh I couldn't work with an editor who might suggest I MAKE CHANGES TO WHAT I HAVE WRITTEN!". I don't buy into the myth of the starving artist at all.

 

I've told Comicality before, and I'll tell him again: You are talented enough to be published. And you are talented enough to write a publishable book if you put your mind to it. The only thing stopping you is you.

 

/endrant