Any writers and authors on here?

Artemis, I am so sorry for your loss.

I have written a finished book and a half finished one. I am a member of Jericho Writers and find them extremely helpful . They publish a lot of articles about writing and you can ask them questions about any problems you have. I actually got a phone call from their team the other day and told her about my finished book, and the problem that I had in stopping my repeated editing and adjusting... she said it is because I just want it to be perfect but I will never find it perfect... just get it published!

I can recommend joining JW. It costs about £30 a month if you pay monthly. All the best with your writing!

Yes. More than 120 published titles. I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. Unimaginable.

Hello MaryGrand!
I've just snooped for you on Amazon!
I've downloaded The Houseparty and will also buy an Audiobook (I spend a fortune on Audible...)
You should definitely post more often! I look forward to reading your work

Hi , I'm Mary and I am a published writer of murder mysteries , writing under the name of Mary Grand. I don't often post but come on here every day. I find this group so supportive and often nod my head and identify with dilemmas people share. xx

How very sad about your daughter - so devastating for you.

Writing novels has been my job for the past 30 years now. All 20 are published, all have sold very well.

While getting an agent is the go-to if you want to be traditionally published, there is now a massive number of books being successfully issued by independent authors. I don't know a lot about that aspect, but self-publishing is not longer the poor relation that is used to be. Be VERY wary though of ANY organisation that wants you to 'contribute' to publishing costs. Avoid like the proverbial.

Depending on your genre (if you fix on one) you can join various organisations such as the Romantic Novelists' Association (a much broader church than the name sounds) or the Crime Writers' Association. These groups have lots of advice and help. Good luck!

I wrote a dozen historical romances for Harlequin when my husband was made redundant. The money came in very useful, as did the royalties which came twice a year, just in time for holidays and then Christmas for quite a few years after I'd stopped writing the books. I gave up when DH finally got another job and my young sons needed my time. People can be very superior about Mills and Boon, but we don't always fry the fish we want to fry in life - I wanted to read history at university but my parents weren't well off and I had to start work instead. But the things I'd learned to get a university place came in very useful when I needed them....

Just 5 poems published in various unremarkable publications.

This is not the case. Maybe for big publishing houses. There are so many smaller houses that you can go to. Bloodhound books is one despite the name they are not purely crime. Book Outre is another. If you research on line you will find companies like this. You need to see if they are accepting manuscripts and has been said before, follow the format don't go off piste. Some of these authors make a very good living.

Callistemon As I managed to get a long way back on my family history I have self published a book I wrote just for my family, there are lots of self publishers out there who will print as little as one book if that is all you want (I Googled). I ordered 7 for immediate family.

Oh and I have let others read it and they loved it.

I had a short children's story included in a children's anthology a few years ago and have written a few full length children's books, mainly for children aged 7 - 9. Two agents requested the full mss of one of the books, requested some changes and then declined to take them on. At that point I felt very disheartened and didn't write much after that. Over the past couple of weeks I have begun to revise a book for 5 - 7 year olds (the only benefit I can see for Long Covid) and am enjoying it.

Please don't expect too much of yourself while you are in the early stages of such a devastating grief. I send you my love and condolences.
Yes, I have self-published four books (Publish Nation) and I will never forget the thrill of holding my first book in my hands. It was like something I've never experienced before, so it might be a good first route for you to get your confidence up.

(Oh, and paying to have your book edited is always a good idea. It costs, but it's worth it, I promise you).

Like Chicklette I have had one novel published and one available on Kindle (Publisher went of business - hopefully not because of my book). Am half way through a third but finding it very hard to get motivated. Keep thinking I might try to go on a tutored writers retreat next year. Arvon www.arvon.org - run some really good ones and are worth it to get you started/motivated.

the traditional way is to get a publisher or agent but this is so difficult these days so many of us self publish our books and this is not 2nd best, JKRowling self published her book before it was read and snapped up by a publisher. The self publishing community is great, joining the Alliance of Independent Authors leads you to a goldmine of information and the most helpful Facebook group on the planet, joining them is the best self publishing thing I've ever done and now I get a useful stream of income from my 2 books, pop on over!!

I agree. Its hard if you're just not in the mood. If I have a story I usually sketch it out then fill in the details and characters but sometimes I get going going and write it all at once. I write for a specific readership and each story is usually around 3000 words.

I’ve had one novel published and quite a few short stories and poems in anthologies. For some reason I’ve lost the impetus to write the last few years. I did start a second novel a few years ago, but last year decided I didn’t like the story, so gave up on it. I’ve had what I think is a good idea for my next novel and have written a bit but can’t seem to make myself sit and write. Weird really as I always loved writing.

Yes I wrote a book about my father. I used the script he had started before suffering with dementia. Its called The Pilot in the Poster as he featured on a well know recruitment poster for the RAF. There are many Battle of Britain enthusiasts who enjoyed it and one prolific author referred me to his publisher (after I had self-published). So if it has a specific audience you need to find out who specialises in that kind of literature. A personal contact always helps!

I have self published
five children’s books but donated most of them. It is really hard to get a publisher and book shops do not want to know. Yet two schools are using them .

I agree with Antonia unless you are well known or have contacts it costs a lot of money for very little return. I believe it’s a case of getting lucky. So good luck

The way to write a book is to... write A daily practice, preferably, even if it's just 15 mins on a hectic day.
And to know that the first draft is just the raw clay; it's supposed to be rough and unsatisfactory, half the art in writing is in the editing, to turn the dross into the book you meant to write.
Great advice on Stephen King's book on writing, and self-publishing; this might help too, to set out some structure.
storyfix.com/easy-approach-story-building-bedtime-story-model
You will also need to do some marketing, but not for a while - write the book first - and it needn't be onerous. I have 2 historical fiction novels and a book of children's short stories published, and make a small income each month simply on Amazon ads.

Witzend

I have sent you a PM.

I have replied just now, Witzend - thanks.

Thank you everyone for all the great advice.
Great to know there are so many writers and authors here, and lovely to meet all of you.

Catterygirl, NanKate and Beswitched - thank you for your kind condolences.

I have sent you a PM.

So sorry to hear about your daughter.

Writing workshops can be very motivational and also put you in touch with like minded people so as soon as it's safe to do so I would seek one out.

Most publishers won't even look at a book that hasn't been submitted by an agent, and getting an agent to take you on can be very difficult. The Writers and Artists Yearbook would be a helpful resource.

But be prepared for a lot of disappointment. It's very very difficult to get a book published nowadays and quite a sizeable amount of publishers'budgets go towards commissioning books by celebrities (which are often ghostwritten) or marketing books by already well established authors.

Yes and she 'flounced' right back!

Nana3

We did have a published author who posted regularly, was she called Jane10 ?

She 'flounced' a good few months ago, around the time of The Great MawB Debacle.

I cannot claim to be a successful author, but, for what it's worth, it can sometimes help to start in the middle of the novel, then you have some text written and then you need to write the start and the bit after it need to get you to where the middle starts.

As for publishing, it depends what you want to do. If making money is your aim then that is different from if you just want the satisfaction of your novel being published, which is a perfectly respectable objective.

You can always get a website and some desktop publishing software (budget British stuff is available) and produce files and put them on the web. Do it all yourself and it costs less than many hobbies that people have.

The good bit is that if you do and you are in the UK, then The British Library will conserve a copy at zero cost.

www.bl.uk/help/how-to-deposit-your-print-publications

www.bl.uk/help/how-to-deposit-your-digital-publications

Perceived literary merit does not come into it with legal deposit at The British Library.

There is a widespread popular fallacy that a publisher must be a business or an organization.

If someone makes copies available to the public, (whether free or for sale is immaterial), then he or she is a publisher.