We love Amanda Hocking.
She’s that fabulous success story author who really did know better than the hundreds of agents who rejected her seven novels. But, she had the goal of being a published author by the time she was 26, just like Stephen King, and used it as a “deadline” for herself: If she didn’t get a publishing deal by the age of 26, she’d do it herself.
As we know now, she DID do it herself, and it ended up leading to that big publishing deal she had been pushing for for so many years. We know that the biggest (and safest) slush pile out there right now for traditional publishers is self-published authors who are making waves. Another example is E.L. James, whose Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy was instrumental in the mainstreaming of erotica for women. Still, Amanda Hocking and E.L. James are the exceptions to the rule–not the norm.
What do you think of the “deadline” concept for getting published? Do you think it is likely to benefit the author–i.e., just “getting it out there”–or do you think it is likely to be detrimental?
Published authors, have you created your own publishing deadlines/schedules and stuck to them? What was your experience?
Like Ms. Hocking, I’m very deadline driven. For me, it’s a wonderful disciplinary tool. I wrote my first short story with one goal: get it published within a year. Luckily, that happened.
I wrote my first novel in 2005 with two deadline goals: get an agent and sell the novel within a year. I landed the agent within a year, but it took another two before the novel sold.
So I would argue that deadlines are great, but I wouldn’t advocate giving up on something just because a deadline wasn’t met.
Ryan thanks so much for the comment! Love how determination worked in both cases. We’ve discovered over the years that deadlines and determination DO go hand in hand. But like you said, you’ve got to be flexible also.
We know an author who was picked up right away by an agent, however, it’s taken longer than anticipated to sell the book to publishers. The author has a great attitude about it and is still very active with his audience in the meantime.
I have been writing my entire life, and even worked in publishing for years. I left publishing, became a teacher, and really missed writing. Teaching has been great because it gave me time to write during the summer (not to mention the idea for my first book), and a New Year’s Resolution to become published this year sealed the deal.
I have self published my book, and everyone who has read it loves it, but I’m struggling to get the word out there (without paying a ton of money for the marketing). I hope to one day be a success story like Amanda.
Thank you so much for leaving a comment Ms. Frank. Amanda Hocking certainly is an inspiration to we indie authors. Don’t give up on getting the word out there about your book. A book that we really enjoy for inspiring marketing ideas is John Kreme’s 1,001 Way to Market Your Book. Take a look. He provides several good and affordable marketing ideas.
Writers (or aspiring writers) need not think they can have success like Amanda Hocking , of even Stephenie Meyer. It’s crucial that they realize they cannot obtain such success.
You’re preaching to the choir! We absolutely agree. We’ve always told authors to believe they are the exception, not the rule. This is why we’re so pushy when it comes to marketing–there’s no way to be magically successful as an author, but marketing to the right audiences in the right ways sure helps. However, we do think successful authors, like Amanda Hocking, are interesting to observe and learn (certain) things from.