Has anyone managed to make their professional debut?

[LastMinami]

I was wondering if any writers here have managed to publish a book with a traditional publisher or be contacted by a literary agent. I've seen that there are many novels with thousands of followers or readers that are no longer published, and I was wondering if they managed to become professional writers.

 

[Nyctoria]

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Me preguntaba si algún escritor aquí ha logrado publicar un libro con una editorial tradicional o ser contactado por un agente literario. He visto que hay muchas novelas con miles de seguidores o lectores que ya no se publican y me preguntaba si lograron convertirse en escritores profesionales.

@Representing_Tromba has.

 

[LastMinami]

Sor

@Representing_Tromba has.

Sorry, I forgot it's an English forum lol

 

[Representing_Tromba]

@Representing_Tromba has.

I went the self publishing route due to my story not fitting any literary agents requests(which were mostly tropes that were popular at the time. Mine had few if any.) Many others have had better success with publishers but I have also heard so many horror stories about publishing deals.

 

[Author_Riceball]

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I was wondering if any writers here have managed to publish a book with a traditional publisher or be contacted by a literary agent. I've seen that there are many novels with thousands of followers or readers that are no longer published, and I was wondering if they managed to become professional writers.

Most of those published types are on RR rather than here, as most people are independent and it’s better to go that way

 

[LastMinami]

I went the self publishing route due to my story not fitting any literary agents requests(which were mostly tropes that were popular at the time. Mine had few if any.) Many others have had better success with publishers but I have also heard so many horror stories about publishing deals.

That's good information, but I don't really know if it would be a viable alternative. At least in my country, the advertising cost was basically the same as an Xbox Series S, haha... Besides, finding a publisher here is a nightmare because it seems they all only accept autobiographies or stories about the country... To be honest, I came to this site to see other authors since other alternatives like Wattpad and Inkit didn't even get me 50 views, haha.

Most of those published types are on RR rather than here, as most people are independent and it’s better to go that way

RR? What's that?

 

[KennyCelican]

I was wondering if any writers here have managed to publish a book with a traditional publisher or be contacted by a literary agent. I've seen that there are many novels with thousands of followers or readers that are no longer published, and I was wondering if they managed to become professional writers.

I actually moved from 'traditional' publishing (small press, but still traditional) to posting on web novel sites when I got fed up with the drama and runarounds with traditional publishing.

I have stories from the traditional publishing realm. Most of which are amusing, some of which are just sad, but all of which put it into 'way too much effort and stress for me to pursue them'. At this point I'd have to look long and hard at any prospective contract offered, even by a Big Six publisher, frankly.

But... Yeah, in the sense that 'I have been paid for it', 'I have had publishers seek out my work / ask me to write with / for them', and 'I have been a fully comped guest at a convention', yeah, I'm a professional writer.

 

[triflight]

RR is Royal Road which is another web novel site similar to Scribblehub although the reader base and rules are slightly different there. Most notably, RR has much more restrictive rules on 18+ content while Scribblehub is much more allowing. Lots of authors on RR end up going the Kindle unlimited route and "stub" their works online to meet their contract requirements.

Kindle contracts only allow authors to post something like 10-50 chapters (depending on word count I believe) online for free while the majority of the book is only available on Kindle. So what authors do is write 200+ chapters, gather it into a volume, publish it on Kindle unlimited as an ebook, "stub" their work online. The first 10 chapters that are online for free continue to attract readers and readers that are invested go onto Kindle to read the rest (which makes the author money). Meanwhile, the author keeps writing chapter 201 and more and since they chapters haven't been published to Kindle yet, they can remain online for free, until the author stubs the book again when they want to publish volume 2.

You can look up how authors on Kindle get paid but it's essentially tied to how many pages of your books are read each month.

I don't believe it's very common for web novels posted on Scribblehub, royal road, or other websites to be officially published by a publishing house with a physical book but I know it has happened before.

 

[LastMinami]

RR is Royal Road which is another web novel site similar to Scribblehub although the reader base and rules are slightly different there. Most notably, RR has much more restrictive rules on 18+ content while Scribblehub is much more allowing. Lots of authors on RR end up going the Kindle unlimited route and "stub" their works online to meet their contract requirements.

Kindle contracts only allow authors to post something like 10-50 chapters (depending on word count I believe) online for free while the majority of the book is only available on Kindle. So what authors do is write 200+ chapters, gather it into a volume, publish it on Kindle unlimited as an ebook, "stub" their work online. The first 10 chapters that are online for free continue to attract readers and readers that are invested go onto Kindle to read the rest (which makes the author money). Meanwhile, the author keeps writing chapter 201 and more and since they chapters haven't been published to Kindle yet, they can remain online for free, until the author stubs the book again when they want to publish volume 2.

You can look up how authors on Kindle get paid but it's essentially tied to how many pages of your books are read each month.

I don't believe it's very common for web novels posted on Scribblehub, royal road, or other websites to be officially published by a publishing house with a physical book but I know it has happened before.

I didn't know that, I'll try to find it. Kindle isn't an option, apparently my country isn't on Amazon's list of allowed countries ?, but it's certainly interesting. I suppose I'll finish my novel, and then I'll see if they also publish it on RR.

I actually moved from 'traditional' publishing (small press, but still traditional) to posting on web novel sites when I got fed up with the drama and runarounds with traditional publishing.

I have stories from the traditional publishing realm. Most of which are amusing, some of which are just sad, but all of which put it into 'way too much effort and stress for me to pursue them'. At this point I'd have to look long and hard at any prospective contract offered, even by a Big Six publisher, frankly.

But... Yeah, in the sense that 'I have been paid for it', 'I have had publishers seek out my work / ask me to write with / for them', and 'I have been a fully comped guest at a convention', yeah, I'm a professional writer.

Oh yeah, it's not exactly the path I had in mind, but I'm really glad to know it's possible, and having someone who's been in the big leagues confirm it is an honor. While I can't really imagine how difficult it must be for someone dealing with a publisher, I guess I didn't think about it that much. Thank you so much for the information; it's really been helpful.

 

[KennyCelican]

I didn't know that, I'll try to find it. Kindle isn't an option, apparently my country isn't on Amazon's list of allowed countries ?, but it's certainly interesting. I suppose I'll finish my novel, and then I'll see if they also publish it on RR.

Oh yeah, it's not exactly the path I had in mind, but I'm really glad to know it's possible, and having someone who's been in the big leagues confirm it is an honor. While I can't really imagine how difficult it must be for someone dealing with a publisher, I guess I didn't think about it that much. Thank you so much for the information; it's really been helpful.

You're very welcome!

As for RR, if you don't have any 'Adult Content' in your novel, you can create an account and post it there. I'd recommend holding off until you can do like at least a week of 'post every day' or even more for the first week. Getting on Rising Stars on RR is HUGE, and it's entirely based on getting good Ratings / Reviews after putting out ten thousand words. Also, having a Patreon or Paypal set up to take donations will often get you as much as you would from a small publisher.

Basically, look up a guide on how to get to the top of Rising Stars before trying your luck on RR, but once you've got the wordcount and you're ready to take donations, go for it!

Also <Edna Mode Voice>tell me when you go live on RR, I'd love to see you do well there!</Edna Mode Voice>

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Define "Professional" - getting paid for writing at all? Then I had my debut in '90.
Getting paid for more serious projects? Still waiting.
Making a living? Nowhere near.

 

[LastMinami]

Define "Professional" - getting paid for writing at all? Then I had my debut in '90.
Getting paid for more serious projects? Still waiting.
Making a living? Nowhere near.

Well, I mean getting paid to write, a saga or something, not making a living from it, because if that were the case, then nobody would have a normal job. It's like an actor: you worked on a show that was canceled after six weeks, well, at least you got one episode and they paid you, therefore you're an actor.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Well, I mean getting paid to write, a saga or something, not making a living from it, because if that were the case, then nobody would have a normal job. It's like an actor: you worked on a show that was canceled after six weeks, well, at least you got one episode and they paid you, therefore you're an actor.

Well, by that definition, I had three roleplaying game modules published - one in 1990, two in the early 2000s. Got about $400 total USD cash and about $2000 in product from the two companies involved, combined. Sounds like that kind of counts?
If I can ever get the money from PocketFM (before signing a contract with them, or WebNovel or any other internet publisher that is not based in your home country, make ABSOLUTE CERTAIN you have a bank that can accept payments from them, especially if they use wire transfers. Had to change mine three times, and hopefully it finally came through this time but won't know for sure until the next pay cycle in about 20 days).

 

[LastMinami]

Well, by that definition, I had three roleplaying game modules published - one in 1990, two in the early 2000s. Got about $400 total USD cash and about $2000 in product from the two companies involved, combined. Sounds like that kind of counts?
If I can ever get the money from PocketFM (before signing a contract with them, or WebNovel or any other internet publisher that is not based in your home country, make ABSOLUTE CERTAIN you have a bank that can accept payments from them, especially if they use wire transfers. Had to change mine three times, and hopefully it finally came through this time but won't know for sure until the next pay cycle in about 20 days).

Wow, that's quite an experience and track record. You're certainly a professional in my eyes. As for banks, I was ignorant about that. I once worked for a guy from a website as an editor and had to make some shady deals with Russian banks so they could pay me, haha.