I’m turning in my copyedits today, and then I’m free as a bird! Look at me! Whee! (except for that proposal due next month. And that critique I owe my C.P. And those revisions on the other proposal. Sigh. Never done…) However, I am free to write things like “email” and “towards” and “missing person’s report” (apparently, it’s “missing persons report. Who knew?”) — at least, until the next round of copyedits.
In pertinent and less-punch-drunk news, Tobias Buckell has posted the results of the survey on how many novels authors wrote before getting published. Apparently, 35% of respondents sold their first. Huh. I thought it would be about half that. I know very few authors who sold their first book, even fewer who sold their first first. He’s kept the survey open, though, so I wonder how it will shake out as time passes. Anyway, a big thank you to Tobias for running his remarkable and useful polls! It’s an invaluable service to the industry.
In keeping with such good works for writers, and because I got a whole bunch of requests in the comments section and over email, here are links to new surveys on print run and sell through percentages. Totally anonymous, of course.
For Hardcover: http://s-r7juj-3243.sgizmo.com
For Trade Paperback: http://s-tto7k-3246.sgizmo.com
For Mass Market Paperback: http://s-soplb-3248.sgizmo.com
Please take a minute and fill it out, for one or more of your releases. Pass it on! Tell your friends. Post to your blog! Go wild! (Sorry, I warned you I was a bit punchy after turning in those edits.)
The surveys are designed with novel length fiction in mind — please do not respond with information on short story collections and anthologies unless they are single-author. Also, the surveys are about print run, which of course is not an applicable phrase to POD or e-books. Perhaps someone with more knowledge of that facet of the business will design a survey with sales statistics applicable to those kinds of publishing.
Thanks so much for participating, and special thanks to JA and SF for egging me on until I got off my duff.
December 20th, 2006 at 8:16 am
Here’s my thought on the high percentage of first time sellers.
Most of the respondents are SF writers. There’s a couple of reasons why they would be more likely to sell their first novel.
A. A lot of them start by writing short fiction for the SF magazines like Analog, Asimov’s, and F&SF. So, they are publishing works of 5K-25K before they write their first novel.
B. SF writers, Hard SF especially, tend to be more technical, methodical people, so it is highly likely they spend a good deal of time polishing their work.
C. SF is easy.(Ha Ha, just kidding)
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December 20th, 2006 at 8:45 am
That’s true, Patrick, especially given that 14% of respondents (or at least 9%, because there were two questions: “I sold short fiction first” and “I sold a lot of short fiction first”) sold short stories first.
Someone else theorized (I can’t remember where) that some of the respondents might be self published, as well…
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December 20th, 2006 at 10:33 am
You have a proposal due? Are you under contract for more books? How did I miss that?
I also thought the percentage of authors who sold their first book first would be considerably lower. I only know one author (that I know of) who sold her first book first.
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December 20th, 2006 at 11:01 am
Congratulations on finishing your copy edits! Sending those back in the mail will feel like the nicest Christmas present to yourself. Now you really are free to laze about for the next few days. Enjoy.
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December 20th, 2006 at 12:26 pm
Diana – I said it over email, but let me say it again publicly – thanks for pulling this together! I’m very anxious to see the results.
and congrats on finishng copy edits – hope you get some time to relax and enjoy the holiday spirit.
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December 20th, 2006 at 12:35 pm
Leslie Kelley sold her first book, a Harlequin Temptation.
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December 20th, 2006 at 12:36 pm
That would be Leslie Kelly. Not Kelley.
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December 20th, 2006 at 12:38 pm
Really! I didn’t know that about Leslie. Okay, so now I know three people.
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December 20th, 2006 at 1:35 pm
Wow, I had no idea that number would be so high. That’s somewhat encouraging. Maybe publishing short stories first truly would help a first time novelist get a manuscript published.
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December 20th, 2006 at 1:40 pm
I know someone who sold the first book she wrote. However, she re-wrote it from start to finish three times before it was bought, so don’t know how you’d count that one.
Marley = )
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December 20th, 2006 at 1:50 pm
Like Marley, I know one person who sold her very first manuscript. but only after writing 4 complete manuscripts, the third of which got her a top notch agent. When that 3rd ms didn’t sell, her agency decided to creatively market the first 2 books. and when it came time to “revise” that book, the editor essentially meant “rewrite.”
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December 20th, 2006 at 2:40 pm
I know a decent number of people who sold their first book (but it’s nowhere NEAR 35% of the writers I know, it’s more like 10%). Heck, I’m one of them! But I think it’s important to note that everyone I know who sold their “first book” had started–and abandoned–countless books before finishing that first one.
I have no numbers to provide for this survey yet, but I hope it will be left open indefinitely so that the results can be updated periodically.
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December 20th, 2006 at 3:18 pm
One thing I find is that there isn’t as much industry knowledge among aspiring and new SF writers.
I know one of the respondents through blogs and forums who has said he sold his first that he wrote. It takes him 1.5 years to write a novel and it took him 5 years to sell it. Now he is working on book 2.
My math can’t compute the flaws in his equation. He should be writing book 4 now…
By the way, here are the magazines I mentioned. They are desperate for female writers and new voices. Great magazines to subscribe to and to submit to!
Subscribe:
http://www.asimovs.com/order/subscriptions.shtml
http://www.analogsf.com/order/subscriptions.shtml
https://www.toybox.ca/fsf/secure.htm
Submission Guidelines:
http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/glines.htm
http://www.asimovs.com/info/guidelines.shtml
http://www.analogsf.com/information/submissions.shtml
Short story publication doesn’t change the fact that your novel has to be good, but it does immediately identify you as someone who can write in complete sentences.
And the SF writer community is pretty brutal on self-pubbers, so I doubt that many on the survey are self pubbed.
Have you heard of “Atlanta Nights” by Travis Tea?
http://www.travistea.com/
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December 20th, 2006 at 3:20 pm
oops Kalen, you reminded me that I in fact know 2 authors who sold their first books
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December 20th, 2006 at 3:57 pm
I have heard of Atlanta Nights, but I don’t think prevailing genre opinions about self-pubbers would stop them reporting to a survey. You didn’t have to enter your publisher into the survey. But I’m just theorizing.
I wish one of the questions had been “how many books did you write before you were published, regardless of which book was pubbed first?” that would have been interesting as well…
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December 20th, 2006 at 4:51 pm
You may be right. This survey just identifies why I hate stats. They really leave you with more questions than answers.
Although, some individual data points of stats are curious and fun to investigate.
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December 20th, 2006 at 5:57 pm
Patrick – my boyfriend is a spec fic writer and he’s amazed at the community out there for romance writers. I’ve told him he should join RWA just for the community if nothing else. There’s so much info there! I just assumed there was something similar for SF that has all the industry knowledge but apparently not. At least that he’s been able to find.
Have you checked out Shimmer Magazine yet – http://www.shimmerzine.com/ ? It’s not a pro level, but is pretty well put together (I admit I’m biased
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December 20th, 2006 at 6:36 pm
The reason I asked for names in the survey was so that I could spot check who responded. There could have been self pubbers in the romance names that came across, as I’m not as well plugged into the community and as well read, but the SF titles were all house published or at least small press in some cases.
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December 21st, 2006 at 12:55 pm
Carrie – I’m familiar with Shimmerzine, been there a couple of times, but I’m so far behind on my reading.
I agree it’s a quality source! And I can be unbiased.
SpecFic has SFWA, but the organization is just not on par with RWA, from what I’ve been told. RWA is more inclusive and represents a larger population and a larger READER market as well. SFWA is exclusive. They do provide some basic guidance, manuscript formatting, preditors, etc. but little to approaching writing as a business.
It’s amazing the egos you find in SF who scoff at Romance.
Personally, I would rather be ‘popular’ than ‘critically acclaimed’
I’m finding plenty of sub-genres of romance that I enjoy.
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