Any writers here?

Yes and yes.

Yes and yes, too.

I have a concept but i am no writer. Do u have any advice? Can i hire a writer? No idea how to do it

r3, if it's a concept for a TV show and/or a movie, could you bang out a treatment on your own?

If it's a screenplay for film or TV I agree with R4--at least write a one-page "treatment" and copyright it before you show it to anyone in H'wood. Then, of course, you have to get it into someone's hands but there are services like that all over L.A. But if it's a book or short story, why would you want anyone to write that for you--unless the book is non-fiction.

Yes and yes--and, if it helps, lots of work for hire sites offer ghostwriting services, if you'd like someone to write story based on your idea.

Yes and yes. Short stories.

I am a fairly well known writer, My publisher is Simon and Schuster.

OP: When I started, I tried in to find an agent (which you need to get published by a reputable house), but constantly struck out. Most times, they returned my submission without even reading it.

So I started self-publishing by writing for the Internet. Within a year, I had five or six agents sending me emails asking to represent me.

So I advise you try the same thing if you are having trouble getting your foot in the door.

Screenplay - no, but I've written and sold some TV scripts. Here's how: I knew the producer from when we worked on another project together. I was never on staff, but I made good money for a few episodes.

Writing a one-page treatment and copyrighting it will get you nowhere. First, no one can tell anything from one page. Second, no one will want to read it, in case they ever write anything remotely similar and you decide to sue them. Third, they get asked to read people's "treatments" all the time.

You need some sort of entree. Someone has to know you, or see you in a showcase performing your own work, or at a comedy club performing your own work, or see a series of popular viral videos you've done (to name a few examples).

There are other ways. A friend of mine entered her writing into a class taught by a famous TV director (whom you would know). At the end of the class he helped her meet a few other producers. She wrote for a couple of years for a sitcom you may or may not know (one of those that was on for a few years, but I don't know anyone who ever watched it). But that didn't lead anywhere, and she ended up working on a series of reality shows behind the scenes before getting out of the business entirely.

No, you don't need an agent right away, and you don't need to be in the WGA. But if you get that job, you will get the first pretty quickly and will have to join the second pretty quickly as well.

I can talk about publishing a bit if you're interested. That's changed pretty radically over the last 10 years, though. It's harder than ever to get published by a major publisher -- but it's probably easier than ever to get published, period.

[quote]I can talk about publishing a bit if you're interested.

I am. More, please.

R9 I told him to do that (the one page treatment, copyrighted) to protect him before he takes it to anyone else "to write." He says that he can't write. He needs a ghost. So he needs to protect the original idea. I have been screwed so trust me, I know. I have published more than 150 articles in over 50 (paper) magazines; have books with HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster; have two treatments out right now; and had a screenplay make the finals of Sundance Screenwriter's Workshop. So I know a bit... Anyway, good luck OP.

r8 when you say self-publishing, do you mean your own website or other sites' freelance work, i.e. genre sites for free?

Did you do any market research and tailor your writing accordingly, or did you just write for yourself/your interests and submit?

more please

I'd like to publish a self- help book.

I know about writing just the first chapter and an outline for nonfiction, but how do I find the right agent? Do I send it to many agents simultaneously?

It all depends on what you want to sell/write. Otherwise this is just spitting into the wind.

I have never written and i know my concept is very unique. I have been worried about people stealing my idea because it is ( in my opinion) totally new and exciting.

I do know a movie producer who has no idea of what i want to do. I want to keep her close and make connections too.

Great advice and i knew by the brilliant writing on this site, that there was bound to be at least one published writer.

Keep info flowing, i am taking it all on.

A good friend does a lot of public speaking and had a huge social media following (like 20K on Twitter)- he self-published the two books he's written because he says the only thing publishers do is provide marketing help and he doesn't need that, he can promote the book himself, he has good connections in the press too. Not sure how much he's made but his theory seems to make sense.

I remind myself that Peter Rabbit was knocked back so many times that she started her own publishing company. Also The Wizard of Oz was almost never published.

I published, first with a traditional publisher and then two books on my own using Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing. I made my own connections and got on NPR a few times. I got blurbs on my own. I made more money from the self-published titles than I did from the small press that published me. It's not enough to be my main income, but it was around 37K from the self-published books.

With the small press, I earned about $1 a copy, maybe less. The publisher earned the same amount after all expenses, warehousing being the most expensive cost up front. With self-publishing, my cut is $3-4/book, and since it's print on demand, there are no warehouse costs.

If you do self-publish, spend the $100 and get a press name of your own registered with your own ISBN assigned to that press. It's easy and CreateSpace (Amazon's self-publishing service for print publishing) helps you through that process. The difference is, CreateSpace assigns you a free ISBN but in the publisher field, you'll see CreateSpace. For 100 bucks, it'll read Your Press Name. Worth it.

Get a great proofreader. Pay for a cover designer. If you go the route of self-publishing, you'll learn all about marketing and self-promotion, which you'll benefit from if a publisher wants to pick up your book for reprint.

Publishing lags behind music and art when it comes to respecting DIY. It's still considered less than legit by some when you publish yourself but at the same time, it seems to be a way to get picked up by a traditional publisher, who wants to see that you already have a following, whether because of a blog or a self-published title.

Post questions and if I can, I'll answer. Good luck. It's a lot of work and very rewarding.

I sit by my glistening window with the cross-hatched frame, hear the singing of bluebirds and the squawking of sparrows, the sands of time run through my transient existence and it's as if all of eternity is heaving a sigh in my direction: "Why?" "Why?" the ancient pine trees seem to ask, "Why will these beautiful words not be published? Who has passed down this chalice of social cruelty to such privileged few, that the glories of the un-sung heart shall remain unsung?!"

With a fevered tear and pull at my tartan wrap (the one with the leather-ette laces) I open my heart to the rhythmic, sympathetic pleas of those ancient trees.

Way #1 Datalounge is depressing: All the artistic geniuses that have lent their talents behind the scenes and in front of camera, proclaim how nothing at all is ever what it's cracked-up to be and everything sucks. And The English are taking our acting jobs. And all the fashion designers are barely getting by, by the skin of their teeth. And an Oscar or Pulitzer or Nobel only leads to afternoons on DL.

r9 again. r19 did a better job than I could explaining self-publishing.

If you want to go the traditional route, you must, must, must have an agent. Most if not all publishers won't even take a look at a manuscript that isn't represented -- the literary agent is the first filter.

The exceptions would be if you were a non-writer who achieved overnight fame (like the guy who landed the plane in the Hudson River) and they needed to get a book done quickly, or if you had some success in self-publishing and a traditional publisher came looking for you instead of the other way around.

To the poster above whose friend had a great idea but couldn't write -- good luck to him or her, but professional writers aren't generally out of things to write about and are looking to team with an idea person. Ghosts generally are paired with someone marketable who already has a story to tell, and often the better/more powerful ghostwriters now share credit with the marketable person.

I enjoy writing magazine articles and newspaper features (on a specific subject) so that gets my name out there. I don't have to look for places to accept them. I just e-mail them to the department editors that already know me. As a result, I've been approached by two publishers to write a book. I have other interests and really don't want to do a book, so I'll keep writing the way I have been. Perhaps some others who want to get started could begin with short stores/features for magazines.

Gone are the days when you wrote your book and sent it off to the publisher. I think the last slush pile disappeared in the 70s.

[quote] I just e-mail them to the department editors that already know me.

Oh, dear. I hope they proofread when you send.

I write for a soap. I am currently a script writer, but have also been a story editor, an associate head, and a story consultant. I've written for several prime time shows and I also script doctor. I have also ghost written a few autobiographies.

I often wonder about taste. The stuff I write is along the lines of David Sedaris, but much funnier. But I can't get anyone to "bite" on my short stories.

"I have a concept but i am no writer."

At least you admit that.

" Do u have any advice?"

Do something else.

"Can i hire a writer?"

Yes, but most can't stand illiterate morons who think they have a great idea.

" No idea how to do it "

Obviously.

R28, don't be a meanie.

[quote]The stuff I write is along the lines of David Sedaris, but much funnier.

The delusions that flood Datalounge . . .

Write well and know somebody.

Got a book published on a topic I'm incredibly versed in....best feeling ever.

Soap writer r26, any advice for someone first in his class in a P&G soap writing workshop who didn't make it to the next level? AW wanted to hire me, but NBC insisted on two other writers who apparently were already on contract.

And no one seemed to want to represent a writer who actually wanted to write for daytime.

[R28], don't be a meanie.

But it's so easy!

I wrote a Craig's List ad pretending to be a horny 65 year old woman, and they published it! It felt really rewarding to receive over 500 emails of horny men and their dick pics.

R33 are you doing any writing now? Do you have an agent?

R28 I thought i should showcase my writing skills. You are the only one without something intelligent to say. My guess is you are projecting. I have a well paying job i love so i am doing something else. Bye bye

No and no, r36. I gave up after that experience. But I have a book in me, a novel I've thought about for a long time and can't quite get out of my head.

I need tips of brainstorming or breaking down a thought. Are there any writing exercises to get the brain flowing?

Do mean posts to now defunct blogs count?

Are there blogs anymore? Or has Google just stopped showing them in searches?

[quote]Are there blogs anymore? Or has Google just stopped showing them in searches?

Google now searches blogs as part of its regular search.

Poetry. Published. Well received. Pleasantly surprised.

Hickory dickory dock Mama needs blatino jailbait cock

Well then Kiss My Ass and make it a love story 😀

R7, what led you to write short stories over novels? Debating whether my ideas are better for a short story or a book.

Novice here. I have written several short stories and a screenplay. Would it be a good idea for me to enter some of my writting in various contests? If I do go this route how do I protect my work from being copied?

DL being full of wannabe writers... Bump

I've written erotic gay fetish stories that have garnered me fans who have gotten back to me from from all around the world, from Belgium to Spain, South Korea, Argentina, and I don't know where else, with more than 100,000 hits.

Profit to me: zilch.

I know that if i knew the right people my story would sell. Lets start a DL publishing company. Then all of the fucked up, erotic fantacy, epic battles and juicy stories will have a chance to be read

R49 Give us a link and i will read it.

R49 In instant message, serial form?! How illustrious!

To the "ideas" person...

You got a snarky response earlier, but the heart of that response was on target: writers are not looking for people who want to share their ideas so that the writer can generate work. Ideas are lovely, but writing is work, more perspiration than inspiration. You can get a ghost writer if you're famous and have a story to tell that publishers want to sell, but otherwise, you'll have to actually do the work yourself.

R53 is right. Unless you have a truly exceptional story (the guy who cut off his arm, etc) then no ghost writer will get hired by a publishing company to do the work for you. Unless you want to hire a ghost writer yourself. It costs money to pay someone to do the work.

So it seems i need to explained myself better. I am in no way trying to just flog off an idea to a writer or generate work for them. I am not under any illusions that i can just get someone to write my story. I really have a little ego so i don't need to be put in my place. I was curious about the process and considering the fact that i can't write, i asked the question. I want more than anything to do the work myself. I was hoping that once i have the majority of the work done, that someone could edit and help me get my thoughts across. I am not just another 'ideas' person. I am young, realistic, hard working and appreciate any advice.

Non-writers (or I should say non-professional writers) vastly overestimate the importance of ideas. You'd think, given the lack of originality coming out of Hollywood, that original ideas would be prized, but they're really not. Hollywood sticks with the generic because it sells, not because there are no screenwriters in LA with original ideas. And honestly, no one's going to steal an idea. If a concept sells you'll see rip offs, but that's not the same thing. The original idea is like 1% of the actual finished product of a script. The other 99% of writing, creating the characters, creating an overall plot with subplots, etc. is what's important.

If you want to be a writer, you can't rely on one project or one idea. To get an agent you generally need a portfolio or something that's going to convince them that you'll be productive in the long term. No one wants someone who'll only deliver once. It's your ability to write and deliver finished product that sells, not having one genius idea. If you do want to pursue screenwriting and land an agent, you could always try writing and self-producing a short with some friends (there are plenty of actors willing to work for free in exchange for showreel footage).

Choose a film that you really like and that you believe you could have written. Then watch about ten minutes (or even a lot less) and take down everything that is an "idea". You'll have a book! A good film isn't just one idea, nor even two or three, it's ten ideas per minute... All the time. It just seems easy when it's done because you think you could have done that yourself, but it's actually incredible hard work. Ripping off might be easier. But starting from scratch - ouch.

Good luck, OP.

Read the first page of the first book Hubert Selby Jr wrote. He claims he was a lousy writer and could only achieve what he was essentially unsatisfied with, through hard work and nothing else. Read just one page. Copy it, even. Jott it down in longhand or even type it if you prefer. You will see what hard work it is, and that is just the first page. It needs to start with a bang, end with a bang, and you can't really afford to be sloppy with the middle.

"But I have a book in me, a novel I've thought about for a long time and can't quite get out of my head. "

I have last night's dinner in me, but it doesn't make me a chef. You don't have a novel. You have an idea.

--

"Are there any writing exercises to get the brain flowing? "

Yes. It's called typing.

Cart before horse...write!

[quote]Non-writers (or I should say non-professional writers) vastly overestimate the importance of ideas. You'd think, given the lack of originality coming out of Hollywood, that original ideas would be prized, but they're really not. Hollywood sticks with the generic because it sells, not because there are no screenwriters in LA with original ideas. And honestly, no one's going to steal an idea. If a concept sells you'll see rip offs, but that's not the same thing. The original idea is like 1% of the actual finished product of a script. The other 99% of writing, creating the characters, creating an overall plot with subplots, etc. is what's important.

Agreed for the most part, but people can and do steal ideas, unfortunately. But worrying about that without something to sell is like fretting about seepage in the basement of a dream house that exists only in your head.

What this poster says about "original ideas" is spot-on. I'll use a popular example: "Gone Girl." Huge publishing success for Gillian Flynn, very successful movie. Everyone praised the "original" twist, and it was a good one.

But the core of the book and the movie was hardly original: Innocent man accused of a crime has to exonerate himself. It was what Flynn did with character, detail, dialogue and that twist that convinced a publisher to give it a major push.

Another example: "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." The setting was unique; the storytelling had a voice; the characters were interesting. But the core story was a murder trial, one of the oldest tricks in the book.

In both cases, publishers set about trying to find "the next John Berendt" or "the next Gillian Flynn" -- until something else came along.

What do we think of Robert McKee's 'Story'?

[quote] What do we think of Robert McKee's 'Story'?

I hate it. It's the reason so many Hollywood movies are formulaic crap and why movie executives don't know how to tell a good script from a bad one. The only difference between a good script and a bad one is whether or not you believe the characters' reactions to what is going on and whether what is going on logically follows from what happened before it.

I'm a full-time writer and journalist -- on the news side -- and freelance for magazines such as The Atlantic and The Nation. Also worked in television news for many years full-time and now freelance. One book published and about to start working on another this fall.

It sounds like the OP is more interested in fiction and prime time/dramatic television -- which are not my areas of expertise -- but there are some similarities and there has been some very good advice so far. The most important thing to do is to write. Write about what you know, what you feel and what you dream about. Also, try not to compare yourself to other writers and take incremental steps at publication. If you want to be a journalist, you shouldn't try to sell your very first article to The Atlantic. So if you want to write teleplays, you shouldn't expect that Ryan Murphy will hire your for AHS based on your first script. Perhaps start with a staged reading, a screenplay competition, etc.. But the most important thing to do is write and find your voice.

Wait until you're 90, pretend that you are all alone in the world and possibly mentally incompetent, then release your novel, but pretend that you wrote it 60 years ago. It will sell millions of copies.

R64 Ouch!

Is anyone going to answer to my question? Should I pursue writting contests?

I looked into those, r66, and i found the surprising fact that one can now get a PhD in Creative Writing, and those who do are those most seen as entries in such contests.

PhD in Creative Writing? Very odd.

[quote]Is anyone going to answer to my question? Should I pursue writting contests?

If it brings you pleasure, and if the contest doesn't ask you for money, sure.

And for all aspiring writers: No reputable agent will charge you a "reading fee" or whatnot. That's a scam.

[quote]Should I pursue writting contests?

You might want to pursue spelling contests before you move on to writing contests.

PhD in Creative writing is totally crazy. I can see the concept but it makes no sense.

r60 "Midnight" was different because he did not go down there to cover/writer about the murder. It happened when he was already there immersing himself in the culture and talking to the locals.

He already had an in; that's what made it unique.

FWIW, Tarantino is a terrible speller, and I heard he's a pretty good writer. I'm not a fan, btw.

[quote]Should I pursue writting contests?

Jesus. The jokes just "writ" themselves sometimes!

[quote] The only difference between a good script and a bad one is whether or not you believe the characters' reactions to what is going on and whether what is going on logically follows from what happened before it.

I enjoy writing fiction. I don't profess to be a professional nor delude myself into thinking I'll be the next billionaire writer.

I've consumed a huge number of "How to" writing books, including Story by McKee. I don't believe that there is any one formula for writing and agree that the rote execution of story mechanics lead to a flat story.

However, for someone beginning, I do believe that learning basic story craft is necessary. TS Eliot said, "When forced to work within a strict framework, the imagination is taxed to its utmost - and will produce its riches ideas. Given total fredom the work is likely to sprawl."

Until you learn the basics of technique and craft, it would seem to make sense to review the mechanics outlined by McKee. He makes a compelling argument that many of the mostly highly regarded works illustrate the patterns he's identified. He articulate one (among many possible techniques) for creating believable character reactions and structuring a logical story (or movie).

Do I believe that the greatest works of all time follow a formula - no. Then again, some of the most highly regarded contemporary works (I'm looking at you Donna Tart) are actually crap. However, if you can execution well on some of the basic writing guidelines McKee or others like Larry Brooks suggest, I do believe you can create a relatively entertaining story which won't suffer from many of the more common problems and errors that occur - including ones that a lot of published authors who sell a lot of books have (I'm looking at you, all of the "next Rowling" authors who've been pushed over the last couple years - Samantha Shannon, Cassandra Clair).

If you're not already obsessed by the act of writing, and just "thinkin' about it," you'll never be a good writer or a published author.

The future is crowded. Get in line.

Are all authors huge ego freaks?

I have some fantastic slash fiction that's been simmering in my brain since 1998.

r76 most creative endeavours require constant, near crippling self-criticism coupled with equally strong, relationship destroying levels of contemptuous narcissism.

So, yes.

The people I've met who write REALLY well I could never stand on a relationship basis. They honestly seem to be relationship-impaired. What they write is more important to them than people's lives. Well, people's lives matter to them insomuch as they can use them in their writing.

"I have a book in me, a novel..." Never happened. There are ideas, and there are words on a page. They're not the same. You wouldn't say, "I have a gymnastic routine in me" or "I have a song in me" or even "I have a recipe in me" without someone saying, "Let's see or it never happened."

Having said that, if you want to write, do it. Write every day. if you don't know how to weave it all together, don't. Worry about that later. Write each episode that you can think of, that you think moves the story along. Have an outline and then develop it, add whatever scene or paragraph you can think of and fit it where it belongs.

Hello, everyone. This is my first post here on DL. I have already written a novel, but I have had a difficult time getting it noticed, let alone published. I started it six years ago and finished it three years ago. Since then, I've sent out queries to countless agents, and even went the self publishing route. But none of them worked. I've even questioned and am still questioning my writing talents, and since writing is a massive part of who I am (as opposed to just being my only marketable skill), I feel like I'm screwed.

R81

Tell us the genre.

Give us the logline / two sentence elevator description of story.

Post the first paragraph of your story

I honestly don't intend this to be nasty or snarky. Most people decide whether they will even continue to read the first page based on those three items. The initial screen is a test for flat out writing competence - you'd be surprised how many people think they're writers who cannot compose a coherent sentence, often thinking that once they sell the novel, they'll get a copy editor to fix it for them because their story is just so good.

After that, one of the most common reasons agents/publisher (or the people either groups pays to read their slush piles) pass on novels is that they simply don't "like" the main character. However, it's never clear to me whether they mean that the main character is dislikable or whether they actually mean they "do not like" meaning that they cannot empathize with the character.

Finally, always remember that, even in the "Literary Fiction" category, publishing is a commercial activity, and their #1 concern is making money. Unless you're an established author with a following, it's unlikely that any publisher will take the chance on a non-commercially viable novel.

I don't know how useful this will be as I'm mainly a playwright/screenwriter rather than a novelist (and also UK based), but I got a literary agent by putting together a portfolio; I had three full-length scripts plus a whole bunch of short films and plays that had been made/staged. So I had sort of started to develop some small reputation before I started approaching agents.

My understanding is it's very, very hard trying to get A novel published, as opposed to building a longterm career as a writer. Not that the latter is easy by any means, but literary agents prefer someone who'll earn money for them in the longterm, someone who can be relied upon to be consistently productive, rather than someone who's written one novel and wants to see it published (unless that one novel has big commercial appeal, of course). Have you written/completed anything else in the last three years?

DL will help you develop a thicker skin at least R81.

Why don't you post the first page (or first chapter) in a website temporarily, and those of us on this thread will take a look and tell you what we think.

Consider serializing your novel by publishing one chapter at a time on Wattpad or Smashwords. If you do that, be sure to publish routinely and maybe have a Facebook site where you can announce that the next chapter will be posted soon, and in it, the character does such and such.

Set up a site and Twitter account to promote the shit out of it. I have a friend who published a novel and went this route. Every fucking day she has an update on her Facebook page for the novel. Updates include any bullshit: a random quote from the novel, reader feedback, posts on anything notable about how she wrote a section. It all strikes me as awful self-promotion but she does get more and more interest and reader comments, so she's on to something.

I worked in publishing for 20 years. There is no chance that getting published generates readership and interest; you do that, and then maybe you get published. But we have all the tools in the world for you to do that, so go for it. And decide how to deal with the comments if you do serialize your book. Don't get too inflated by any adoration because right on the heels of any praise will be a casually written criticism that you'll memorize and hold dear forever. It's good that you've already written the novels so that the comments along the way, as you post a chapter, don't unduly influence your writing.

It's a fucking grind, and I no longer love the best-case scenario, but you do have ways to promote yourself, and also ways to improve your writing.

I bet if you post the first page or paragraph here, it'll hurt, but you will get a good range of comments.

What R82 said. R81, we're waiting!

Also, R85. And R86.

R81, you know what to do. And the playwright who posted is correct: it's all about the long term. So not just one novel, but three, four. Consistently.

Unless what you wrote has HUGE potential. But that's once in a lifetime. And pray no one got to it first. The same ideas do grow at the same time in similar places, simply because events reach their logical conclusions and problems are formulated in the same way.

R81, we look forward to reading your serialized novel!

I want sample text from these writers now

Remember too that writers are just one part of publishing -- the other is the audience and a good publisher tries to respond to the readers wants. Given this Kindle Age, and the attitude that if everyone doesn't want it, nobody gets it, might be a big reason titles of now seem so odd to people who've read happily their whole lives, but can't fathom this mainstream.

Bump! If you're writing, we want to see those samples

Though not fiction, "Stuff White People Like" started as a snarky blog, but then a publisher wanted it for a book, and that is how that book, and a sequel, were born.

Why post on those writing sites instead of Amazon self-publishing?

You can serialize and get an audience and then publish it as one ebook and print edition. This gives you time to build an audience. If you go directly to Amazon's CreateSpace (for print) and Kindle Direct Publishing (for ebook), you're hoping that your title generates any interest. I won't even find it unless you promote it. Either way, get the words out there. It's on the writer to gain an audience.

I would say if you do want to go the route of self-publishing, do you buy any self-published books? If you want readers on the writing sites (Wattpad, Smashwords), do you currently support any writers there? You have to be a reader and supporter of the services and community too. You write reviews and encouragement on other writers' pages and they'll visit and read yours.

I wrote a screenplay and entered it into a reputable screenwriting competition -- and won. But then, nothing. A friend in the business told me that getting a movie made is roughly the same odds as winning the lottery. Obviously, movies get made all the time, but you're not going to get hired to write some commercial blockbuster unless you have a track record in them and indies can take years to get off the ground, and it helps to have a track record in that sort of movie. Then there's the whole process of selling the movie once you've gotten it financed and made, and then distributed. It's not for the faint-hearted.

It sounds like it's virtually impossible to break into screenwriting in Hollywood. And then I think of PG Wodehouse and how they paid him a small fortune to basically sit around all day (which he hated and left).

My guess is if you want to write drama or for the screen, best is if you can act and/or direct too. That way you can get your project off the ground (assuming it's micro budget indie), and maybe gain some visibility. Start a gang, or join one. Otherwise it sounds like castles in the air, but not realistically feasable.

And just because Hollywood buys your screenplay doesn't mean they'll produce it. They may sit on it for awhile and then never do anything with it. Or they could make it into a movie years after the initial sale. If you really want to do it and do it the way you want it to be seen, do it yourself.

"You have to be a reader and supporter of the services and community too. "

Exactly. If you don't know any other authors, chances are you're not going to succeed. All my fellow author pals are generous with shared promos, readings, reviews and Facebook posts. It's also because we're genuinely interested in each others' books.

RE: screenplays - I had a novel optioned for a low-budget project that never happened. I saved half ($10K, tiny, I know) and spent the other half on self-publishing other books. The film will never happen, but it worked for me.

Some ten years ago I was following the indie blogger graphic novel movement in France for a while. I noticed that those who did rise to the top all belonged to a "gang" where the members promoted and supported each other. There were in fact 2-3 gangs that I could see, and the strongest, most experienced gang ended up hiring the most talented from another gang.

You can't succeed alone.

I have a concept i guess i am scared that if i publish online that a good writer might elaborate on the idea. I understand that this is part of the creative process but i guess i want it to be clear that it is my idea. I have no idea how to copyright or if i need to. Am i just full of myself? .

Look up Tess Gerritsen's legal woes about her novel Gravity. She sold the rights to the book and the project got waylaid. Then Sandra Bullock stars in a movie called Gravity and Tess says, WTF? That's my story. And yet she's shit out of luck. And that's an established author whose book was outright bought for film adaptation--and still the producers are saying nope, it wasn't your idea.

Your concept is not a novel. Write it and mail it to yourself. There's your copyright. It won't be a safeguard against theft.

When publishers hear a writer who hasn't written that he's afraid someone will steal his idea, it's considered adorable. It's the standard amateur worry. Just fucking write and then rewrite and then pay someone to edit and then write something else. You're inventing a worry to avoid doing it.

[quote]I have a concept i guess i am scared that if i publish online that a good writer might elaborate on the idea. I understand that this is part of the creative process but i guess i want it to be clear that it is my idea. I have no idea how to copyright or if i need to. Am i just full of myself?

There are no new stories - there are only seven stories:

1. man against man

2. man against nature

3. man against himself

4. man against God

5. man against society

6. man caught in the middle

7. man and woman

All else is merely details and execution. Harry Potter is fundamentally a bildungsroman, coming of age novel. In this sense it is "in a direct line of descent from Thomas Hughes's Tom Brown's School Days and other Victorian and Edwardian novels of British public school life. It utilizes all the classic tropes from fantasy novels from a dark lord to magic ring.

Ernest Cline's Ready Player One is another take on the Matrix.

I'm sure if you shared any portion of your idea here, you'd get ten responses telling you what other novels or movies utilized the same idea.

Yes and yes, but it's nonfiction so nobody cares. Which is probably as it should be.

I should add that I've been in a writing organization for a few years and often help with their pile of applicants each year. I can tell you from experience that most people do not know how to write. Every year, people with "15 years of experience" and a degree in Creative Writing apply, and their work is mediocre, sometimes completely unreadable. We always get a few dozen people who make a living writing for online publications with large readerships, but their work is not just bad, it's unintelligible. Sometimes it's just gibberish.

There are quite a few tiny publishers out there who make some bank by publishing crap, though. They find someone's shitty fanfic online, then approach them with a terrible contract (that the novice often believes is a great deal because they don't know any better) and ask them to essentially do a query-replace on the characters' names, then pass their crap off as a new romance novel. I know one publisher who scrapes the 'net of blog posts, forum posts and Wikipedia articles on a certain celebrity, has a team of people edit it into something readable, and passes it off as a "new biography." I know a guy who makes a living writing liner notes by doing the same thing.

If you're looking to make money as a writer, you can do it, even if you suck so hard at it you should rightfully be laughed off the planet.

I have an idea for a play, as well as a screen adaptation of a book...the only catch is, I'm not confident in my writing. Wish I could find a collaborator.

If you need a ghostwriter, there are plenty. Call yourself a publisher, though, not the writer of that work.

From my work experience in general (not writing), you get paid to do shit nobody wants to do, or shit that requires an enormous amount of talent/skill and possibly hard work. The point is, if writing were easy or fun, everybody would be doing it. So if you want to write, write. Worry about the rest later.

And if it sucks? Well, tough shit. That's work.

Bump

R102 makes a good point. And this is actually helpful to remember as you write. At least it is for me. Helps me keep things simple.

Just stop.

R26 I'm interested in the soap world, which has really changed over the last 20 years...thanks for taking a moment to clear some things up for me...

...are you assigned a script based on the episode breakdowns from the head writer and just told to "make it sing!"... regardless of how you may feel about the direction the narrative is taking or how the characters are evolving (or not)?

Could you communicate with the head writer that you feel a character is acting out of character and suggest alternatives? Is there someone on the writing staff, a consultant for example, who knows everything about the characters histories and steps in to edit dialogue or story beats to ensure that the characters remain consistent with their history? (I'd like to think so, but I doubt it sometimes..)

Is there a "writers room" situation, where the head writer can announce "the network has agreed that Brenda will kidnap a baby, so let's break that story...", allowing you and the other writers to point out that Brenda kidnapping a baby would be really weird because she was kidnapped when she was a child and maybe instead suggest she could struggle to adopt a baby, for example...?

I'm wondering how the chain of command factors into things. I suspect the writers are sort of scattered across the US and rarely ever share a space, but maybe all of you are in LA? I don't know.

Is it a full-time position? Do you make enough as a soap writer to support yourself?

...also, how long have you been in the soap world, and do you view it as a depressing thing? It seems like it's such a sinking ship but the medium is so interesting and has such potential.

Thanks!

Any soap writers willing to speak to their experiences?

What's a soap opera?

I love the idea that someone would have the skills to ghostwrite but would not have the ability to develop their own story.