how hard is it to publish a novel

BoardsUser836

i'e seen some novels in my time that were definitely bargain bin fodder and i always thought to myself "Hey, i could write a better story than that!"

So as of now I am attempting to write my first novel (not an easy task, but it's kind of fun) will I have to go through all sorts of traps and pitfalls to get my novel published? or is it an easy feat, especially here in ireland.

pickarooney

If you e-publish I guess the success rate is 100% otherwise it's more or less pot luck or a lot of research and hard graft (on top of the research and hard graft needed to write the book).

Paco Rodriguez

Hi OP

Im in the same place as you. I have just finished reading The Novel-Writers Toolkit by Caroline Taggart.
It has quotes from authors agents and publishers on what they look for.
I found it to be very encouraging to make an effort but also to accept that its quite difficult to get published.
I was amazed at the importance of your cover letter!

Good luck and have faith in yourself.

bigsmokewriting

Publishers aren't idiots. There's usually something worthwhile about a particular title that makes them decide to publish it - whether you agree with them about its worth or not is quite a different matter.

Yes, it's difficult to get published (by a traditional publishing house, anyway), but the more you learn about the industry, the more you can increase your chances. It can be relatively easier (still not 'easy') to get an Irish-based book published in Ireland, but the flipside is that it's a much smaller market.

Good luck!

pavb2

I was just thinking about this and for a 1st novel I reckon I would need about a year from idea, research to 1st draft to final final edited to death version.

I think if you really intense you could do it a lot quicker but I think the creative process demands that you allow time for reflection and re editing.

Might be a good idea to identify the necessary steps and put together a rough plan/time line.

I know some authors are prolific and it depends on your genre and available time but what do others think?

PurpleBee

Why not write it first and then worry about getting it published after? I don't see the point of writing just to be published, isn't that kind of the reason why there's so much crap out there in the first place

EileenG

What he said.

Write the novel you want to read, the one that gets you excited and itching to get to the keyboard. When it's all finished, and you've heard from a few beta readers, you can think about what it needs to make it something that can be published commercially.