Monday's Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts

SHOULD YOU “SEND OUT” THAT FIRST NOVEL? 9 THINGS TO CONSIDER FIRST

By: Anne R. Allen

We are always hearing about authors who have phenomenal success with a "first novel." I'm sure most writers fantasize about being that author sometime in our early careers. I sure did.

But here's what I didn't know back then: the novels that are published first are rarely the first novel an author actually wrote.

Most successful authors have several "practice" manuscripts in their files. They also may be successful journalists, screenwriters, editors, feature writers, or ghostwriters who have been writing for a living for a long time. 

In November, we had a guest post from NYT bestseller Eileen Goudge, who revealed that her bestselling "first novel," Garden of Lies was written after she cut her teeth writing dozens of YA novels in the Sweet Valley High series.

There's much buzz right now around the "debut" book by Katherine Heiny, Single, Carefree, Mellow, but it turns out she's been writing teen romance for years and had a story published in The New Yorker twenty years ago.

And last week we heard that even To Kill a Mockingbird wasn't Harper Lee's first (or only) novel.

A lot of people reacted to the Harper Lee story with shock and anger. It's hard to let go of the lovely myth of the genius who created that one perfect novel on the first try and lived on its proceeds for life. 

. . .

A first—and even second—book can feel like our "baby" and many of us turn into mother bears trying to protect them. We often forget that publishing is a business and feel devastated when we discover the entire world has not been waiting in breathless anticipation for our baby's brilliant debut.

1) Throwing your "firstborn" into the unforgiving marketplace can have devastating psychological consequences

. . .

Read the full article HERE! 

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If you missed my writing & marketing tweets and retweets yesterday, here they are again:

1. Tor.com Explains Why Novellas Are The Future Of Publishing http://ow.ly/J4iyF
2. The eBook Author's Corner: Authors: Improve Your Twitter Messaging and Control http://ow.ly/J4j0L
3. Can money and art mix? Does money taint art? http://wp.me/p3XSYy-1kZ via @ArtistThink #art #creativity #artist
4. 93 Extremely Bad Business Writing Habits to Break - Writers Write http://ow.ly/J4Q0h
5. Power of the Space Between Creative Bursts - Creative Katrina http://ow.ly/J4Q1C
6. Are You Making These Mistakes That Lead to Carpal Tunnel? | Writing and Wellness http://ow.ly/J4Q2C
7. The Myth of the Overnight Success and What Those Stories Have in Common | Carly Watters, Literary Agent http://ow.ly/J4Sfq
8. More About Book Proposals | Behler Blog http://ow.ly/J4SjA
9. Handy Tricks for Using Word for Authors - Write Divas http://ow.ly/J4Sns
10. Get Ready: Are Your CHARACTERS Ready? #ReadySetWrite | KayeDacus.com http://ow.ly/J4SpV
11. Modern-day novel writing | Warning: make sure your theme isn’t a cliché http://ow.ly/J4Srl
12. How To Use Scrivener to Plan a Book - Natasha Lester Author of If I Should Lose You and What is Left Over, After http://ow.ly/J4SsO
13. Should You Self-Publish? 5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Taking the Plunge - BookBub Unbound http://ow.ly/J4SuS
14. How To Get Stuff Done When You Really, Really Don’t Want To - 99U http://ow.ly/J4Swb
15. Moody writing • Tricks of the Trade 1: The Plant http://ow.ly/J4SxM
16. Remember Why Readers Seek You Out Online - Books & Such Literary Management : Books & Such Literary Management http://ow.ly/J4SBo
17. How To Get A Unique Illustration For Your Book Cover | The Creative Penn http://ow.ly/J4T6m
18. 4 Reasons You Might Be Missing Out on Your Best Plot Ideas - Helping Writers Become Authors http://ow.ly/J4TcZ
19. Why Free Is Your Best Marketing Tool And How To Harness It http://ow.ly/J4TiQ
20. The Ten Best Reasons Why Anyone Can Be a Writer | Lev Raphael http://ow.ly/J5hBy
21. Writer Unboxed » Simple Promo Tip: Call Your Book By its Name http://ow.ly/J5sUd
22. Vloggers: Video Book Bloggers Influencing the Next Big Reads? - Where Writers Win http://ow.ly/J5Iob
23. How to Choose Kindle Keywords | Self-Publishing Review http://ow.ly/J5Izp
24. Anne R. Allen's Blog: Should You "Send Out" that First Novel? 9 Things to Consider First http://ow.ly/J5QyV

Happy writing and running, Kathy