9 things I wish I knew before publishing my first novel

Twitter - @thelindsayellis

[ContraPoints]

Thanks for the advice I’m sure it will be very helpful in publishing my upcoming memoir “I’m Losing to a Bird: the Natalie Wynn Story”

[colleenlongua]

The biggest takeaway I get from this is that if you're going to write a book, do it because you really, really want to. Not for money or fame or anything else because it probably isn't going to happen, at least not in the short term.

[michaelreynolds]

I've been telling newbies for years: don't write THE book, just write A book. That's hard enough.

[archer]

“Your genre isn’t hot anymore.”

As someone who has been writing traditional American Private Eye stories, a genre that had its last peak In the 1990’s, without even a nibble from publishers, I felt that . Knowing the market is critical and
not talked about enough.

[AmandaTheJedi]

This undoubtedly will come in handy when I inevitably write a horrendous gay coming of age story

[Elemtree]

It’s legally required now that when Natalie Wynn uploads, so must Lindsay Ellis in the next coming days as a part of some contract.

[johnnytyler]

I'm a professional screenwriter, and a former art director (HBO, AMC WB), and I experienced a similar arc when I got a manager, lawyer, and sold scripts to large studios this last year. At first, I was like WTF is happening -- it's very exciting and scary, and maybe everyone is going to figure out that I'm a fraud. Then a year passed and everything became more normal, and I stopped worrying . I think in large part this is because -- we get past the fantasy. There is no big parade when we succeed, there's a little bit of praise and money, then things turn back to normal. We discover that on the other end of this big dream/goal is just ourselves. Maybe slightly wiser, but basically the same. How can we feel like an imposter when everything is the same? That's my experience at least. Congrats on the book, cheers!

[gamsougher]

the best thing goodreads did for me a writer & reader is demonstrating that i could LOVE a book and then read the reviews and see how much other people disliked it. taste is so subjective and not everyone is going to like one book or story. it's kind of freeing, honestly

[lrhill]

Honestly, this type of video is way more helpful and comforting than the "The only thing standing between you and the next great novel is YOU! Follow your dreams! Don't worry about rules, just write!" positivity hype train. Like sure, believing in yourself is important. But so is a realistic understanding of the challenges facing authors.

Also, your last book was one of the few pleasant surprises of 2020. I can't wait to read the new one.

[Arachnes_Corner]

"There is absolutely no harm in being happy for other people."

[jessip]

I'm not published but being in a writing group introduced me to some of the most spiteful, weird, creepy, and backstabby people I've ever met. The most frustrating thing was that the worst of them were also the best writers. So if I do manage to get published I'm expecting to meet even more awful people. Hurray!

[DanielGreeneReviews]

It’s really nice to hear someone share a similar experience. Thank you! Needed to hear a lot of this.

[AlexaDonne]

LOVE THIS, and also a fan of the "telling it like it is" thing b/c the truth is: if someone is easily discouraged by the reality, they won't make it. Someone telling you it's hard is the LEAST BAD thing that can happen to you in publishing lol. This industry is BRUTAL. It will beat you down. But it can be worth it if your end game is best possible distribution of your work--and you have to decide if all the bad stuff worth it to you--and going in with eyes open is optimal, imo. The whole philosophy behind my channel but of course why a LOT of people love to call me a dream killer :) I love your publishing content and how real you're being about the whole thing.

[jbradleymusic]

"Getting published does not mean you've made it." Jesus, I wish more musicians had that mindset.

[arytheloser]

Re: Asking lawyers about the legal implication of alien invasion-- There are definitely lawyers who will fully lean into speculative stuff like this. My partner took a "future law" class that was all about speculating on laws that might crop up around future technologies like robots, self-driving cars, AI, etc. He loves talking about this kind of stuff, and I suspect that there are people in other industries who would enjoy this kind of speculative thought as well (i.e. find experts who also happen to be sci-fi geeks)

[paulportes]

"Every success someone else had was a reflection of their failures"

Damn, that hits hard

[jacksontran]

The Snoop with a pearl earring candle is amazing

[AuthorDarrellCScottJr]

Needed to hear this. Published my debut last year and felt discouraged from my lack of perfection on my first attempt. It stalled me in writing book two for almost a year. But I have to say I’m a much better writer going into book two and it is exciting.

[Eidlones]

I've had an idea for a book in mind for years now. This'll come in handy in 25 years when I finish my first draft.

[PauLtus_B]

The disappearance of mid budget movies is something I had been aware of and has been bothering me a lot (most of my favourite movies are within mid budget). As the budget of writing a book probably wouldn't have that much versatility I hadn't considered something similar could be happening there but I find it sad to hear as the consequences will be very similar.