Hi everyone!
As many of you know, a week or two ago I opened up the comments section of
this post to anyone who wanted to ask questions regarding writing or
publishing.
As I was sorting through and answering the questions, I noticed many, many
trends, the biggest of which was this:
Everyone is in a hurry.
I want to be a writer, but I don’t
know how to get published.
Wait. Take your time. That sentence is like saying “I want to be a runner but I don’t know how to get on the Olympic team.”
First, you have to earn your spot on the team. You do that by practicing and studying and spending hour upon hour upon hour learning your sport and honing your skills.
You do that by not skipping the step where you learn how to do that.
I have a book I want to write but I
don’t know how to introduce a character.
Or start the chapters. Or make
the characters different from each other.
Or…
Wait. Take your time. Read a whole bunch of books.
Now, I’m sure many of you will probably say but I read all the time, and I’m sure you do. But if you’re still asking that question then
you haven’t yet learned to read as a writer.
Reading as a writer means reading and noticing not just what the characters are doing,
but also what the writer is doing.
How did she transition from one scene to the next? How did he introduce that character and then reveal a big plot twist 100 pages later that totally changes the way you see that character? How. How. How.
Read one hundred books that way and you’ll have the answers to a lot of those questions.
I want to write a series, but I don’t
know how much to put in book one. Or
whether I should plot all six books at once.
Or how many the publishers will buy at first. Or…
Wait. Take your time. It’s great to have writing a series someday
as a GOAL, but learning to write takes time.
Writing a book takes time.
Writing a series of books is a massive undertaking that few people ever
complete. And they do it one book at a
time.
I want to write a book but I don’t
know how to get it published.
Wait. Take your time. Write your book. Nothing else can or will happen without
it. And I mean nothing.
You can’t sell your idea. You can’t
sell your intentions. You can’t sell
your dream or your goal either. What you
can sell is your book. And until you
have it, any question about agents or editors or publishers or publicists or
anything else is entirely premature.
I’ve been working on a book but every
time I write something it sounds really bad.
Wait. Take your time. A finished book doesn’t happen over night. A good book takes even more time than that.
I just finished Uncommon Criminals (Heist Society 2), and before I sent it
to my editor for the final time, I did some quick calculations. The best I can tell, I’ve spent about 900
hours plotting, researching, writing and rewriting that book. Nine hundred hours.
This takes time. It takes WORK. It takes putting in the hours—sometimes more
than a thousand of them—to get the story and the characters and the words just
right.
I’ve written a book but I don’t have time to find an agent. Or don’t know how to get an editor. Or don’t know anyone in publishing. Or…
Wait. Take your time. Learning this business is hard work. And yes, it is work. And yes, it’s work you have to do yourself.
There are no shortcuts or tricks or trade secrets. There are simply publishable books and non-publishable books. Period. And if you have a book that you genuinely believe might be publishable, then spending an hour or two and let Google teach you enough to start the process of finding an agent and a publisher and all that.
But you have to spend those hours. You. And then, once you know the basics, you have to dig deeper. You have to do the legwork and the grunt work. Why? Because it’s your career. I know this because I did it. And my friends did it. And every other working writer out there did it too.
We know it because that’s the way this works–work being the operative word.
Nine hundred hours, folks. And that was for just one book–my eighth, in fact. It doesn’t include the one novel and three screenplays that I wrote before going pro.
You can’t skip over the learning how to write phase. Please believe me when I say you need to go through the learn how this business works phase. You have to wade through bad drafts to get to good drafts; bad books to get to good books.
You have to put in the time, is what I’m trying to say.
And that time, believe it or not, is up to you. To find it. To do it. To make the most of it because–and here’s the kicker–this thing…this writing thing…it’s optional.
It’s something you do because you WANT to do it. It’s something you do because you LIKE to do it. It’s something that YOU do.
I’m not going to do your work for you. Neither are your parents or your teachers or your friends. You have to want it and you have to want it badly, because–just as an example–my agent Kristin Nelson just did her 2010 year-end blog post and reported that her agency received 36,000 queries from potential clients this year. (Yes, thirty-six thousand.)
Of those 36,000, the agency signed 9 new clients. (Yes, nine.)
So no one’s going to hand you a publishable book. No one is going to give you an agent or a contract or even tell you how to get an agent or a contract.
You have to work for those things. You have to earn them.
You.
And that starts by putting yourself in a chair and not getting up.
For approximately 900 hours.
-Ally
ME says
December 25, 2010 at 4:12 amI totally understand the need for this post. most ppl like to rush.
madyy:)) says
December 25, 2010 at 5:06 amThank you for taking time to put this type of stuff on here. i want to be a writer because of you. im still young but i think this is something i could do well in, and i love to read so i guess thats my job for now. and i got a journal for Christmas 🙂 and awesome that you got heist done i cant wait to read it!
Kylie says
December 25, 2010 at 7:06 amFirst of all Ally Merry Christmas. hope you have a wonderful one. Also thank you soooooo much for posting this. I have been writing my book and was thinking that I wasn’t putting in enough hours for it. So now that I know that I’m going back to writing.
Again Merry Chirstmas Ally. 🙂
Leah Miller says
December 25, 2010 at 3:59 pmThanks for this! It made me realize that I’m heading in the right direction and that I just need to keep going. These things take time, my time that is. I’m the only one that can accomplish this. This post helped me see that. Keep rockin’!
Leah Miller
Anonymous says
December 25, 2010 at 11:43 pmAre you writing a fifth book after the fourth of I’d tell you that I love you but then i’d have to kill you Series?
Sarah says
December 26, 2010 at 2:53 amAt least one person asks this question every post. Yes she is. She’s going to write it once everything with Uncommon Criminals is done. If you look around on the blog you will find the information on it, there’s not anything really specific yet though since she hasn’t started writing it yet. Merry Christmas Ally!
Amelia Jester says
December 26, 2010 at 4:50 amAlly I was unsure how to contact you in any other way, so I thought I would just leave a comment. Merry Christmas, and happy New Year. 🙂
Oh and I almost forgot Uncommon Criminals, will rock, and I’m so excited!!!
Leah says
December 26, 2010 at 9:06 pmI am in the middle of writing a book, but I have a stupid name for it. I keep trying, but nothing sounds right. Can anyone help me?
Leah says
December 26, 2010 at 9:08 pmHi, you’re writing a story, too? Awesome, two Leahs both writing an awesome story lol
Sarah says
December 27, 2010 at 1:14 amWhen I write a book it always depends on the story. Sometimes a title comes to me right away with the idea, and sometimes it doesn’t. I have at least two books that are untitled because I want the name for them to be perfect and I haven’t found that yet. Just keep writing, the title will come to you, and it will be perfect! Hope this helps 🙂 what’s the book about if I can ask? You don’t have to say because I always hate telling people what my books are about until they are finished.
book_luver11 says
December 27, 2010 at 4:37 amThanks Ally!!! I’m writing a book right now, and some people I’ve showed it to have said I should get it published. I usually just laugh cause I’m only 13! 🙂 btw a great website for young aspiring girl writers is http://www.missliterati.com. On this website you can post stories and poems and other writers (only girls) can rate and comment on them. It also helped me gain more confidence in my work! Luv your books Ally!!!
Lauren says
December 27, 2010 at 5:33 amThis isnt a comment about the post really but I was just rereading Only the Good Spy Young when I noticed they never eat lunch in any of the books… I know thats a weird comment but they always have dinner and breakfast but no lunch. Just wondering if I missed something.
Gemma says
December 27, 2010 at 7:35 pmI was laughing as I read your response because it’s so true…It gets asked at least once every. single. time.
Gemma says
December 27, 2010 at 7:38 pmThank you, thank you, thank you, Ally, for your 900 hours!
I’ve shared Heist Society with all of my friends, and we’re all hooked. We appreciate your 900 hours SO MUCH!
Leah Miller says
December 27, 2010 at 4:21 pmAgreed! Leahs are rockin’ it!
Anonymous says
December 28, 2010 at 2:49 amDear Ally Carter,
You are my hero.
1. You write fantastic books!
2. You understand how to write a REALLLLY hot boys.
3. You never fail to throw in that unexpected plot twist.
4. You put up with many fans asking the same questions over and over, and still you take the time to answer them.
5. You have an awe-inspiring dedication.
I felt like this needed to be said.
Your’s truly,
Anonymous
Piper says
January 4, 2011 at 10:55 pmThank you so much for the advice! I have written one book already and have alot of people telling me to try and go professionally. I was throughly inspired by your words and am looking happily into my furture of writing books. (No matter if any are even published!)
Anna says
January 6, 2011 at 4:02 amDear Ally,
YOU ARE AWESOME!!! Has anyone ever told you that? I bet a lot of people have. I’d just like to point out that your Gallagher Girls series is the perfect mix of comedy, romance and adventure. Also, because of you, my dream in life is now alternating between being a spy and being a writer. Thank you so much, because if it’s possible, your books changed my life. Like literally, if anything even remotely relates to them, I immediately connect it, and I’ve read the GG series approximately 26 times each… I know that sounds weird, and yes, I am obsessed, and yes, Zach is my new favorite name. And yes, I will probably name my kids after characters in your book. Also, WE HAVE THE SAME INITIALS! Seriously, when I found that out, I was like, ecstatic. So thank you for making my life awesome, and of course for all the writing tips!
From Anna
Maggie says
January 6, 2011 at 7:40 pmThank you for this post – such good advice! I’ll link to this on my blog! 🙂
kathleen duey says
January 6, 2011 at 8:34 pmWell said and all true. Except that for me, with the current work, it is a lot more than 900 hours!!
I hate seeing the frustration and despair of emerging writers…and now, more than ever, the frustration of midlist writers. There is a concurrent and constant siren song of the new and truly improved self-publishing industry,too, rushing people along.
If your first published book (by whatever means) is amateurish and won’t make people stay up late to read it, they won’t want your next book. Hurrying will only hurt your career.
Elena says
January 7, 2011 at 3:16 amI have a giant problem I need help with: I am writing a book called Silverstar and I have a problem where I’ve planned out everything precisely in the book but the middle is empty- the beginning and end are all clear in my head.
book_luver11 says
January 7, 2011 at 5:13 am@Elena I’ve had that problem befor too! Usually, what works for me is that I just write and turn off that little voice in my head that keeps teling me my writing stinks like cow poo, and it works! So I suggest simply turning off that voice and to simply write! Hope that works!! Btw remember in every book there is a journey, so what “journey” are your characters on right now and how do they travel on it? Another reason your middle might seem empty is that maybe you need to reveal something your were planning on revealing in the end in the middle to keep the story exciting!! :)Hope that helps!!
Amy says
January 17, 2011 at 7:21 pmTo find the best title think of what your book is about. Like I wrote one book (NOT PUBLISHED) It’s called BFF’S can you guess what it’s about? BFF’s! There’s another one BFF’S In Boy Trouble. CAn you guess? It’s about the BFF’s in boy trouble. Who is another one! Can you guess what it’s about? Exactly! I want that one to be a myster, then another one. Normality-Not Me. Some of them should be secret while other ones give it DEAD away. Hope this helps.
Elyse says
January 21, 2011 at 6:12 pmHey Ally i luv your books and i was inspired to write books too. I have so many ideas and i have been writing so many (which i havent finished yet). But i want to try to make a mystery novel but i can’t get a single idea in my head and how to plan out the book? Thank you.
Anonymous says
January 28, 2011 at 3:11 amAlly,
First of all, LOVE the Gallagher Girls.
Second, I’d love to write a book, but I could never come up with an topic like that. My imagination does not go that far yet. Please help!
Kimberly says
February 9, 2011 at 8:51 pmAlly, I’ve wanted to be a writer since…..well, I guess fifth grade when I first started Creative Writing at school. That summer, and fall, and winter, I wrote a thirteen page piece of trash called Chet Rockets. It is now buried in a secret spot where nobody can ever find it. The next fall, I discovered The Gallagher Girls. I found your website, and took your advice, and now have a book in a drawer with about 3 months left in it’s time until I begin editing again. I’m also working on a new book that has about 9,000 words into the fourth chapter. I want. To be. A writer. You inspire me. And you push all your readers on writing. And how to do it. So, thanks.
Rachael says
February 21, 2011 at 2:28 amMy friend and I are writing a book, and we’re twelve chapters in. But the plot is sorta running out of steam, if you know what I mean. How do we make it interesting again?
Brooke says
February 27, 2011 at 7:31 pmThis is sooooo helpfull. I’m writing a book and I totally get what you mean. I just finished the first rough draft of my book and it took me well over a semester. What I have is the general plot, want I have written is basically just what happens to the main character and her friends. I need to add a lot more characterization, mostly to the villian (which is kinda important). Well, it’s a work in progress and it won’t be done anytime soon.
Of course my writing skills need some work considering I’m a freashman in highschool in English 1. All I have is a rather limited knowelege of grammer (when it comes to dilgoue set up and verb tense), freetime in class, and my wild imagation…… Well, wish me luck!
DGIRGIW says
February 3, 2012 at 12:24 pmThanks for the great tips. I still can’t fing GG4 anywhere because I live in a far off land called China.
Anyway, I am writing a book and just got into the juicy chapter 2 (I have a before story too, so you can say that i’m writing chapter 3).
BTW My motto is actually from you Alley, it is DON’T GET IT RIGHT, GET IT WRITTEN! Thank you so much for being there, and giving great tips.
Best Wishes and waiting for GG5,
Emma
DGIRGIW says
February 3, 2012 at 12:26 pmOOps, sorry, I ment Ally. I really don’t like typo’s.
Kira says
February 11, 2012 at 10:39 pmThanks Ally for posting this. my goal is to become a writer but i do understand theirs certain things i have to achive before i reach THE goal. 🙂 im at the stage where i know what i want to do in my life but i have to learn some things before i can reach my goal.
Bella says
April 24, 2012 at 9:08 pmhey Ally thanks for the advice im writing a book but like you said its taking time im going to secondary school next year and i want to learn more about writing. i dont know what to study in university if im going to be an author
bella says
May 4, 2012 at 9:10 pmHey thanks sooo much Ally! i have been doing a project and i want to say that you inspired me to do writing.
Thanks for the tips 😀
Keyleecullen says
June 8, 2012 at 1:23 amHey, Leah! I too am pretty bad when it comes to names on my own, but here’s a few things you could try:
~Use an online story name generator. I’ve used this quite a bit, but usually only take a word from the generated titles and add something to it. You can look through and apply them to details of your story; just have fun with it!
~Phone a friend. You and a friend could brainstorm together to come up with a title.
~Family works well too. Just tell your family members the basics of your story and see if they can come up with anything.
~Take one word from each of 2 books for a title. (Make sure it’s not exactly a like though. You can get in trouble with the law for copyright infringement.)
Tips: Make sure the title you have chosen is not too long(keep it short), not already taken(a quick Google search would be good. Don’t wanna get sued), catchy and matches something in the story, and make sure all spelling in it is correct unless you meant it to be spelled that way.
Ex. Pet Sematary by Stephen King <—-Purposefully spelled that way. The title links to the story, Mr. King does know how to spell cemetery. Lol
I hope this helped you!
Sarah says
July 13, 2012 at 10:55 pmI’ve been writing half my life and have been going through a rough patch (again) that has to do with confidence and writer’s block. I really needed to stumble across this old post. So thanks for writing it, even almost 3 years later, because I really needed it.
Keep on writing <3
Danielle says
October 11, 2012 at 11:04 pmYou seem so knowledgeable on this subject–I guess cause you’ve been doing it for such a long time. I’m in college and it’s hard to find time to write (which is odd, because I’m an English major with an emphasis in Creative Writing) but I feel so overwhelmed with school, work, religion, dating (okay, trying to date) that my writing–when I get the time to do it–sounds like crap. My characters either sound really silly or really condescending or just plain annoying. What I’m getting at is that it gives me hope when I see your encouragement for new writers like me. I read something you wrote a few years ago (when I was deciding to make creative writing my career) about a hose that was left out for a long time and when it was turned on only dirty water came out. What I liked about that was that you tied it in to writing, how when we write a first draft it’s complete and utter crap. But if you let the hose run, clean water will eventually come out, meaning that the more drafts and revisions and touching-ups make a piece of work better fiction. Sorry this ended up so long, it’s just something that’s been stewing in my brain for a while. Thanks, Ally.
Hannah says
November 28, 2012 at 11:32 amI am in 8th grade and writing a book. I want to get it published but I am going to wait till I(I is underlined) am ready I mean I still have to work on were my punctuation goes and all and I am not done learning the simple stuff like adverbs. So I have decided that AFTER collage I will get my book published that is about 5 years if it all works out for me. The book right now(it being the first draft) is terrible so I still have a lot to do. Wish me luck!
P.S. ALLY YOU ARE FANTASTIC! <4
~Hannah/Gallagher-Girl/FAN
Dani Love says
December 2, 2012 at 7:55 pmI’ve always wanted to be a writer, well since the of summer 2010.
My aunts a (published) writer, and she encouraged me to write a book. It’s just I can never focus on one book, my mind is every where and I seem to always get new story ideas before I can get to chapter five on the old stories!!!
NatDe says
August 13, 2013 at 7:09 amThis is really helpful and true! We need to take time to think through what we’re writing, even if we just want to finish a book in a rush. Sometimes that just makes me splat everything on a few pages and come up dry! Thanks for your help Ally!
LittleDragon says
July 14, 2016 at 12:05 pmI’ve never commented here before because I thought “What’s the use” but after 15 years of pondering an idea I finally sat down to write. But after sitting down I stopped because I kept constantly telling myself that there was no way in hell that I could write anything that could be good enough to publish. So I stopped thinking about writing stories to share with the world, though I do share some online now, I started writing for me, because when it came down to it, if I couldn’t write a story that I loved, why should I expect anyone else to like them. Knowing that writers who have already been published aren’t machines who can pump these masterpieces out in days reminds me that I can do it, even if I do it for myself. Writers like you, Ally, are an inspiration to someone who hears the mental voices of their characters.
MC says
October 3, 2016 at 3:00 amI’m pretty young for this I suppose, but close after getting into books in 5th/6th grade, I was suddenly reading them as a writer (7th-8th grade). I noticed it clearly since I was so bad at reading/writing and had always wanted to do something with math since I love it, but all those jobs bore me to death. I’ve read a good number of books up to now in 10th grade though not even 50. Hilariously though, the real reason I’d most likely started reading more as a writer so quickly is because of the COUNTLESS anime/manga I’ve seen/watched against the fewer novels I’ve read which served as a learning curve for getting the feel of free-hand writing and composing complex sentences. I created an entire short story with sequel potential for an 8th grade assignment and then it’s sequel for my 9th grade short story assignment. It was rushed through obviously, but nonetheless, it very much helped me improve and I have a new story I’m writing on my own now. Sure, I’d like to publish a book one day as a goal, but, I knew from the beginning of researching how much work it’ll be. This blog post was both a very detailed reminder as well as helpful to others who still think the biggest problem is finding a publisher right off the bat. I myself still hoped it was that easy before, though knew the truth would be much more work obviously.
Jozie says
November 21, 2016 at 2:15 pmI love writing but I lose interest in writing the same story for months and want to go on to another story. . .
How can I fix that?
Ivy N. says
November 21, 2016 at 2:28 pmAlly,
So, As you said above you said to read as a writer. Well, I do. I notice stuff normal people usually don’t mind, (By the way in United We Spy you put my instead of me). I notice how you make your characters speak to one another, and their acts after that. But when I put pen to paper (or finger to keyword, however you want to say it) I get stuck. I know it almost sounds impossible but it happened. When my characters talk they (to me) sound boring. THEN there is the bigger problem, the actions. I hate the actions after the characters speak. I don’t know what to put. . .
Needing help before November 24!!
-Ivy June
Kim says
June 8, 2017 at 12:26 pmWith havin so much content do you ever run into
any issues of plagorism or copyright infringement?
My site has a lot of unique content I’ve either created myself or
outsourced but it appears a lot of it is popping it up all over the internet without my permission. Do you know any techniques
to help reduce content from being ripped off?
I’d truly appreciate it.
Bella says
August 23, 2017 at 6:54 pmThank you so much for taking the time to write this post! I am always trying to rush to finish a story I try to write and I realized that was getting me nowhere in life. I love your books. I’m still a young writer, but I want to write for a living when I grow up. I’m already looking at writing colleges. Thank you so much for inspiring me and so many other young writers.