Hi,

I'm a university student - I finish my studies in about 6 weeks. I'm always had a burning desire to become a novelist, right from a very young age. I'm in my early 20s and in the last 10 years I've written several short stories and 2 sit-coms, all of which are unpublished. My main interest was to start writing novels. 2 years ago I came up with an idea for a novel and have spent the last 2 years on and off researching and writing it. I have just finished the second draught and am fairly please with the results. The book is 15 chapters and ~80,000 words. I know there is still much to improve on the novel but I thought it was time I started interacting with other writers and seeking advice. I don't personally know any other writers and have kept my passion of writing to myself. I'm at the point where I've very close to completing my first piece of polished work. I have no idea if it can ever be good enough to be published but since I've invested so much time in it I think I owe it to myself and the childhood dream inside of me to try.

So, I thought I'd give you all some background and ask, where do I go from here? Once my studies are over I will have the time to refine my novel until I think it's finished. I feel so confused though; I don't know who to show my novel to. Where should I go for help? Plus the genre of my novel is a little odd. It's hard to categorise it: Futuristic Crime Comedy is the best I can come up with.

Thanks.

Hello Tim (any relation? We have the same surname) and welcome to the WW site. You've already taken a brilliant step in the right direction by signing up, as WW has helped me no end. As a writer, it is important to be able to talk to other writers, as you've said yourself.

Your book sounds original, and that is always a plus. You can look for the appropriate agents and publishers by purchasing the writers and artists yearbook, or by using the directory on here (only open to full WW members).

Good luck with the novel!

James x

Hi Tim, and welcome.

As your fellow Mr Bennett has already said, WW is a very good forum and, if you upload a chapter or part thereof, you will soon find out the calibre of advice you will get from fellow members on polishing and publishing.

Best, look forward to reading something,

Smith

Hi there,

Thanks for your replies (James, maybe we are related distantly!). There seems to be a nice friendly atmosphere on this forum and in this community and I'm looking forward to becoming a part of it. During the last 2 years I've spent on this novel I must say it's been most frustrating not having anyone to share the creative experience with!

As I mentioned in my original post, I'd label my novel as a futuristic crime comedy. I'm a huge fan of crime novels, films and televisions prorgams. I also love science and comedy. I suppose my novel is just the result of these passions.

Only 3 people have read my work so far (the 2nd draught) - 2 close friends and my girlfriend. I had reservations at the time in letting them look at my work since I felt they would tell me my work was good regardless of how good it actually was. Was this a bad idea? They all had good things to say about it but as far as criticism was concerned they only really pointed out grammatical errors. I'm pleased with the concept and the plot but I found it hard to piece together from a crime point of view. The novel is a whodunnit and I've structued it based on the many hundreds of crime stories I've read/watched.

Now at this stage of being close to finishing, I've realised how ignorant I am to the final stages of novel writing. I know nothing of protecting the copyright of my novel. If I found someone who would give me an unbiast opinion on my novel how can I ensure they won't steal any of it from me? Of course, I'm not saying that the novel is worth stealing or that if it was any of you would steal it but I figure it's best to be cautious as I'm so new to the industry.

Can anyone advise me?

Thanks very much.

Hi Tim,

There are a whole sect of Bennetts out there. We are waiting for the time when the Great Bennett will again walk amongst us and summon us to the task of ruling the world!

I agree with you about friends reading your work. They do tend to be biased, and any negative critique is very easily taken personally. I allow some of my better read friends to read my stories, but not the others. They either tend not to understand, or feel they have to make something up, just in order to offer something. One friend in particular always finds ways to denigrate my stories, but for this reason alone, I continue to force them upon her.

In terms of copyright, anything that is recorded i.e on paper, computer, disc or whatever, is copyrighted under UK law. Most of us respect this, plagiarism (or outright robbery) being a big no go area for your true, upstanding writer. To further protect your work, you could either email it or send it to yourself in an envelope. Do not open either, this way, the post date is protected, and then, in the unlikely event of theft, youc an prove ownership with little problems.

Having been stolen from myself, I now take the upmost care over my writing.

Hope this helps

James x

As another copyright note, Tim -- one way to prove that the writing existed on a certain date (proof that it was presented as your in a public manner on a specified date) is to upload it here. It'll be date marked and you can indicate during upload who you wish to view the work: just yourself (total privacy, but still some manner of dating), only members of a forum you belong to, only members of WW, or (and this may be your least favorite) anyone on the internet.

It's a way to protect yourself (though not to the exclusion of the methods James suggested) and still gives you a chance at feedback and possible referrals.

And, despite all the horror stories out there, it really is rare that professionals and professional-minded people will steal your work.

Best of luck with the project,

Smith

Thanks very much to the both of you. It's reassuring to know that not only is it rare for people to try and steal your work but there are protective measures one can take quite easily.

Now I've found this great online community I've formulated a little plan of action. My novel still needs a bit of work before I can upload anything. Since I have a disseration, 3 assignments and 2 exams in the next few weeks and I won't be able to present anything until early June. But once I've finished uni and recieved some feedback from these forums and altered the novel accordingly, I should be in a position to consider finding an agent.

I understand most publishers will only communicate with an agent. I've just been looking at the Directory section located at the top of this page. My next question is, what kind of agent should I go for? I know I should research the market and go with agents the publish my genre but the problem is the genre of my novel lies on the borders of several genres; it's so hard to classify, it's like Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy meets Jonathan Creek! For example, if I send it to a science-fiction agent they may think it's too comical; if I send it to a crime/thriller agent they may think it's too sci-fi and if I send it to a humour agent they may think it's too... you get the picture.

Am I right to be concerned about this?

Thanks again for your response and help. This is the first time I've interacted with actual writers - I really appreciate it!

Hi Tim
I’m new here, too. I know what you mean about writing in isolation and not having anyone to share the creative process with. I’ve only just reached the stage of feeling comfortable about showing my work to people after writing for years; it feels great to be out of the closet. Did you find, when you friends read your work, that they treated you differently afterwards? One of mine was quite disturbed by what she discovered about me, and it took us a while to get back on an even keel!
In your first post you said, “I have no idea if it can ever be good enough to be published but since I've invested so much time in it I think I owe it to myself and the childhood dream inside of me to try.” Too right, mate. And if it isn’t published, please don’t tell yourself that you tried and failed, so now you’d better get a real job. (I guess you’ll need a real job as well, or you’ll starve.) It’s too easy to think that if writing won’t justify itself by being published, we should give up on it, especially when you’re at the career building stage of life. You don’t have to force it out into the world to earn its keep. Marry it instead. Support it like a lifelong partner who is raising the children of your heart.
That said, I’m still unpublished so maybe I’m doing a Jim Carrey here: talking out of my a##e.
Eyeball
P.S. Your novel sounds intriguing. I'm also on the edge of science fiction and having trouble figuring out genre, so I'll be interested in what is said here.

Tim -

Just to stick my oar in, I think that the copyright thing is the least of an unpublished writers worries. Think about it - most people who write want their own stuff published, not just to nick someone's idea and take all the credit. We all think what we've written is good, and publishable, else we wouldn't really bother! I'm sure your stuff is good (sounds interesting - I'm always describing my novel as Hitchhiker-ish and have the same problem - sci-fi, fantasy or what??)and you should protect it of you're worried, but I think posting it up on here would be enough. If not, then post it to yourself, but I've heard even that is no guarantee in court if the worst comes to the worst! You can't copyright ideas I think is how it goes, so if you're not published then there may be some debate over who got the idea down first!

Anyway I'm probably talking a load of old rubbish. But just to follow up the last post by eyeball, I was watching an interview with screen writing legend Paul Abbot the other day, and he said that he wrote Shameless (recent series on Channel 4 which has been recommissioned for 2 series that aren't even written yet!) over 10 years ago as a one off drama, but just held on to it coz he wanted to do it justification.

So everything you write is priceless, published or not - keep hold of it and most importantly keep the faith. We won't nick your work, just read it and give you feedback, so get uploading!

Regards

Dav