Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Why are debut novels failing to launch?

esquire.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

121–130 of 260 posts

Re: Why are debut novels failing to launch?

#121

Post by richardatlarge »

_tom_ wrote: post #117

Wow, what a clueless article. Or maybe a deliberately biased article. The majority of sales and debut authors are ebooks, and traditional publishers aren't involved. This has been true for years. Read publishing is pretty much pointless if you aren't a celebrity. Yes, there are a few that make it, but a handful, compared to the numbers that make something significant self publishing. And the trad publishing process i…

But nothing here solves the problem of going from zero audience to some meaningful audience in a content saturated environment with a low attention span

Re: Why are debut novels failing to launch?

#122

Post by richardatlarge »

sib wrote: post #83
WalterBright wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm currently reading "The Making of the Atomic Bomb". It's the best scifi I've ever read, except it's true!

Great book! Sadly, I don't think the sequel (about the H-Bomb) is quite as good.

Read: The Curve of Binding Energy (McFee)- will blow your mind for sure, NPI

Re: Why are debut novels failing to launch?

#123

Post by badpun »

plorkyeran wrote: post #49
photonthug wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> With such a huge number of choices, discovery is now the issue. It's frustrating if people don't see that this is almost always a manufactured problem, not some an inevitable outcome of simply having more choices. Platforms want to disable the ability for users to differentiate between organic, self-directed discovery vs advertised or promoted content. Discovery needs to be just good enough so that users won't leav…

Goodreads shot past the point of being too small to be worth bothering sabotaging years ago, and is now very heavily manipulated.

It's pretty good for dead authors though.

Re: Why are debut novels failing to launch?

#125

Post by unclebucknasty »

latentsea wrote: post #114
unclebucknasty wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your comment resonates and I liken it to promoting when starting a business, which I have just recently done again. Feels like there is a massive imbalance between quality outlets where eyeballs exist and the volume of people /content/businesses vying for attention at those outlets. And, the idea that we need to all become influencers of some scale and amass our own audiences to get the word out about something is no…

I guess we need to invent ads, so that we don't all have to become influencers?

>I guess we need to invent ads, so that we don't all have to become influencers?

It's almost as if you've never bootstrapped a business, self-published a book, or similar.

If you have, and had the resources to use paid ads to reach your desired scale, then congratulations. I think that does indeed entitle you to be smug and dismissive with everyone else.

Re: Why are debut novels failing to launch?

#126

Post by badpun »

WalterBright wrote: post #92
bane wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish I could describe the near physical pain I feel that "Rendezvous with Rama" isn't yet a great Denise Villeneuve movie, and the "Night's Dawn Trilogy" isn't yet a multi-season series on Apple TV. The list goes on.

I've had enough of the Dune remakes, too. The world doesn't need more Planet That Went Ape remakes, either. The Mote in God's Eye would make a fine miniseries.

Planet of The Apes remakes are not movies, they're just a way to reliably turn 200 million dollars into 300 million dollars - similarly to all the American comic book crap. As long as the multiplier stays above 1.0, the process will continue.

Re: Why are debut novels failing to launch?

#127

Post by auggierose »

WalterBright wrote: post #92
bane wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish I could describe the near physical pain I feel that "Rendezvous with Rama" isn't yet a great Denise Villeneuve movie, and the "Night's Dawn Trilogy" isn't yet a multi-season series on Apple TV. The list goes on.

I've had enough of the Dune remakes, too. The world doesn't need more Planet That Went Ape remakes, either. The Mote in God's Eye would make a fine miniseries.

I want "Gateway".

Re: Why are debut novels failing to launch?

#128

Post by yxhuvud »

How can someone write an article on that theme without ever mentioning self-publishing? It may not be super big in mainstream books yet, but it is getting pretty common for genre literature to first publish and build an audience on something like RoyalRoad, then self-publish, and then get picked up by something bigger. And it also ties very much into some of the themes of the article to cooperate and do shout-outs to other authors, as that is super common in those circles.

Re: Why are debut novels failing to launch?

#129

Post by bowsamic »

defrost wrote: post #93
bowsamic wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe you should read something that isn’t sci-fi or genre fiction. Go back and read Middlemarch or Lolita

Social Realism and Lolicon aren't genres ?

1. No, they aren't forms of genre fiction

2. Middlemarch isn't social realism. If you had to put a label on it, it would be psychological fiction a la Stephen King

3. Lolita is DEFINITELY not lolicon (if anything it's the opposite) and it's quite offensive to suggest it is

The point is, OP is complaining about not liking reading, but if he's only read sci-fi, he hasn't read the classics

Re: Why are debut novels failing to launch?

#130

Post by soneca »

boznz wrote: post #4

Spent several years writing and editing my first book before thinking the job was finished when I hit the publish now button. But it is literally only half the job done. The hell now is unless you get friends and family or an agency involved to push it and market it it will languish on the 500th page of any Amazon search forever. Oh and did I say that there are thousands of books a day released and there is nowhere y…

Another option is starting a newsletter, which feels more suited for a writer to gather readers (when compared to gather “followers” on any social media).

Full disclaimer: I believe that so much that (as a fellow beginner writer) I created a “newsletter” platform more suited for fiction writers to slowly form an audience of readers owning the mailing list.

https://writer.confabulists.com

You still have to keep writing constantly (essays, short stories, chapters of a novel, or even some communication of what you are doing) but it feels more natural for writers to write than to keep posting cute pictures, hot takes or creative short videos.

Also, I added the concept of “books” in my platform, so new subscribers to your newsletter start reading your old stuff (not only your future posts).

Having a newsletter also is very satisfying that you keep some contact with people that like what you write, no matter how few they are.

Post reply on HN