>When I first started college, I promised myself I'd have a published book by the time I graduated
>I'm now 24 and haven't even had anything published in a magazine, let alone a entire book
I can't help but feel that no, we are not all going to make it.
>he fell for the "you won't be a failure" meme
Haha
>>8080557
But you won't be a failure as long as you keep trying
>>8080549
Have you ever read a book in your entire fucking life? There's hardly anything out there that doesn't hump your face with the message that failure is a part of life and you need to accept yourself for who you are. Are you just retarded or what?
>>8080549
keep trying man
id rather live my life as a failure knowing i tried than living it without trying as hard as i could've
brah, writing a book is hard, writing a good book is harder and writing a meaningful book is maddening. why anyone would want to do this shit is beyond me.
>>8081309
>why anyone would want to do this shit is beyond me
vainglory
>>8081309
>Spend a single year writing a best-seller
>Don't have to work for the rest of your life
I'm more confused why more people DON'T try to write books
>>8081278
It's like you'll never have a hangover if you never stop drinking
I'm on it anon
>>8081320
yeah, jewish pyramid schemes are a great way to make a fast buck.
>>8080549
the fact that you're unpublished at 24 doesn't mean you won't make it
the fact you made this post does though!
find some heart, kid! And Fast!
>>8081352
the fact that he's completely unpublished by 22 means he won't make it as a writer. At best he might be self-published, but he'll need another job to support that.
At age 24, Stephen King was working as a janitor and living in a trailer.
At age 28, J.K. Rowling was a suicidal single parent living on welfare.
>>8081451
>wanting to be like either of those people
>>8081500
>More money than you know what to do with
>People literally love you despite never having seen you face-to-face
>Can literally wipe your ass on paper and people will publish it
Why the FUCK would you not want to be?
>>8081514
They are not True Arteests
I got my first short story published when I was 21... and have done nothing else since. So don't feel bad OP.
>>8081568
"i don't like their fans"
I'm 29 and I've just started having short stories published, though I have gotten nonfiction work published in magazines and on websites for about a decade prior to this.
But work hard, OP, and read widely. You can do it.
>>8081514
They made their fortunes long after they could've really had fun with them, agewise.
>>8081583
how old are you now?
>>8081329
Hehehehehe
The success of writing one of humanities greatest works does not compare to an average evening spent in the wild. Escape to the woods; there alone do the anxieties of men leave you.
>>8081597
Turning 25 in October. Once my finals are over I'm rushing to get something else done this summer, I just can't stand having not written anything else for so long.
>>8081596
Nah, a lot of money is always fun.
In fact in old age you need to have fun even more. If the older people ive met is testament, atleast.
How do you guys go about publishing articles and short stories to magazines?
>>8081610
I used this when it was free: https://duotrope.com/
I haven't looked around for good alternatives yet but this came up when looking around right now: http://www.pw.org/literary_magazines
>>8081606
I just turned 25 and want something published already... help me based god out there
>>8081623
Are you having trouble getting your stories accepted or getting them done?
For the first, look through the databases I linked above and just submit to everywhere. Pay attention to submission details and don't be afraid to change your stories to match what they want.
If it's the second, deadlines are your best friends. If deadlines don't light a fire under you and instead make you turtle up and panic until the due date... you won't ever get anything done. You have to learn to face them head on and have some self-accountability and self-discipline.
>>8081630
Also some good advice for getting stories done:
1.) Look at EVERY prompt out there. Even shit you're not interested in. Just grab one and spend a day writing whatever you can think of. If you think the prompt/genre is shit/boring then make it interesting for yourself. Do this for a week and then return them in about a week or month later. You'll be surprised at what you can do with these scraps.
2.) Stick with short story anthologies. These are the best for beginners like us. Look for word counts and stick to them. It helps me to write out whatever to the word count, delete the crap, and then start over. Deadlines and word counts really help me stay focused and feel like I can get the stories done.
3.) Read lots and lots of short stories. There used to be a collection of short stories from /lit/ years ago. Those helped me out a lot, and you'll be very surprised when you have word counts on the mind how long some of them really are. Go drop a few into a word counter and see how short/long some of them really are.
>>8081641
Where you find prompts?
>>8081650
Use the magazine database sites I linked above. Change the settings to search among fiction & short story submissions if possible. I know Duotrope had good search options years ago so you could try the free month.
>>8081676
Is it worth paying for?
Please don't fuck me.
>>8081352
> And Fast!
Should I fast or was it an indication of motion?
>>8081912
>Is it worth paying someone else to publish me
You fucking idiot, if you can't figure this out, you don't deserve to be published.
>>8080549
If you actually wrote and edited a book, you have nothing to be ashamed of.
>He is not published
Hahahaha what a failure. Maybe you should try nepotism like I did.
>>8080549
>I can't help but feel that no, we are not all going to make it.
i think you should change 'we are' to 'i am' in that phrase, just saying :3
>>8081592
Damn nice, anon. 28 here. Got short stories and a bigass first part novel waiting to be published. Any tips? I'm a total scrub when it comes to marketing.
>>8082135
That requires someone picking you up first.
>>8082143
>"I can't help but feel that no, I am not all going to make it."
You are a moron. You should change your entire post into "I'm a cheeky little cunt who can't read my own post :3"
>>8080549
you write because you enjoy writing. your success isn't measured in being published, nor in what /lit/ thinks of you or how you feel about anything at all.
at the same time you need to know how to be a better writer. everyone needs to discover what works for them. you can learn from other writers even if they are bad writers...you can learn what not to do.
fuck off with your shitty thread.
>>8083134
>you write because you enjoy writing
Naw. Most "I write what I want to write, when I want to write" people aren't actually paid writers. They're diary-writers and blog-makers, not paid writers.
You want to live on writing, you have to learn to write even when you don't feel like it and you don't care about the subject matter.
>>8083060
you know what he meant
>>8080549
u have to suicide
>>8082435
The only possible advice I can give is to read widely and to look at each setback as an opportunity.
I was once on the verge of getting a literary agent to represent me. I had sent her the first fifteen pages of a novel, then the first fifty pages, then the whole thing. Finally, after sending her the whole thing, she rejected me. Something about having an insufficient personal connection with the material. Whatever.
I was incredibly crushed. For a few days I just sort of moped around wondering what to do. I felt I'd taken my best shot and come up short, and what, I wondered, was my course of action now?
But of course I couldn't give up writing. I'd been writing all my life. So instead of giving up I decided to try and work towards constant improvement in my writing. I decided to strive for perfection, even with the full knowledge that nothing in this world is perfect. It helped that at the time I was just finishing up a really moving literary work that left me feeling awed and inadequate. I felt the itch of grand purpose, so I decided I was always going to try and be great from then on out.
Long story short, I started seriously reading great literature again, and I decided to start tweaking my writing. Eventually my style completely changed. It's still changing now as I keep striving for perfection. I guess that's the third lesson I can offer: never settle. Don't rest on your laurels. Always believe that you can do better, because you can. Seek perfection. Seek the impossible. Strive for the divine and the glorious. Even when you fail, it's a good thing to fail at.
>>8081596
you're right, would be much better to have made little to nothing
speak for yourself ye shitlords go put in some work
>>8084734
If we're talking principles, then yes.
Better to live a noble life throughout than give in to materialism halfway through.
>>8084745
putting in work only achieves results when combined with foundational talent.
>>8085258
There is no such thing as talent you shitlord
Literature is all, ALL, about the practical execution of an idea. This is achieved only by work and critical thinking
>>8084706
That's pretty based. Good job, anon. Care to shill some of your novels/stories here? Summer is coming and I'll have extra time to read again.
>>8080549
I thought that was a given, that we're not all going to make it, but I feel like that's okay. I have my fair share of fun writing, and right now thats enough for me. If I tried to pursue a career as a writer I'd be fucked, for sure, but that wont stop me from writing my shitty stories.
>>8081320
As someone who has read the slushpile for a litmag and a branch of a big 5 publisher, plenty of people do. Also, in my entire time at that publisher I didn't see a single book get published without an agent.
>>8085272
>There is no such thing as talent
>people are all born with the same inclinations
>>8085009
Making a wheelbarrow full of money doesn't necessitate falling prey to materialism. If you get rich, build a massive library with a cot and a desk in the middle if you're so worried.
>>8085468
Unless you're dumping that wheelbarrow straight into a fire, then yes, it does necessitate the fall.
>>8080549
Lol I never wanted to publish a book because I was never an ego driven potato like 98% of the population.
I just went to college so I could get payed to PISS on hippies and their possessions.
No sob story here faggots.
>>8086821
What's it like living with a golden safety net?
>>8086832
You think cavemen felt shame and need for validation, or they just ate, killed and fucked?
You're like the dog to my wolf house nigger.
>>8086846
posture harder you coddled little mincer.
>>8086851
hahaha why did you feel the need to type that?
Are you 14?
Loooooser.
>>8080549
Don't worry son.
The older you get and more fucked your life becomes the better material you'll have for your writing,
>>8081352
pretty much this. 24 is like not old at all. people are getting their midlife crisis earlier than never now a days. Not that OP shouldn't get his shit together and stop procrastinating. Just get your shit together or deal with the consequences.
24 was the age it really hit me that i was a total pathetic failure in every way, it was too late, and there is no hope for my future.
>>8080549
You know you don't need to write for a magazine first. If you want to write a novel write a novel, not short stories. Otherwise you're practicing short stories and not novels; they have different forms.
>>8081596
>Life is over once you're 30 meme
McFucking kill yourself
