In Step 1, we celebrated and put some distance between ourselves and the novel.
In Step 2, we determined what we wanted out of the novel, and prepared it accordingly.
In Step 3, we either tried Traditional Publishing or Self-Publishing for our book.
But something didn’t quite go as planned.
Step 4: Back to the Drawing Board
Remember back in Step 2 when one of the options for what to do with your novel was to just put it away and start a new one, either because it just isn’t good enough, or because you do not yet have the writing skill to fix it the way it needs to be fixed?
Well, not all novels that end up put aside like that get there because the author recognizes that the book isn’t ready. A lot of times, that only becomes clear after falling flat. What you do next really depends on where you fall flat, and whether you’ve received any feedback about why you fell flat. It also makes a big difference whether you fell flat while pursuing Traditional Publishing or Self-Publishing.
Traditional Publishing
Let’s say you tried to get this novel published through a traditional publishing company and your attempt stalled out somewhere along the way: none of the dozens of agents you queried offered representation, none of the publishers your agent submitted to made an offer, or some other disaster. What do you do now?
- Revise your novel and try again. This option works really well if you have a good idea what is wrong with your book, either because it has just become clear to you over time or (more likely) because multiple rejections have pointed to the same problems over and over again. (Most rejections won’t include a detailed reason why they are rejecting you, but sometimes they do. Don’t change your novel based on a single agent’s critique, but if a pattern emerges, do something about it.)
QUICK NOTE: If this is the route you choose to take, DO NOT spend the money to hire a professional editor. This is still about what you can achieve with your novel. And there is no guarantee that agents and/or publishers will like the book once the editor is done with it. So, as tempting as it may be, don’t do it. If you don’t think you’re up to the task of fixing the novel yourself, then try out the next option. - Put your novel aside and work on a new project. This will be the best option for a lot of writers, because it is good for several situations. Maybe, your core idea for this book just isn’t good enough. Maybe it is really good, but a difficult one to execute well, and you just don’t have the writing skill to pull it off yet. Maybe the whole thing, concept and craft, are solid, but the market for, say, paranormal comedy, is pretty dead right now. In any of those cases (and, as a first-time novelist, you aren’t necessarily likely to know which of those it is), Working on a new project is the best way to go. You can revisit this one after your finished writing the new book, and then, with fresh and more experienced eyes, you can reassess the first one.
- Self-Publish your novel. This is a risky choice to make. Not only does it require investing lots of time, effort, and money into a book that the traditional publishing industry has already rejected, you are all but guaranteeing that that book you wanted to be traditionally published never will be. Once you self-publish a book, most agents and publishers won’t even consider it anymore. If your book gets big enough, a publisher might reach out to you to publish a new edition of your book and any sequels, but that is the exception, not the rule. Still, if you have a sizable platform and are willing to invest the time, effort, and money, than this could be a good option for you.
Alternatively, if you have decided to abandon this book, but still think some people might like to read it, then maybe you do some basic formatting, then throw it up on Kindle Unlimited before moving on to your next project. If you do, though, use a pen name. If you are trying to get future books traditionally published, you probably don’t want a not-professionally-edited-or-formatted KU novel that’s been read 50 times for free associated with your name. - Throw in the towel. Maybe you came out of the whole experience jaded and disheartened. Maybe you are done with writing fiction. And maybe that’s the right choice for you. I don’t know you. But you got into this whole process because you loved writing. So, while you may need to take some time off from writing, at least consider coming back to it, at least as a hobby. Because even if you decide that you have no desire to go through the whole process of trying to get a book published again (and who can blame you), you love writing. So write for you. Write what you want to read. Share what you write with your friends. Rediscover your love for storytelling. If you never go back to trying to turn pro, that’s okay! Just don’t let that stop you from doing what you love.
Self-Publishing
Your options here are often determined by where in the process things fell apart.
- Did problems keep you from ever actually publishing your book? Maybe you ran out of money. Maybe you had problems with your editor, printer, or some other contractor. The bad news is that you are probably out quite a bit of money. The good news is that you still have options. As long as you don’t have a publicly available version of your novel out there, you can always go back and try the traditional publishing route. Or you can put that book aside until you are able to work out the problems, maybe writing another book in the meantime.
- Did you successfully self-publish your book, only to have it flop, losing you money? The bad news is that no publishing company is going to touch a self-published flop, so traditional publishing is gone as an option. Your best bet is to write a new book, but what that book should be is largely determined by what caused the book to flop.
Was it the book’s quality? Then your next book should be first and foremost about practicing craft.
Did the book just not have an audience? Then your next book should be something different, and at least a little more mainstream.
Was there a problem with your marketing? (Hint: gaining lots of followers on Twitter by way of #writingcommunity follow circles is not a good way of generating sales.) Then, if you are willing to learn and do better with the marketing on the next one, make it something similar (or maybe even a sequel), so that it can generate sales for the first book as well. If you don’t want to have to put in more work into marketing, then go the traditional publishing route for the next book.
The one advantage you have with having a book that is out there is that if you can get people to like and read a future book, some of them will go back and read the first one. In fact, one piece of advice I’ve seen is to actually have a few books written and available before you do a big marketing push if you are self-published, especially if you are writing a series. This doesn’t always hold true, but if the marketing falls through on your first book, you can still salvage it with future releases. - Did you come to the conclusion that your book just wasn’t actually good enough to publish? Maybe, as you went through the process of trying to self-publish, you realize that the book isn’t as good as you thought it was. In that case, your best bet is to put the process on hold while you either work on fixing the problems and making the book better, or, if you think the book is unfixable or that you do not yet have the skill to fix it, put it aside and write another book. You can always come back to this one later.
- Did you decide that the cost and effort just isn’t worth it? Maybe you realize that writing professionally isn’t for you, at least not right now. And that is okay. Don’t let that stop you from writing. Write what you want to read. Write what your friends want to read. Write for fun. Write for the love of writing. You can always try to go pro at a later time, or not, it’s up to you. But don’t stop making stories.
The important part of all of this is don’t let failure stop you.
If you want to be a professional novelist, then fix this novel or write the next one, and keep pressing forward. Perseverance is a key trait of a novelist.
If you decide you don’t want to be a professional novelist, then keep writing anyway for the love of the stories. Art does not have to be monetized to be worthwhile.
And then, after all of the struggles, the setbacks, and the waiting, you may just get to Step 5: Living as a Professional Novelist.