{"id":112162,"date":"2024-07-05T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-05T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/townhouse\/?p=112162"},"modified":"2024-07-05T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-07-05T09:00:00","slug":"nuisance-emails-from-margot-ryan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/nuisance-emails-from-margot-ryan\/","title":{"rendered":"Nuisance emails from Margot & Ryan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hello writers, we have TWO tasks in this week’s email. If you want to take part in this week’s Feedback Friday, keep reading to find out how to get involved – Jericho Team<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Superquick housekeeping to start off with: My How To Write A Novel in 6 Weeks<\/a> course kicks off NOW. Anyone taking the courses gets a weekly video, an assignment, and peer-to-peer feedback via Feedback Friday.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first module (on planning) is free to all. I hope you get stuck in and make maximum use of it. More information in the PSes below about what to do next.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After this first module, you\u2019ll need to be a Premium Member to complete the course. If you\u2019re not a PM and want to take part, check out our membership options here<\/a>. I hope you join us.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Righto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And today, I want to start with a simple question: What do you want to get out of writing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t give me the \u2018in your wildest dreams\u2019 answer. We all know what you dream of: agents stalking you, publishers sending you limos with huge bunches of flowers, a bestseller list electrified by your presence, surging crowds at festivals, your own skincare range, Margot Robbie pestering you with requests to be in your movie, Ryan Gosling inviting you to his island birthday bash \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, OK, I\u2019m sure that\u2019s all bound to happen, but let\u2019s have a sober version of your aspirations too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to answer just that simple question, then do. We\u2019ve put together a Townhouse forum, and please \u2013 everyone, not just Premium Members \u2013 get involved. The short version of the question is just this: What do you want to get out of writing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to be more discursive (and please do!), then you might want to address any of the following questions which seem relevant to your situation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Do you think your basic idea for a book is strong enough?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Are you going to finish your book?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Do you intend to get help with the book (eg: via a manuscript assessment)? <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Do you intend to get help with your skills (eg: via a writing course)?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. If you\u2019ve finished your manuscript, do you think it\u2019s strong enough to market as it stands?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. What\u2019s your preferred publication outcome: Big 5 traditional publication? Niche trad publication? Digital first publication? Self-pub?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. What will you do if you get your book out there and agents aren\u2019t interested?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. What will you do if your self-publish your book and sales are miserable?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. What financial outcome would make everything worth it to you? Give us a figure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. What other factors would make everything worth it? (eg: seeing your book in a bookshop. Holding a book in your hand. Getting some emails from readers.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  11. Does critical acclaim feel important to you?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  12. Does feedback from readers feel important to you?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  13. Do you intend to write more than one book? If yes, then will you be writing in your current genre or multiple ones?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  14. Do you want to make a full-time career as author (ie: earn enough to live on from books alone.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  15. Do you want to make a substantial part-time career as author? (Like loads of the team at JW, in fact.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  16. Does a film \/ TV adaptation feel important, or is that just fantasy-land stuff for you?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Don\u2019t feel confined to that list. If there\u2019s something I\u2019ve missed that seems relevant, add that into your answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Well, when I started writing, I definitely wanted a big 5 publisher. I definitely wanted an agent. I definitely wanted to make meaningful money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But I think the biggest thing for me was simply being a writer. I\u2019d wanted to be an author since I was about 10 years old; I just always assumed that\u2019s what I\u2019d do. So being a writer for me was mostly about becoming me; anything else would have felt a bit strange, like having been born into the wrong body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I have had my work adapted for TV. That didn\u2019t make a big difference to me, either emotionally or financially.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I have had my work sold all over the place. That\u2019s been gratifying, for sure, but not in an especially deep way. It\u2019s fed my ego, not my soul, and these days my ego isn\u2019t that fussed either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I\u2019ve generally had very positive reviews from critics, but, honestly, that means less to me now than it might have done once. I feel that I know reasonably well how good or bad my books are. I\u2019m not massively affected by what some third-party thinks. If someone doesn\u2019t like my book, that\u2019s as likely to be a matter of personal preference as it is to be something more fundamental.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Getting really committed, insightful communications from readers? Well, that\u2019s always been special and it\u2019s become much more frequent in the internet age and (especially) with a bit of self-publishing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I\u2019ve always enjoyed trad publishing (though it has also, often, frustrated the heck out of me) but I\u2019ve always liked self-pub too (which has been much less frustrating and more reliable in terms of income.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I like writing fiction and non-fiction, but fiction is definitely harder \u2013 a lot harder, in fact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I definitely want to publish more books, but I don\u2019t have the same fever around it as I used to. (Nor, admittedly, the same financial pressure.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I\u2019ve never taken a writing course, but I have done courses on self-pub (well worth it) and no book of mine has ever been published without deep, professional editorial input.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So: those, roughly, are my answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What are yours?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Write down your answers and actually give them some kind of sense check<\/strong>. If you have things like \u201cExplore merchandise range to accompany my middle grade novel\u201d, then ask yourself how many authors you know who have successfully done this. If your answer doesn\u2019t get further than \u2018JK Rowling\u2019, you may want to reconsider things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The fact is that writing is hard. Getting published is hard. Not getting published is more common than getting published \u2026 and getting published in a small way is more common than getting published at scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So, what’s the point of all this? Well, we’re not in the business of daydreaming. I want you to think practically<\/u><\/em> about your writing future. If you have a goal in mind, it’s much easier to reach if you<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    1. know what that goal looks like and<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. have concrete steps that will bring you closer to achieving it.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Ask yourself: what does that journey look like? What can you do today, this very minute, to bring you closer? This could be any number of things but some ideas include: <\/p>\n\n\n\n