Who's More Likely to Sell?

Zarina Natividad Docken raises a good question in her post The Business of Being a Writer: Additional pressure on the first novel. Is it easier to sell a first novel, or a novel by an experienced, often-published author?

It's common for veteran writers to find themselves without a publisher. Weak sales on the last few books will cool the ardor of most editors, no matter how much they may personally admire the writer's work.

It's also tough, as I learned the hard way, to break out of genre. When I tried to write a historical western, a senior editor at Random House (who knew my SF and fantasy) warned me that my SF readers wouldn't follow me into the lava fields of northern California during the Modoc War of the 1870s...and the western fans wouldn't buy me because I wouldn't have name recognition.

Even the SF/fantasy field keeps changing, and after my queries drew chilly responses from houses that used to welcome me, I moved into nonfiction for a couple of years. I'm not rushing to query publishers about my new fiction projects just yet.

I'm not alone in this predicament; even well-known writers like W.P. Kinsella have written books that didn't sell.

So in some cases the first novelist may have advantages: no reputation to live down, and a willingness to accept a small advance that could actually earn out and make a little more money. The new writer may also be more in tune with a trend that the old pros have missed or dismissed--so a year or two later when the book appears, its timing can make it a success.

As many writers have observed, you can't make a living in this business, but sometimes you can make a killing.

Comments

[glo]

Writing books that don't sell? How discouraging, especially for an inspiring want-a-be. Truthfully, I'd be happy if I actually wrote a book but then I'd probably get caught up in the whole selling process because I'd want readers, not to mention fame and fortune. ;-)

[CaptainElectron]

After a half century of thinking about it, I sat down to write and this story keeps flowing out of me. Now that I am near completion, I feel another story welling up inside. I looked all over my inside, and, you guessed it! Stories everywhere!

It seems like I'll have to let them out. Publishing would only be a bonus.