By no means did my first book sell. I took a few runs at it. You'll never see those early efforts 'cause they're burned, straight to the fireplace where they belong.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
So, in effect, my first sale was actually two books.
My first novel didn't sell well. It was really painful and humiliating and shocking to me.
I'm all for selling books, but when guys are burning my house down, that's where I draw the line.
I didn't write the book to sell the book, but to tell my experiences.
My experience is that books take on a life of their own and create their own energy. I've represented books that have been sold for very little money and gone on to great glory, and I've seen books sold for an enormous amount of money published to very little response.
I think I made my first short fiction sale in 2005. I had been writing unsuccessfully before that.
As soon as I finished the first book, I wrote a second, which I hope to sell this year, and I have just about finished the third book in the series. Two more are already outlined. I'm in this for the long haul.
I sold my very first novel when I was 24 or 25 years old.
My first book was rejected nine times. It turned out to be a best seller, Battle Cry? in 1953.
I'd sold the book first. Actually to a paperback publisher. I had nothing. I just had the idea.