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Q&A Where can a new author sell the first chapter of a book?

Short answer: You can't. It takes time to create longer works. Even experienced writers will go back and edit earlier chapters, move things around, etc. If you're not experienced, you may do thi...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-20T00:40:35Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/41325
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T10:36:16Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/41325
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T10:36:16Z (over 4 years ago)
 **Short answer: You can't.**

It takes time to create longer works. Even experienced writers will go back and edit earlier chapters, move things around, etc. If you're not experienced, you may do this even more as you learn your craft.

To publish a novel, including self-publishing, it needs to be complete. You might only put out a chapter at a time, but all the chapters are ready to go. No publisher will take on a novel at any other stage, unless you're very famous.

An exception is a series. For example, my spouse has a 5-year contract with a publisher for his comic series. It comes out quarterly (in theory). In order to get the contract, he had the script for the first year complete, plus some of the art. With most of the script done for the 2nd and 3rd years, and outlines for the rest.

To make money with your writing, start small. Find sites that pay for articles or short stories and submit to there. Some nonfiction sites will assign you work, others will consider already completed work.

Don't expect a lot of money. If you have to pay someone else to complete your work (an artist, for example), publishing is often about losing money. You will get paid outright for one-offs in a magazine or some anthologies (assuming you get paid at all) but mostly any payment is through royalties. Which means you may never see a dime. Read your contracts carefully but even good contracts don't mean you'll make money.

More experienced writers can put ebooks on [Amazon](https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/) and other sites, offer work on [Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/), submit comics to [ComiXology](https://www.comixology.com/) and [DriveThru Comics](https://www.drivethrucomics.com/), etc. If you have a great idea, you might be able to use [Kickstarter](https://www.kickstarter.com/), [Indiegogo](https://entrepreneur.indiegogo.com/how-it-works/), and so on.

**Bottom line: keep writing, but get a day job.**

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-01-15T15:46:05Z (over 5 years ago)
Original score: 6