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What is the process that gets your book published? How does the "average person" go about finding someone to publish his/her work? This author shares her experiences and insights to show you just how it's done.
How to Publish Your Book:Tips From a Published Author
Believe it or not, sometimes writing your book can be the easiest part of becoming a published author.
We all have our methods of writing. Some of us get an idea, make scads of notes and outlines, then carefully begin writing, referring all the while to our notes. Others (myself included) just start writing, in hopes that the story will "tell itself." Is either way right or wrong? Nope. Whatever works for you is what counts.
Once you have your book finished -- you've read it through, checking for glaring typos and errors in plot or continuity; you've maybe had a friend or family member read it as well, to pick up anything you might have missed -- then, you're ready to start submitting it to publishers!
When I wrote my first book, "Virtually Incredible," I actually had a friend read the chapters as they were completed...sometimes I sent him two or three at a time depending on their length. His feedback - and constant pleas for "more! more!!" - helped me get a fix on how I was going to proceed, and I rarely had trouble moving on to the next chapter.
My first step in finding a publisher came from an obvious choice: "Writer's Market." A new edition comes out each year, with publishers grouped in various categories to speed you through your search. For example, there's a section devoted to Literary Agents: should you decide to hire someone to submit your work to publishers, these people know all the "ins and outs" of the submissions game, as well as which specific publishers would be most likely to be interested in your type of writing. I decided to skip this step, and do it myself.
I scanned each listing for a couple of things. First, I'd written a book for a younger audience, so, obviously, I flagged any publisher who specialized in juvenile fiction. I looked to see if the publisher wanted the entire manuscript sent, or a certain number of chapters, or merely a query letter. I checked to see if the publisher accepted Agented submissions only. (Obviously, I skipped these!) The point is, if you decide to use "Writer's Market," read it carefully! You don't want to waste your time submitting your romantic/comedy fiction novel to a publisher that only accepts historical biographies.
I must have sent about twenty queries, chapters, and entire manuscripts in the first six months of my search for a publisher. I received many form letters, politely written, their gist being "oh, we're sure you're a fabulous writer, but we're not accepting unsolicited material...blah blah blah." From some of them, I heard nothing at all. Finally, discouraged, I put "Writer's Market" aside, and turned to the Internet.
In many respects, this turned out to be the better choice - for me, anyway. The first query email I sent was answered almost immediately (no waiting for a mailed reply!), and it requested sample chapters, which I obligingly sent right away. Unfortunately, about a week later, they wrote back that sorry, it wasn't really what they were looking for. Despite fielding yet another rejection in my quest to be a published author, I was pleased with the relative speed of this exchange: compared to dealing with Snail Mail, it was fabulous!
And I hit the jackpot with my second online submission! I initially sent this new prospective publisher a synopsis of my book, and, within a day or two, received a request for the first three chapters. (And here's a hint: I made the query light and humorous. Don't send a boring, standard outline of your book - sell it with words that are fresh and innovative!) Several days later, they requested two more. As I waited for their next response, I decided to email them a synopsis of all three of my books (it's a series). That must've been the clincher, because they responded almost immediately, asking me to email all three complete manuscripts. A week or so later, I received an offer for a publishing contract for the complete trilogy!
Obviously, I signed the contract and sent it back, and began the process of readying book one for publication. First, they edited it, and emailed it back to me. I read over their changes, and agreed with some, had issues with others. Compromises were made. (And, believe me, that's hard to do! When your book is "your baby," it's really difficult to accept that hacking off a limb or two is going to help the flow and continuity of the story...but you'll usually agree to it, because they're the professionals, after all.) Changes sped back and forth over the Internet. In a surprisingly short time, the manuscript was deemed ready for publication, and my first book - the first book I'd EVER WRITTEN - was released!
And then came the promotional part....but that's ANOTHER story!
Suzanne Grace
Author of "Virtually Incredible"
Suzanne Grace
Author of "Virtually Incredible"
www.thevirtualbooks.com
(915) 471-5017
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