How do you get published?

[RoniMan]

if you have a book you would like published, how do you go about it?

any website that would help me with the process?

thanx in advance.

[coleslaw]

Paging welfareloser. ;)

[welfareloser]

currently azz-deep in the process m'self...

start at www.writersmarket.com - buy the one-year subscription for $29.95. (other options are to buy a print copy of writer's market at a bookstore for the same price, and of course you get no updates, and it's harder to search, etc... or you can do a monthly subscription ot the website for $2.99.)

the search function is pretty decent... for example, i did a search for all publishers in the (english-speaking) world that want fantasy books, and that accept unagented submissions. you can limit your search by about 30 other factors if you want.

save a list of all the publishers that you think might be interested in your book. rank the list from your first choice to your last choice. start by submitting to your first choice.

it will also help you find an agent if you think that is appropriate for you (it's not for me, so i can't tell you much about that, other than any agent that wants money just to read your stuff is probably scamming you.)

two things that will drive you nuts:

most publishers don't accept simultaneous submissions. that means you send you ms to ONE publisher only, and you must wait to hear back from them before you submit to the next one. the rule is inviolable - if somebody catches you doing it, nobody will ever want to publish you. it takes publishers 2-12 months to get around to rejecting your ms so you can move on.

follow the publisher's submission guidelines TO THE T. if they want page numbers in the lower right corner, by god you'd better not send them a recycled printout that happened to have the numbers in the upper right corner. they'll throw it away. if they want a sample chapter, don't send them two chapters, don't send the whole ms. if they just want a query letter first, don't send the ms, just send the query letter.

and, in general, spend a LOT of time on your cover letter... that's what'll decide if anyone even bothers to look at your ms. if you have ever gotten anything published before, (short story, magazine article, poem) tell them about that first. don't be cutesy or coy or tell them that all your friends really loved the ms and you bet they will too. absolutely look at the list of everything that publisher has put out for the last year or two so you know what they want. tell them how it is similar to other stuff they have published and why your ms is a perfect fit for them. give a brief synopsis (often, the publisher will specify in their writers guidelines exactly how long a synopsis they want - 100 words, 1 page, or two pages are common.) above all, it is a business letter, so don't be chatty or silly, get to the point and make sure it is the most polished writing you are capable of. and for gods sake don't trust spellcheck to cathc all your misspellings. weed em out by hand.

the writers market website has several helpful editorial areas on writing cover letters and getting published, and several weekly newsletters that are also helpful.

anyway, once you get started reading some of the stuff in writers market, you'll get a feel for all the hoops you have to jump through.

you must own a copy of strunk and white's "elements of style." i would also suggest you read stephen king's book "on writing." whether you think he's a great storyteller or a long-winded hack, this book is great... the man used to be an english teacher, and the book really points out the differences between mediocre writing and solidly good writing, it's very accessible, and also an entertaining read.

so what have you written?

[welfareloser]

oh, and if you are interested in getting published right away, there is what looks like an excellent self-publish joint called

http://www.iuniverse.com/

i believe it costs just $199 up front, you get a flat-rate royalty, and your book will be available at amazon.com and bn.com. if you are more interested in speed, that might be the way to go. also, if you think you can be an effective self-promoter, this is a great option. once you sell a certain number of copies, you qualify for their star program, in which they actually spend money to promote you (getting book reviews, etc.)

[brainsmile]

how is the process going for you WL? By the way when it does get published I want an autographed copy :D

[OC]

Thanks for doing all the legwork for me welfare. ;)

/me ducks

[RoniMan]

Originally posted by welfareloser
currently azz-deep in the process m'self...

so what have you written?

lol. azz deep huh? thanx for pulling yourself out long enough to help. much thanx! :D

i'm writing a self-help book, but it's one with a little humor. haven't got a title yet, but we'll see how it goes.

[brainsmile]

I published a poem once

[welfareloser]

me too... i don't tell publishers about it, tho, cuz man is it lame. it was "get 50 freecondom points to enter this poetry contest" thingy, so i spent all of about 30 seconds on something, and the bastids went and published it just to try to get me to buy a copy of the poetry collection, along with the other 30,000 ppl they published that year. eesh. the only reassuring thing is that the collections are so huge that probly nobody's read the stupid thing. then they go and send me a letter like "your poem is so special, it's now on an audio collection read by one of our professional readers with only 20 other poems from that collection, with a brief introduction of the meaning of the poem, only $19.95!" (so special that i'm sure they put out hundreds of those cd's with "just" 20 poems each...) i would kinda be interested to see what they thought the poem meant, but not 20 bucks worth of interested :heh:

so, roniman... self help, huh? can you elaborate? "how not to mess up your life" kinda self help? i thinks it's a tight market, tough to get published unless you have actual relevant credentials (phd in psych, md, etc) or you're famous.

i'm suspicious of any twenty-something who thinks he has something significant to say about how people should be living their lives :hmm:

seriously, tho... good luck!

[whitak24]

Originally posted by welfareloser
i'm suspicious of any twenty-something who thinks he has something significant to say about how people should be living their lives :hmm:
geez, if tucker max (http://www.tuckermax.com) can get published, i think anyone can :heh: