Writing Anyone?

Question

I love to write. Even when I'm at work I write. I know I shouldnt but where I work sometimes it can get really quiet so I take that oppurtunity to write. My question is how do I get published? I heard that you need an agent first as sending your work direct to publishers is a waste of time. Any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

There is a book published every year called the 'Writers Handbook' that is made for us amateur writers. It contains everything you'd want to know about getting published.

Which publishing houses release what and the names, telephone numbers and email addresses of the people you need to contact....

Well worth its money!

I'd like to read some of your stuff too... love reading amateur stuff!

Answer 2

Write it and finish it for a start.
Do a little research and make a list of publishers that accept the kind of work you have written. you can do this either by the internet or by buying a copy of THE WRITERS HANDBOOK, or something similar.
send the publisher the following:
A copy of only the first four chapters of your story. if you haven't got thier attention by chapter 3 i'm afraid it's not going to happen.
A synopsis which is a summery of your satory and what it is about.
A personal letter telling who you are, keep it brief, and any writing experience you have (if any) eg published in a magazine. The synopsis and personal letter can be merged into one, but try and make sure it doesn't exceed two pages, one is better. The letter is a good opportunity to say that you want to use a pen name.
An envelope with your adress on it so they can send you your work back, the envelope should also have stamps on it.

It is a good idea to try and get signed up to a literary agent, someone who will cotanct publishers on your behalf and recomend your work. it is easier to get published with the backing of an agent. To contanct an agent you should follow the same instructions as contacting a publisher.

But most importantly, never give up. 46% of all work posted off gets sent back without actually being read by anyone because they recieve so many manuscripts everyday the only option is to grab random handfulls and put them in the OUT tray. So 99% of all work sent in will come back with a rejection letter but just keep sending, send to the same publisher five times if you have to, one day someone will say yes.

Answer 3

Hey i love writing too, short stories in particular. Where im from we approach the publishers, who are very few, and they decide on whether your work can be published. My advise is, thats if ur into short stories, put together a few enough to make a small book and speak to a few publishers.
Best of luck, hope i get to read some of your stuff.

Answer 4

It probably depends on your country. I have just finished a degree in creative writing in the UK, and this is what I have been told:

Screenplays - you should contact film/tv producers with a synopsis (100 words or so) that outlines your film/tv show plot and themes. If they want you to write more they will commission you; it is rare that you would ever write the screenplay before finding someone to produce it as they like to have input during the writing process.

Novels - it is possible to contact publishers without an agent. Decide what genre your novel fits in to, then go to a library and look at which publishers publish that type of novel. Check out their web sites or contact htem to find out if they are accepting manuscripts. They may advise you to send just the first chapter, or they may ask for the whole thing. You should then send it to them, unbound (always send a fresh copy otherwise it looks like you've already been rejected by others) and with a covering letter that lists your writing experience/qualifications and whether you've had anything published. You can only send your manuscript to one publisher at a time.

Short stories/articles - again you should research the market to see who publishes what. Lots of women's magazines publish short fiction; contact them or view web sites to see what word length they are looking for (they are usually very strict about this and want either 1000, 1500 or 2000 words) and what themes they like (also read magazines to see what is marketable). Most of htese magazines do not want high-brow fiction and usually like 'twist' at the end of the story.

Writing to be published is nothing like writing for fun. You have to be prepared to compromise on your ideas in order to be marketable; just like any job, you have to 'sell out' to get paid! You've got to be clever about it and be market-orientated.
There are lots of literary magazines, and loads of electronic (internet) magazines that publish poems and short fiction but they don't usually pay much and lots don't pay at all; but it's good experience to write about on the cover letter of your novel!

If you join a writers' group or do a qualification in writing, you will meet others who have been published and they can advise you further, and give you more local-specific advice.

Answer 5

Hey, know what you mean about writing. Love it myself! I was lucky enough to get myself a job at a publishing house. So, am set on my way.

All the best advice has already been offered so all I will say is... ALL THE BEST!!

Answer 6

It totally depends on the length of the work. If you're writing short stories or articles for magazines, send them directly.

If you've completed a novel or screenplay, you can try and submit them on your own, but you'd likely be much better off with a representative.

Answer 7

You can do it for free / fun at

http://www.blogger.com/start

Get a blog and start writing.

Also you can put AdSense ads from google on your blog and when visitors click the links you get cahs

$ £ € £ $ €

To get visitors you need to blog about something interesting. Don't dismiss it, check it out!

Answer 8

try entering your writing in contest for magizens and website dean koontzs won an award for a short story that kicked his writing career off

Answer 9

go to www.lulu.com or some variation on that word [lulu] i think its lulu, i'm pretty sure.
yeh i just checked it, its lulu.com