how many people here have tried to get a book published?

Question

did it fail? is it in the process? if it failed, why? have you tried since then?

Answer 1

Hi there. The biggest hurdle in getting a book published is finding a good agent. Once they accept your work, they take your manuscript and show it to various clients (publishers) to see if there is any interest in your material.

Finding a reputable agent is very difficult. Most agencies have thousands of manuscripts sent to them every year and typically, they only select a few that are worthy to represent. DO NOT submit to anyone that requires up front money or "reading" fees. Good agencies will read your book for nothing if they think it's good. Reading fees are a rip off.

You can check on legitimate agencies at the Preditors & Editors website. They keep an up to date list of current agents and any problems writers have had with them.

Now, once you find an agency, you need an excellent query letter to get their attention. Search the web for examples. If your query letter is sloppy or has misspelled words, you're TOAST. Get a good copy editor to help you, if you can afford one. Then, once the agency reads your query and agrees to look at your manuscript, MAKE SURE IT IS PERFECT before you send it off. Again, grammar problems or poor spelling will doom you from the start. Pay an editor to proof your work--it's worth a few hundred bucks to get your foot in the door with an agent.

Then, be prepared to wait up to 3 months for an answer from the agency. And DO NOT submit to more than one agency at a time. That's the kiss of death with agents. If your work is good, an agency will then offer you a contract. From there, it's another 3 month wait (often) for them to find you a publisher. Once you get a publisher, it takes about a year to actually see your book in print. From there, who knows.

I hope this helps. If you're serious about getting published, you can make it happen. It takes time, patience and a lot of luck. And as a note of reality, of all the fiction books published in a given year, only about 13% ever sell more than 1,000 copies. Most (75%) sell fewer than 500. And the odds of selling a poetry book are MUCH lower than that. Contrary to popular belief, most authors don't get rich. I know--I'm a published author!

Jon Baxley, author, editor, proofreader and ghostwriter

THE SCYTHIAN STONE (a medieval fantasy eBook)
THE BLACKGLOOM BOUNTY (a medieval fantasy epic in hard cover from Thomson Gale)

Answer 2

Yes, I tried with two book I wrote and was rejected by several publishers. The third one was accepted and now they're reading the first two and appear interested in publishing those too. The first one is the hardest. I suggest getting a handful of short stories accepted by magazines, then use them to get a book published.

Answer 3

ok, the very first thing to do is seem for a publishing corporation accepting that style. Then set it in one million inch margins double area NOT double sided. and effortless to learn font Don't ship in something individual with it. Like cookies, or pix of you (that'll be looked after later), or prayer playing cards, a letter from any person whose learn the publication and so on. and so on. DONT bind it with ribbon or something fancy. Make definite it's stackable. Send it in a pay as you go envelop incase it's rejected you'll get it again. Include an cope with. Have a canopy letter with a synopsis highest of two pages. DO NOT have a cliffhanger. Make the identify transparent within the letter as good as who might benefit from the publication (style) and what number of phrases it's. DO NOT write of the way satisfactory it's! As good, upload a few understanding of the characters. Like their psychology. Also upload any issues. And Good success.

Answer 4

My dad wrote a big fantasty book for Adults. yeah, it failed because it was gonna be read by teens, too. it was too adult to be published. Dad sent it to a publishing company and they rejected it. next summer he is gonna revise it and retry.