I am a teen author looking to publish a fantasy novel. Any ideas about how i do this?

Question

I actually have four, but only one is finished so far. Please help me!

Answer 1

Hi there. The biggest hurdle for a first time author is finding a bona fide agent to represent you. Most agencies have thousands of manuscripts sent to them every year and typically, they only select a few works that are worthy to represent. Submitting your work directly to publishers is almost a waste of time, as the slush pile for publishers is ten times what it is for most agencies.

DO NOT submit to anyone that requires up front money or "reading" fees. Most agencies will read your book for nothing if it's well presented and if they think it has merit. 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 a great 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 qualified 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, bad formatting, 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.

After that, be prepared to wait up to 3 months for an answer from the agency. DO NOT submit to more than one agency at a time. If your work is good and the agency sees potential in it, they will offer you a contract. From there, it can be another 3 month wait for them to find you a publisher. Once you get a publisher, it takes about a year to actually see your book in print.

You can also go the eBook route, which is becoming more popular every day now that eBook readers and publishers are more readily available. I did that and it worked out very well for me. I went from a very small online eBook publisher to a major hard cover print publisher, but it took several years. These days, it's much more acceptable to start out with an electronic version and move into print. However, you should think about doing your own eBook instead of paying some company to throw it together for a fee. Most of those services could care less if your book looks good, has typos or whatever. They also OWN the ISBN's for their titles--you do not--so keep that in mind.

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. Contrary to popular belief, most authors don't get rich.

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

Congratulations on having finished one! Go to your nearest bookstore and look for a copy of "Writer's Market". It's expensive, but you can take it off your taxes (if you ever get any income...) It has not only the names and addresses of publishers and agencies, but also the procedures for reaching them -- sample letters, how to package things, etc.

Also, there are (not surprisingly) a lot of books on the process. I'm not sure this one is appropriate for you as it focuses on non-fiction (the area I worked in), but Mike Larsen's "How To Write A Book Proposal" (see the Amazon link, below) is a great resource, and Mike's a terrific guy. I took a class from him based on this book and ended up publishing four non-fiction books. He's in the San Francisco Bay Area, but there may be authors' agencies near you. And yes, it's SO worth having an agency working for you. Just remember that any reputable agency only gets paid after you do -- you should NEVER be asked to pay up front.

Best of luck!

Answer 3

First you have to get an agent, but most agents won't look at you until you've been published. It's a vicious cycle and i know cause I've been through it. But if you can find an agent and a publisher, congrats and I hope to read your book soon!