How does a person get their story or stories published or printed??

Question

How does a normal (non-professional) person get a story they wrote to become a book or article?? What process must they go through?? I am looking for true answers and resources would be great!!

Answer 1

If you have written a book, a couple of good resources are the Writers Market Guide or Jeff Herman's Guide. Both are updated every year and you can buy them at any bookstore. They list agents and publishers and their guidelines.

Many smaller independent presses do not require that you have an agent. Getting an agent is almost as difficulty as getting published and there is a debate as to whether you even need one until you actually start making real money from your novels.

If you are trying to get short stories published there are several excellent literary magazines (Ellery Queen, Glimmer Train, etc.) out there. Larger bookstores like Barnes and Noble carry them.

Or you can try submitting your stories to magazines or newspapers. If you go to individual magazine websites most of them list their submission guidelines. Some magazines have submission information on their inside cover where they list their editor, staff, and address information.

I also suggest joining a writers group. There are several of them on-line. It is a good place to find support, encouragement,and practical help.

ps - Don't give up. I am published (newspaper articles and short stories). It took me several years, but I also have two novels coming out soon.

Answer 2

For a book, a literary agent is best. They are usually listed and if they have websites (look in your local area), then they often have information about how to submit to them for consideration. Like actors have agents, so do most writers - unless they self-publish, which basically means paying for printing yourself and then marketing yourself etc. Costly and difficult.

As for articles, the best way to get started is to find the medium you're interested in and find a magazine/website/etc that is taking open submissions. Often smaller, independent publications do take submissions from the public and you can submit. You might not get paid to start with but it'll give you a published portfolio and therefore a writing resume, that will help you move up into writing for bigger publications. Another option in this area is to write letters to newspapers, and if published, keep them in your folio as well. Good luck :)

Answer 3

Two great answers ahead of me, so I won't bother repeating that.

But you can also self-publish your own book or story as well by using http://www.lulu.com