How do I auction off manuscripts I've written to publishing houses?

Question

I'm a first time writer, so none of my work has been published yet but interested in selling my work to an interested party. Also welcome advice on how to get started in becoming a published writer.

Answer 1

You will want to get a literary agent. Most publishing houses won't read unsolicited manuscripts unless they come from a reputable agent. Not only that, but an agent will negotiate the terms of your contract for you so that you can keep as many of your rights to the book as possible.

I really like the current issue of the "Guide to Literary Agents". It is from the folks at Writer's Market, who do an excellent job is creating resources for authors to start their research of agents. I'd also recommend their book "Formatting & Submitting your Manuscript".

As for finding out if they're reliable, and excellent resource is the website Preditors and Editors-- they are a good jumping off point to start your quest!
http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/

If you have written any poetry or short stories, you should try submitting them to journals or magazines that are appropriate (Writer's Market can help you find some). It helps if you have proven that your writing can sell! Agents like to know that you are a commodity people are willing to spend money on.

If you haven't read them yet, check out these books for help in your writing:

1) "On Writing Well" by William Zinsser-- This is an excellent reference for any kind of writing. It will make your emails, essays, stories, and other writing clearer. I recommend this to everyone who wants to improve their writing skills.

2) "Bird By Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life" by Anne Lamott-- This is slightly more geared towards fiction writing, but can be helpful when you are attacking ANY large project in your life. Definitely a must for creative writers, students, or people who are looking for an entertaining book on writing.

3) "Writing Down the Bones" by Natalie Goldberg. This targets creative writing, and focuses on the practice of writing. I write a lot of poetry and am working on a novel, and this is incredibly motivational to me.

Do your homework, and find out exactly what they want in a submission package or a query letter. Then submit over and over until you finally find an agent who accepts you. You will face a lot of rejection, but keep going!

Happy writing!

Answer 2

If you're not already published and you're not already famous in your field, it's very hard to get published.

1) Go to whatever networking functions you can, and meet publishers and authors in your area. These will be your best resources for what to do.

2) Research which publishers take the type of material you write, and send them a letter about your work. Make it brief, and don't include a copy of your work yet - but ask if they would accept a manuscript. If they say yes, then you can send them a manuscript, and you have a specific person to send it to.

3) Only have any particular manuscript at one publisher at a time. You can send Book1 to Publisher A, Book2 to PublisherB, etc. at once, but don't send Book1 to Publishers A, B, and C, or you may find yourself with an invalidated contract before it even starts.

Getting published is a lot harder than writing in the first place - good luck!

Answer 3

Buy a copy of Writer's Market 2006. It is the Bible for writers of all sorts who want to sell their work. It lists all the possible publishers, what they want to see from you, query letters and such as that. It even lists the going rate paid to writers. Also a good idea to subscribe to Writer's Digest. There are probably a slew of others I am unaware of.
Good luck!

Answer 4

well auction means they are bidding for it, which means you are so famous everyone wants it.

for the rest of us, we have to find out who is even accepting manuscripts , normally they will either want a first chapter or a summary of the story. Each house will have its own rules.

You send it to dozens of places hopeing someone will accept it

Answer 5

why as an unknown who would bid