how do you publish a book?

Question

do u have to write it in a certain way or what?then do u send it to the company?please help

Answer 1

To publish a book, you need to know a company to send it to. Make sure they publish your genre. Also, editors are very picky about format. It must be double-spaced, size 12 font, and no weird or fancy fonts. Also, it must be neatly presented. If it looks like its been read before, they will think another editor read it and thus rejected it. It is also helpful to send in a letter to tell them why you sent in your book. Fed-Ex the manuscript. That forces someone to sign for it, and thus, they will probably look at it.
Also, its not just about having great writing. You may have wonderful, flowing prose and great technique, but if the idea is boring, or if they think it is unsuited to the market at the time, then its rejected. Even if you have a great idea, the writing might be bad. Editors don't look for ways for it to be published, as the author does...they look for it to be rejected. You have to be a unique writer to get a book published these days. It doesn't matter what way you write it, you just have to write very well and have a developed, rich plot with vivid characters and a great idea. Its very hard to get published.
This shouldn't discourage you, though. The greatest writers in the world have been rejected, and then gone on for fame. An if you are rejected once, try again with a different company. It is almost always the case that you go through several companies before one thinks that your book is worth spending the money on.
So, keep writing, and keep trying to publish. If you work hard and perservere, you are bound to get a book published some day. And who knows, maybe then it will be a hit.
Does this help?

Answer 2

I'm not exactly clear on what you mean by "write it a certain way." Your manuscript must be well-written, in proper English (not chatspeak). You need to check your spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. Editors do not expect your manuscript to be flawless (otherwise they would be out of jobs). But they do expect you to prove you can construct a complete sentence and spell out words such as "you".
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YOU is a three letter word. There is absolutely no logical reason to abbreviate it to U. The time it takes to type YOU over U is negligible. Get in the habit of writing in complete sentences regardless of the format if you expect to be taken seriously as a writer. I can tell you as an editor, I see submissions all day long written like your question. You may not think it is a big deal. IT IS. What you post is a reflection of you. Remember your audience. There are potential publishers, agents, and other authors here. You want them to take you seriously, you must demonstrate you care enough about the information you are requesting to present your question intelligently.
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Before sending a manuscript, you should always request the submission guidelines. Each publisher requires that submissions be sent a certain way. For example, some publishers only accept electronic submissions via e-mail. Some publishers want the submission on a CD or floppy disk. Others want it in dead tree format, double spaced. You need to contact the individual publishers and request their guidelines. Most importantly, you need to follow them! They exist because that is how the publisher does business, and failure to follow the guidelines interfers with their business.

Answer 3

Again, if you are serious about this find an agent! I can't stress how key that is these days. I work with a publishing company in the Northwest and in almost every single instance we deal with an agent before we ever talk directly with the author.

Here's why this is important:
*An agent knows the publishing field in exceptional detail.
*They have vital contacts that could take you years to harvest.
*They'll be able to focus in on publishers that are incline to your genre and style of writing.
*The good ones manage to find the people inside the publishing houses that will "white knight" your work -- promote and defend your efforts when you aren't there.
*This is their profession.

A couple of books I'd suggest reading right off: 'The First Five Pages' by Noah Lukeman and Carolyn See's 'Making a Literary Life'. The links to their books are below.

Another thing -- it's great your getting this advice here on marketing your writing, but never, never post your writing here and solicit feedback. I've seen a number of writers do that and I can't think of anything more counter productive than engaging in that.

I hope this helps. Good luck with your work. If you need additional information please contact me via email. --Andy

Answer 4

While there are some "send us a manuscript and we'll look at it" publishers, most of these are gimics that get you to buy your book back once it's printed IF YOU ARE LUCKY. Most of them are just out to get money. The very few that might actually look at your manuscript will have it for ages and you might never hear back from them.
You're better off having a contact. An agent can place your manuscript in the hands of an appropriate editor.
It is very tough to go it alone.

And to the previous answerer who suggested checking the websites of major publishers, do that. You'll most likely find under "Where do I send my manuscript?" a reply like "We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts."

Answer 5

I would consider looking up a publisher web site. Scholastic for instance. I'm not entirely sure, but they might have a spot where you can send in your request to publish a book.