I just finished a 450page novel (fantasy fiction). It's the first of the series. please help.?

Question

I know agents (and publishers alike) don't roam yahoo answers to find authors. My question is that i am (19) and don't have time to send manuscripts to this and that because of my studies. i want to find an agent. how do i get about that? and what is the duty of an agent?
Thank you all.

I would say i am very commited as i already spent 16 months on the story (day and night!)
Thanks.

First, thanks to you all. Second, some of you misunderstood me. I am not a lazy writer; actully i LOVE writing. The thing is that I got accepted at Colorado School of Mines and there are TONS of things that i now need to do for college. I will OF COURSE do my best and work hard to find an agent. Lastly, another word of thanks to you all. I will follow the steps you told me.

Answer 1

An agent will take care of the manuscript submission process but unfortunately, you'll have to go through a query/submission process to agents you're interested in anyway. If you get an interested agent, it'll be well worth your time. They receive about 10-15% commission.

But you never pay an agent, or anyone, to read your work. Keep that in mind and check out the site listed below.

Answer 2

If you don't have time to work at the craft, nobody has time to do it for you. You will not find an agent without writing query letters, and then sending manuscripts. An agent is responsible for finding you a publisher. You either make the time to do the work, or you don't get published.

I am a publisher. I don't troll around here looking for lazy writers. I come here to share knowledge and help writers understand the process. If you expect an agent to spend weeks, if not months, of effort trying to find you a publisher, you have to at least show the initiative to make an effort to research and query them.

Answer 3

Congrats on your finished work! :-)

If you want to be published, you have to send your manuscript out, there's no way around it. The first step is to find a reputable agent (one who doesn't try to charge a fee to represent you to potential publishers). How do you find a good agent? Get this book: Jeff Herman's Guide to Book Editors, Publishers, and Literary Agents. Step Two: Send out a query letter to an agent from the book. Step Three: Wait to hear back. Step Four: After that particular agent chooses to pass, repeat steps 2-4 until an agent agrees to represent you.

The literary agent is your advocate. They will send out your manuscript to potential publishers and market you to them. They have a vested interest in your success. If you don't make money, they don't make money (typically around 15% of what you make).

There's no way around the agent submission process, but the good news is that once you type up a query letter and brief story synopsis, all you have to do is change the name and address of the agent you're sending it to and mail it out. AND once you have an agent, it's in their hands to find the right publisher for you.

Best of luck!

Answer 4

well here are some sites on agents and publishing and such
http://hollylisle.com/fm/Articles/faqs3.html
http://hollylisle.com/fm/Articles/faqs2.html
http://hollylisle.com/fm/Articles/agent2.html
http://www.fictionfactor.com/editors.html
http://www.fictionfactor.com/getpublished.html

one question though. How committed are you to this book? This will take a lot of work to publish if it is your first book. You really need to make some time to do this stuff if you want to be published.

Answer 5

ummm... i dont have an answer for you but....i do have a question...how hard is it to write a fantasy fiction novel? ive been trying to write one for a while and havent had any luck. have some tips? my e-mail is [e-mail]. ty and
PEACE!