How can I best publish my 65K word first novel?

Question

My first novel, tentatively titled THE BROWN RECLUSE, is a story of international intrigue. Top level members of the People's Republic of China steal nuclear warheads and attempt to sell them to Iran. The Iranians agree to trade crude oil for the weapons.

The Israelis learn of the transaction and intervene. A good old boy from Texas and his New York model girlfriend become embroiled in the deal and are both earmarked for death.

THE BROWN RECLUSE is a beautiful Chinese assasin who becomes central to the plot.

Answer 1

If you want to go the route of a traditional publisher, you're going to need to add more scenes because 65K is too short, especially for a thriller. You would need 80K-100K. If you can get to 80K, I'd recommend querying agents who will submit your manuscript to real, paying publishers. Check out publishersmarketplace.com, agentquery.com, and Preditors & Editors to determine which agents are making deals. Never ever ever pay an agent a fee. Real agents only make money when they sell your book (they take 15%).

If you just want to go the self-publishing route, you can submit anything. Self-publishers like iuniverse, lulu, publishamerica, etc will publish anything you send them. You pay them. Your book is not available in bookstores.

Answer 2

let others review it first.