Who can I contact about publishing?

Question

My cousin needs help with finding a publisher. I want to help them. Got any ideas?

Answer 1

Your cousin needs a literary agent. Here are the steps:

1) Finish the first draft of a manuscript. Let trusted friends read it. Revise.

2) Read these two books:
Noah Lukeman's THE FIRST FIVE PAGES
and
SELF-EDITING FOR FICTION WRITERS by Rennie Browne
Then edit your manuscript again.

3) Once your manuscript is perfect, it's time for the query letter. You can google "sample query letters" to get a feel for how they're done. Make sure your query letter is perfect. Post it on writers.net or absolutewrite.com for critique.

4) Once your query is perfect, start to research agents. Look in books that are similar to yours in the acknowledgments--authors usually thank their agents there. You can use agentquery.com to find out what genres agents accept and whether they are looking for new clients. Also, sign up for the free newsletter from publishersmarketplace.com and you will read some deals in there. Pay attention to which agents are making deals for debut authors.

5) Most importantly, check Preditors & Editors before you query each agent and make sure the agent is ok! If the agent is not recommended, do not query them. Here is the link:
http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/

The rule is... money flows to the writer. You should not pay a cent to get published. A real agent takes 15% of the sale and does not charge you unless he/she makes a sale. Do not pay anyone anything.

After you sign with an agent, they will submit the manuscript to publishers.

Good luck to your cousin!

Answer 2

Trust me it is not easy. I have just finished writing a book and am also looking to get it into circulation. I have done everything that people here are saying but come up empty. It is easy for a celebrity to publish a book because all they have to do is say they want to write a book and the same publishers who do not accept unsolicited authors will contact them by the folds to get them with their publishing companies. But for people like your cousin and myself and others who are not famous we have to do a lot of leg work and hustle and bustling. I did find a agent on line and have sent my manuscript off but it took THE LONGEST. That writer's market that people keep talking about don't want to be found because I have been trying and trying and trying to locate the book, the agent the material everything. I wish you luck and I don't know if I can list the web site that I found, I'll go ahead and do it (hope it is okay yahoo) www.wlwritersagency.com check it out and wish your cousin luck, maybe one day we'll be on tour and run into each other:)

Answer 3

Buy a copy of the Writer's Market. It lists names and addresses of publishers. Publishers DO NOT accept unsolicited material.

Your cousin needs a Literary Agent to contact the publishers for her. Those names are also in the Writer's Market.

Answer 4

There are a few publishers listed in the back of trade magazines, there are many more in Writer's Digest magazine. I bought a book from their club that lists every publisher, their address and website, AND give a submission editor's name! They publish a new edition annually.

Two websites might help: writersdigest.com and writerswrite.com. I use both regularly.

Answer 5

If you just look around, there are plenty of books that list just about every publisher on the face of the Earth, whether you're looking to print novels, short stories, articles etc.

Answer 6

Yep, go to the library they have books on where to send your manuscripts. There are a ton of publishers in this book, you should be able to find what your looking for.