How do i know that the novel i am working on is publishable?

Answer 1

Literally, when someone publishes it. (no pun intended)

That doesn't mean your effort is wasted -- one learns by doing, and in doing increases one's skill. A lot of famous books were not published the the first publisher they were sent to. Or the fifth.

Having a book published is not necessarily a sign of quality, either. Just that someone (maybe you) paid to have your words printed on pages and then have those pages bound together. That's it.

I've read published stuff so bad I'm amazed the manuscript ever saw daylight. By the same token, the next Harry Potter is probably stumbling around out there making the rounds to the various publishing houses and waiting for someone to recognize it as The Next Big Thing.

The moral, is keep on writing -- but also keep learning. Keep trying to improve the quality of what you write. Don't do it for the money, because then you'll be trying to follow every literary fad, hoping to strike it rich. Write a book you want to read, even if you never ever showed it to anyone else, let alone tried to have it published. Quality, over quantity.

Answer 2

You never send your work to anyone unless directed to. The first thing you need to do is get it edited for grammar and spelling. When your manuscript is finished you will need to get a literary agent to accept it. In order to do this you will need to buy a copy of 'Writers Market.' It's about 30 bucks, but if your novel is picked up by an agent it will pay for itself over and over again.

You will then need to look through WM and find an agent that accepts your genre. Horror, Western, Fantasy, SciFi, Romance, and the like. You will then have to write a query letter to that agency. This letter must be free of any errors whatsoever. Errors in a letter are an automatic reject. If you can't write a simple letter you can't write a novel. This letter should also include a synopsis and be no longer than two pages.

If your work sparks an interest in a lit agent, you will be asked to send the first three chapters. You might also be asked to write an outline. I hate those, but it's all in the game (as the song goes).

Your chapters and the entire novel will have to be formatted according to Industry Standard. I suggest you go to your favorite bookstore and buy some good writing novels right along with Writers Market. These books will show you how to write queries and format your novel.

Most agents and publishers DO NOT accept unsolicited manuscripts or chapters.

I wish you the best!

Answer 3

This is going to sound rude at first but bear with me.

If it isn't finished, it isn't publishable. Unless you have a proven track record as a writer, no agent or publisher will look at your unfinished manuscript. I know of someone who had an agent approach her based on her writing for a magazine but she had been publishing articles monthly for a long time as well as contributing regularly to a website. She had a proven history as a disciplined writer who could and would follow through. I know another woman whose collection of short stories was picked up by an agent after she had already published several short stories and memoir pieces, including one that was included in the most recent Marlo Thomas collection.

Also, if you cannot commit to finishing it, if you do not feel so passionate about what you are writing to see it through a rough draft, a revision, another revision, and many possible rejections from publishers and/or agents, then it is not publishable. YOU have to be so deeply committed to your project and your writing that you will finish what you start.

So how do you know that the novel you are working on is pubolishable? I don't know? But you do.

Answer 4

To be publishable, your novel must be completed, edited and as perfect as you can get it. It has to fit into a genre, like sf/fantasy, historical, biography, how-to, or what have you, because few companies want to publish a break-out novel that the bookstores have no idea how to stock. (Does this go under Religion or New Age or Fantasy?) Find the companies that specialize in your genre and then follow the guidelines they give you closely (most companies publish those in the book Writer's Market while others send guidelines on request.). Direct the manuscript to the proper person (call and ask) and be sure to include your phone number, as most will call if they like what they read.
Good luck!

Answer 5

Simplest answer: you don't. Even if it's rejected by every publisher in the book, that doesn't prove it's not publishable. Even if you're a Famous Person and your book is therefore grabbed up, that doesn't prove it's any good.

Slightly more comforting answer: sign up for a writers conference near you. Some of them offer a chance to send in a few pages for an agent or editor to critique. Just about all of them have meetings and classes that will be beneficial.

Better still, join a writers' group, where writers critique one another, like this one: http://critters.critique.org/hamsters/

It's a lonely business; even those who aren't "people people" can use a hand.

Answer 6

what they all said below me!