Book publishing?

Question

Could you tell me what all you need to do to have a book published? Do you know about how much it would cost?

Answer 1

First you have to write and edit the book. No publisher will take a risk on an unknown author with an unfinished manuscript.

No publisher or agent should charge you any money up front! That is the sign of a scam! They make money by selling your book. Agents work on a commission (generally 15% of the amount of money the publishers pay you).

There are two types of publishing, traditional and self-publishing. If you choose to go with self-pubbing, I would recommend http://www.lulu.com as a great site. They don't pretend to be anything they are not, and have excellent service. All the decisions will be in your hands. However, going with a company like this is a difficult road and it is not considered a publishing credential if you look to go traditional down the road. Here is some other information about the downside of self-publishers (also known as vanity presses):
http://www.sfwa.org/beware/vanitypublishers.html

As far as novels go, different publishers specialize in different things, and fiction is a broad world. You have to try and sell your material to companies that produce similar works (ie, don't try and sell a fantasy novel to a romance publisher). So do your homework. Take a look at the most recent "Writer's Market"... or even better, try the "Guide to Literary Agents".

I absolutely suggest getting an agent instead of approaching publishers directly. I'm assuming you are not a contract attorney, so you will need someone to look over any offers and to guide you through the publishing world.

Make sure that you follow their exact submission specifications. You will not be sending your novel unsolicited-- you will begin with a query letter. If you send the whole novel, it will be dumped in the recycling bin without being read.

Here are some websites that can help. Read them thoroughly and research, research, research!
http://www.absolutewrite.com
http://www.publishersmarketplace.com
http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/
http://www.agentquery.com/

And be warned of the people on this list:
http://www.sfwa.org/beware/twentyworst.html

Good luck!

Answer 2

Write and edit the book.
If you go the traditional way, follow this:
Find an agent. they will take care of all the paper work. Send your book with a query letter to various publishers. Neither the agent or publisher should take any money from you before your book is published. They get paid when you get paid.

If you go self-publishing, try this:
with self-publishing, you'll have to edit the book by yourself. Try www.lulu.com. But be aware that your books will not get to brick-and-mortar bookstores. They will be printed as they are ordered.

I hope this helps you. Good luck!

Answer 3

First you write it. This takes time, but the more you do it, the better you get. Then edit it as much as you can. if you need help, send it to an editorial service, and then rewrite the book,
as to their suggestions. Then send it again to be sure it's right.
After that send it to a publisher, in which case it doesn't cost anything but postage. Or send it to a subsidy. I've enquired with two for my book. One said it would be $2000. the other said $500. Other subssidies might charge more or less (more likely more).Writer's Market, which is a yearly book, has many publishers and subsidy publishers listed in it. But it's only the ones who responded in time to be listed in it. Last time I bought a copy, it was $25 to $30 before sales tax. It's a bit more, if you want the cd version which comes with it.

Answer 4

Go to a large bookseller in your city and buy a copy of The Writer's Market. It lists contact information for Literary Agents.

You need a Literary Agent to submit your manuscript to publishers.

Answer 5

There are a couple of really good websites to help you find a literary agent. One is agentquery.com, the other is QueryTracker.net.

agentquery.com is a list of literary agents.
QueryTracker.net is the one I recommend. It has a list of literary agents just like agentquery, but it also has tools to help you keep track of who you already queried and who you haven't, plus more.

Both sites make an effort to keep scammers off their lists, but it is a good idea to still double check yourself. A good reference for scammers is the Absolutewrite.com forum.

Answer 6

If you write poetry, and are interested in getting them published, here is a link that helps:
http://mypoem.biz/