What things should someone know before publishing a book?

Question

Multipart question:

(a) How much of the book should be written before finding an agent?

(b) If a book is published, does that mean you lose the rights to selling it yourself later, or possibly even offering it for free as an e-book?

Answer 1

If the book is fiction, it will have to be complete before querying literary agents. If non-fiction you can query with just the idea for the book, nothing has to be written.

When you publish you can sell the rights in many different ways, and for set periods of time, for example you could sell first printing rights for one year, which means after one year you can publish it again wherever you like.

The first step is to find a literary agent. There are several websites out there that will help you, my favorite is QueryTracker.net at http://www.querytracker.net/ . It is free and has a list of literary agents and also tools to help you keep track of who you already queried and who you haven't, plus more.

They do a good job of keeping the crooks off their lists, but it is still a good idea to double check at http://www.sfwa.org/beware/twentyworst.h...

There are a lot of crooks out there. Never pay anyone to read or publish your book. A real agent will never ask for money except as a percentage of your royalties.

Keep in mind that finding an agent and getting published is not an easy process. Some people have to query hundreds of agents before they find one who will accept them (sadly, some never get accepted), but be persistent and keep trying.

Good luck.

Answer 2

a) All of it. The first thing you send an agent is a query letter and a synopsis. If they are interested, they will ask for either a partial or complete manuscript, so be ready with a clean, error free, properly formatted manuscript.

b) That is a contractual issue. The copyright is held by you. The publisher arranges that for you. What rights you sell is entirely up to your original contract. I fail to see why you would want to offer it free as an e book. It would cost you money. Wouldnt you rather have people BUY your book and make royalties? Every contract is different and you will need to show it to a lawyer who specializes in literary contracts or your agent before signing. Many agents are also lawyers.

Hope that helps. Pax - C

Answer 3

a)Write it all first. Certainly, you wont look for an agent with half the book written!
b) This depends on the publishing contract and the number of copies published. It varies from publisher to publisher and it also depends on the subject or type of book, the genre.
Remember, publishers and agents are in business and they will want the maximum profit from your work but minimum sacrifice on their part.
Finish the book first and come back with the same question later. We'll assist you am sure.

Answer 4

A good way to start is to publish a book of your poetry. That is of course, you like to write poetry as well.
Some helpful links:
http://mypoem.biz/