the first steps on how to get a poem or short novel published??

Question

i want to get some of my poems and my first novel published......
where do i start???
and it would be nice to kno how i finish also??....lol

Answer 1

The first step is always "write." Before you even think about publishing a poem or a short novel, write. The flipside is to read - a good writer reads the genre that he or she is writing in.

But assuming you have completed your poem or short novel, the second step is "rewrite." It is a terribly rare thing for a poet or author to be able to write the best story possible on the first go around.

The third step is to edit your poem or short novel. Pay special attention to spelling and grammar (the spelling and grammar will never be perfect - I've found errors in published books countless times - but you want to get it as close to perfect as you can). Edit it yourself, but also get other people to edit it. Friends, family, anyone you can cajole into reading your work and giving you comments. However, be careful in how you take their comments. Specific changes should always be taken into consideration, but you should also consider why they are making the change. Perhaps the reader doesn't understand something at that point in the book but you don't want the reader to understand it yet. However, it might be that you thought something was clear but it wasn't. Be careful of rephrasing things exactly as they suggest, however. You want to be writing in your own voice, not theirs.

The fourth step is to identify a medium for publishing. It is easier to start off publishing short stories in literary journals than to publish a novel right off the bat. However, regardless you will also need to identify what publishers publish your sort of poetry or novel. There are books published yearly for writers that give this information; check out your local library or bookstore.

The fifth step is to format the manuscript. This is terribly important. For a novel (the only thing I am experienced with), format with 1 inch margin, use a uniform sans-serif font like courier new (a "W" in the font should take up as much space as an "I"), 12 pt, double space, turn off widow and orphan control if you are using Microsoft word. Ideally, a single page should have very close to 250 words. This is important because as the publisher reads your work they will be judging how the pacing is based on how many pages they get through in a given time. If you have 350 words per page (more of a norm if you are using Times New Roman font), then it will look like your story is a slow read. Number the pages, of course, include a header with the title of the story and a rough word-count (generally, round to the nearest thousand or hundred), possibly with your last name. The first page should begin about half-way down the paper (so you will have only around 13 lines on that page). This is so the reader has a space to write comments such as "Oh my word, buy this buy this buy this buy this." There are yet more formatting considerations to take into account, so I'd recommend researching this before actually sending things in. You will also need to prepare a cover letter (avoid telling them that this is your first book or poem; they will know if they haven't heard of you before). You will also want to send a Self-Addressed Stamped-Envelope for a response (generally a rejection letter, and this is for all authors not just you so don't feel bad when you get them)

Mail it off to a publisher you have researched. I have heard several different camps on if you should submit to multiple publishers at a time but still debate the issue myself, so you might want to research this concept as well.

Get rejection letter and repeat. You might want to re-submit to the same publisher a few times (giving a few months in between) as a single company will have many readers and it is possible that you just got a reader that just happened not to like your story. Another might.

Keep writing and reading during every step; your first poem or short novel might not actually be publishable, but your second or third might be.

Alternately, you can get an agent to help you find a publisher, but this isn't necessary (it does help). A good agent, if they accept you as a client, won’t make you pay to promote your book. A good publisher pays you, so if they ask for money they are bunk.

Answer 2

While looking into publishers may be a good idea you may also find it extremely difficult to get them to look at your works. Your best bet when beginning would be to submit your work to the numerous literary journals published all the time. Research these journals (just search engine literary journal you'll find a ton) to find one that publishes works that compliment your own. With your work (I suggest starting small, single poems or short stories) write a brief synopsis or story about yourself and send them in following the criteria requested by the journal. Some things to look for as far as the journal's criteria are fees (yes they charge you to read your works) and the dates that they must receive your work for it to be eligible for publication. Your story about yourself should consist of your prior writing experience, education, etc. Submit your work to as many journals as you can and do not get discouraged with rejection, just keep trying. When you begin to get published and start to build a name for yourself get an agent and get at those publishing houses. Good luck and happy hunting.

Answer 3

You can start by checking out some publishers and their guidelines. That way you know what various publishers are looking for and who will accept your stuff at the moment.

Answer 4

It would help if, when people asked these questions, that they specify what genre they write in. For example, we're currently accepting submissions of horror, sci-fi, and fantasy poetry, but have no interest whatsoever in chick lit and love poetry.

Of course, I am also reluctant to put too much effort into writers that refuse to capitalize the pronoun "I" and won't capitalize a sentence. In my never humble opinion, if you expect people to do the research for you, you should at a minimum have the courtesy to demonstrate that you care enough about the craft to ask your question in coherent sentences!