Publishing a Novel?

Question

What are some things you have to do to get your novel or short story published? How would the story be givin to the publisher, and how much would it cost you? Is it difficult to get accepted? What is self publishing?

Answer 1

Publishing a novel and short story are two different things. A short story would be published in an anthology. If you publish a novel traditionally, you do not pay to publish, they pay you. Short stories in anthologies and magazines pay very little - usually from 5 - 25 dollars.

You have asked a lot of questions and all of them are answered in the starred questions on my profile in great depth. I star all the good Q and A on publishing and writing here. You can print them out and study them.

What is self publishing? Something you want to stay away from. Pax-C

Answer 2

First you have your book or story finished. COMPLETELY. No shortcuts, no fancy cutting of the corners. But the whole enchillada.

Secondly, you might want to try and find an editor to go over your work, edit, and make suggestions. In other words: You need to have a polished script ready to go--before you can approach either a publisher or an editor.

Third, unless you're sending it to a vanity-press, you won't pay anything. Editing costs, no--unless you go with an independent editor.

Fourth, yes it is. Publishers only accept between 1-2% of all submissions, and agents only accept about 0.5% of all solicited manuscripts. But just be aware: Just because you may have an agent, doesn't necessarily *mean* you will have a publisher.

Fifth, self-publishing refers to the process by which you assume all costs and responsibilities of publishing. If done right, you can make a modest amount from your efforts.

Done wrong, and you're pretty much screwed everywhich way but next Thursday.

Some people here will try and discourage you from doing this. But because of the slim odds of gaining a foothold in the mainstream publishing industry, many writers and authors have chosen this route.

And it's not to be confused with vanity-press. (As Maryn has done. Vanity-press and self-publishing are NOT one and the same--no matter what technology is used.)

Vanity-press is where you PAY the publisher to do everything from editing to printing your book--and then paying more for a cute little marketing kit afterwards.

Answer 3

Raina, I strongly advise against self-publishing a novel. It'll cost you around $800 and you're likely to sell about 2/3 as many copies as you have friends and family.

However, they'll accept pretty much anybody whose check is good. Some may weed out porn or bomb-making, but other than that, there's no quality check.

To publish the "real" way you visit a bookstore and find out who publishes books in the same genre as yours.

Not every legitimate sale requires an agent. Many small publishers still deal directly with the author. Once you have a completed, polished manuscript, you can figure out if you should seek a big "name brand" publisher, in which case you need an agent, or if a small publisher will do just fine.

You can find publishers in the most recent edition of Writer’s Market (US) or Writers and Artists Yearbook (UK). Each listing will indicate “agented submissions only” or not.

Remember, reputable agents charge the author NOTHING up-front. Some agents may deduct the costs of doing business (copies, mail, phone) from your first check, but nobody legitimate needs that in order to get started.

You can determine whether an agent is reputable at sites like Preditors and Editors (http://www.invirtuo.cc/prededitors/) and the AAR (http://www.aar-online.org/mc/page.do). Besides being a real agent and not a scammer preying on writers’ dreams, you also want to research an agent’s recent sales of books in your genre before sending a query letter.

Researching whether a publisher is the real deal is easier. Go to a bookstore. See any of their books? Good. No? If it’s a small press, it might still be legitimate. The biggie is that no publisher needs money from the author. None at all. Any publisher who does is cause to run the other way.

Writer's Market also lists magazines which buy short stories, what their requirements are, and where to send them. There's stiff competition for the paying markets, same as novels.

But somebody gets published--maybe you!

Answer 4

Self publishing is paying to have a book published. As part of my masters degree, I had to self publish 7 copies of my thesis paper.

If you want to be published, read Writer's Market. It tells you who is buying from an unknown author. You have to submit a book exactly how they tell you or it just gets thrown away. However, you don't pay them. If they decide your book is sellable, they sign a contract with you and YOU get money.