How long does it take to publish and release the book to the public and becoming best seller?

Answer 1

A minimum of several years. And a maximum of never.

Pax - C

Answer 2

Writing the book can vary greatly depending on the author, but one year is probably average.

You then have to find a literary agent, this can take years or even decades. After that the agent must sell the book to a publisher, which could take another year but is usually less. Once the publisher buys the printing rights, you are looking at yet another year before it hits the shelves.

As for becoming a best-seller. There are over-night successes, and there are those which never get noticed until long after the author is dead.

So if you are still interested in pursuing this path, I suggest you start by querying literary agents. This is done with a one page letter describing yourself and your book. Sometimes the agent will request you include the first few pages or chapters, but that is an individual preference.

There are several websites out there that will help you find an agent, 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.html.

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.

You should also visit http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums one of the largest forums for writers. They can be very helpful.

Good luck.

Answer 3

Well, most best selling authors will take an average of 10 months to write a novel (I get this number based on the fact that they usually produce a new novel every 18 to 24 months). Now...using JK Rowling as an example....it took about 6 months after her famous signing of the statue in the hotel when she finished the last Harry Potter book for her publishers to get the book out on the shelves...so that's a total of 16 months min. (that's if you're a world famous author).
Now, let's take the same person, JKR, as an unknown author. She has said it took her 5 years to write the first HP book and then another year or so to get a publisher for her book--that's just 6 or 7 years.
You asked about being a "best selling" author. It took JKR, after the first HP book was published, another couple of years for the books to become best sellers, and keep in mind the books didn't get huge until the movies came out. And if you read about them, it was the same way with Stephen King and Anne Rice. It took them years to get published and then they had some good success but it wasn't until their books became movies that they were a household name.
What does all this mean? You could spend your life writing wonderful pieces of written art but they may never get published or even if they do get published they may not be blockbuster best sellers...and just because they don't get published doesn't mean they're not worth reading...it just means the publishers that read them didn't see their potential. That's why it's important that you write for yourself not for commercial success. Write what you love, and when you're finished try to get it published but if it doesn't work out you won't have wasted your time trying to write something you aren't vested in.