How to get my story published...?

Question

I'm 14 and I want to get a story I wrote published. How?

Answer 1

Getting from manuscript to novel isn't easy, especially if you're looking for a traditional publishing company with excellent credentials, but is certainly possible.

One thing that I want to mention right away is that it is highly unlikely that a first-time author with manage to get into a large publishing company such as Scholastic or Random House. These publishers almost always work with previously publishing, bestselling authors, so unless you can find an agent that works directly with one of those companies (and even then, you'll need lots of luck), your best bet would be to start small and work your way up from there.

Before I start listing possibilities, I'd like to give you a quick warning when you're searching for publishers. First of all, you've got to watch out for sharks in the water. Many publishers out there are actually self-publishers in disguise. 'Self-publish' means a company that will charge you money to get your book onto the market and into stores—or so they say. They feed you fancy lies topped off with whipped cream, icing, and sprinkled nonsense. No self-publish company will ever get your book into any major bookstores such as Barnes and Noble, simply because major retailers don't deal with self-publishers. The big bookstores know that self-publishers publish anything and everyone—trash and fantastic works alike. They won't risk taking a bad book into their stores when Scholastic is putting out bestsellers by the dozen. So watch out for them. They'll take your money and sell you your own book without making you a big-ticket item. So skip the self-publishers.

The guys you really want to work with are traditional publishers. These guys only take the best of the best and publish your book for free (often, they even pay the author in advance for the manuscript). As I mentioned before, traditional publishers, especially the big guys, are hard to get to, but don't give up until you get in. To get through to these guys, you will have to have a literary agent represent you because most traditional publishers don't accept unsolicited manuscripts.

A quick note: You'll need to have a query letter ready before mailing anyone. If you need help writing a query letter, check out this site. It's really helpful!

http://www.poewar.com/how-to-write-a-que...

Also, another note: More important than anything else is a well edited manuscript. Agents and publishers won't even consider your work if they start reading through it and right away find errors. I highly recommend proofreading your own work several times or finding an editor to get the job done before you submit your manuscript for consideration.

Here are some good sites that I personally recommend for finding agents.

http://www.writers.net/agents.html...

http://www.author-network.com/agents.htm...

http://www.books.bc.ca/literaryagents.ph...

http://www.ebookcrossroads.com/agents.ht...

http://www.wga.org/agency/agencylist.asp...

Also, when searching for an agent, always check to make sure that they represent books in the genre you've written. Always follow their submission guidelines exactly and only use the format they ask for. And remember, before you send your manuscript, make certain it is free from errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar (I know I already mentioned this, but proper editing is of the utmost importance because if an agents sees too many errors he or she will not even consider your work).

Again, even with all this advice, I warn that it is almost virtually impossible for a first-time author to get to an excellent book publishers. Because these guys pay for everything, they almost as a rule want bestselling authors that they know for a fact will be worth the trouble. In my opinion, the best route for a fresh starter would certainly be to sell your first novel to a small publisher and work your way up. That's probably the most effective way to really get anywhere.

Regardless of the path you choose, good luck in getting published. Who knows . . . you just might get lucky!

Answer 2

There are basically 4 ways to sell short stories. To magazines, to e books, to anthologies and in contests.

In the first three ways you will find that pay for a story ranges from 5 bucks to about 25 bucks or between 1 and 5 cents a word. The reason for doing anthologies isn't to get rich, it is to get your name out there. Some pay nothing more than a copule copies of the book you're in.

Of course magazines like Playboy, Sports Illustrated, Esquire, GQ etc. pay a great deal more. However, they primarily deal with major authors and they hire them to write specific stories. Very rarely do major magazines accept a pitch from an unknown and tell them to go ahead with it.

As for contests, there are a few legit ones. Check with Absolute Write Water Cooler Bewares and Background Checks and Preditors and Editors. There are contests that pay 1,000 like Glimmer Train but they are very very hard to win. They are almost impossible to even sell a story to. Glimmer Train also charges a 35 dollar fee every time you enter a story.

Sorry but you will not be making thousands or even hundreds selling your stories. PJ M - a regular contributor here is a fairly well known anthology contributor. I have known him for several years now. I don't think he has ever gotten more than 50 bucks and a couple copies for a story. But it does get his name out there for the benefit of his longer works.

Hope that helps. Pax - C

Answer 3

the answer to you substantial question is sure. the remainder of your inquiry: you're at a reliable age to start writing. even nevertheless, you may placed your ideas down on paper or the laptop first. Then prefer to submit. Getting a laptop would be efficient to keep your writings or ideas for extra progression. do not purely "somewhat prefer to commence writing" WRITE. i think of you prefer extra journey utilising the English language extra effectively. appropriate use of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and the thank you to precise your ideas needless to say and curiously are significant first. prepare makes suited and continuously writing makes a author. preserving your tale ideas on your laptop and your thoughts while written would be efficient. yet only make particular you're making a confusing reproduction--print it out and shop it in a folder. technologies would nicely be very mischievous at time and extremely perverse. certainly one of your responders gave good suggestion -- in case you prefer to place in writing and don't care however if it somewhat is printed than you're a author. in case you care purely to be well-known, you may write, yet is would be a activity and not something extra and then, you at the instant are not a author at heart. (My paraphrase).

Answer 4

Go to your local library and take out the 2007 (or 2008, if it's in, yet) edition of the Writer's Market. You can find a list of Literary agencies in their, what they want, what they expect, and all that. =) You can also find out how to write a query letter, which you will need to do.

Answer 5

Send it to a publisher.