Want to publish my book....?

Question

Hi, I am fourteen years old and am in the process of writing a chapter book. It will end up being 8 chapters long and approximately 100 type-written pages. I really want to get this published but I have no idea how to go about doing this. If you have any suggestions, they would be much appreciated. Please don't say things like "you're too young" and stuff -- I want to try. It is about girls in grade 10 so could be read by junior/senior high youths. Please help!

I know I have to submit it to various publishers but I don't know which ones to try, which is what I'm looking for. I live in Calgary, AB Canada if that helps at all.

Answer 1

Alex has given you good advice with a few exceptions. Do NOT copyright your book. You already own the copyrights. Purchasing a copyright tells agents and publishers you don't trust them. They get highly offended. The last thing they are out to do is steal your work. The best way to protect it is not to show it to strangers and keep it off the darn internet where it will be stolen as sure as my name is Persi. The so called "poor man's copyright" where you mail yourself a copy is useless. It just shows that on a certain date you had copies of certain pages in your possession. It does not prove you are the author. I guarantee you I know and teach at least ten different ways to beat that. No copyright is worth a darn unless you have a high paid lawyer to back it up. And what do you do when you live in Kansas and someone in Malaysia steals your work? Absolutely nothing. You kiss it good-bye. Keep it to yourself and you are fine.

Next. You might as well learn to speak like a professional author. We never talk in terms of "typewritten pages". We talk in number of words. You would say your book was 25.000 words or whatever. The industry standard is 250 words per page. If someone asks, you tell them how many words it is. Sound professional.

Moving on - as a minor, your parents are going to be involved in getting you published. You cannot legally sign contracts. They will need to sign for you and will likely need an attorney to set up some kind of a trust for you for royalties. You need to discuss this with them, then have them talk to someone.

You will find in my profile I have starred great Q and A regarding publishing and writing. All subjects are covered. Read through them and print out a bunch you think apply to you.

You and your parents have to learn to advocate for you. You have to read Writers Market and learn how to write and send a query letter. How to write a book proposal. Those are important documents. There are books you can buy to teach you, but if you are hiring an editor (which you should) that editor can work with you on that too. A professional editor will better than double your chances of getting published. But they cost money.

You need to know which sites to go to in order to check out the legitimacy of any publisher or agent you query. Preditors and Editors and Absolute Write Water Cooler Bewares and Background Checks are the places to start.

You need to learn the difference between traditional publishing and useless self publishing that will end up costing you a fortune with very little results.

You have a lot to learn. And lastly - it is VERY unprofessional to come here and post "Want to publish my book?" That is not the way to go about it. But you are young and you will learn.


----
They're, Their, There - Three Different Words.

Careful or you may wind up in my next novel.

Pax - C

Answer 2

Have you had a copyedit done on the book yet? Before you submit to any publishers you'll want to make sure it is thoroughly copyedited by someone who knows what they are doing or by a professional copyeditor.

Make sure it is formatted correctly, and check the publishers' individual submission guidelines prior to submission, or they will simply toss your ms in the shredder and you'll never hear from them. There's a lot that goes into this, kiddo, so research it thoroughly like you are now and be thoroughly prepared before you send it off. Good job so far!

Submit it to publishers that are credible. A good URL to check to avoid scam publishers (I have dealt with scam publishers myself, unfortunately....) is Preditors and Editors: http://anotherealm.com/prededitors/peba.htm

They also list agents.

You can copyright prior to publication if you like, as it will be copyrighted in your name anyway. You copyright in your legal name not in your pen name, if you write under a pen name. Information on how to apply for a copyright can be found at: http://www.copyright.gov/

Also, check out the Writer's Market, 2007 edition.

Shoot me an email if I can be of any further assistance.

Good luck.

Alex

Addendum:

Ahyup, I defer to P on the copyright issue. I was referring to another answer in here about the copyright, and I did not confront it as directly as she did. :-) I just "addressed" it, I suppose, and I must admit that was misleading without explaining the harm that it could it do, which I did not even think about. Good thing she addressed it! I apologize.

Alex

Answer 3

research. first get a patent/copyright.and submit like crazy to various book publishers.