Publishing?

Question

Okay. I am 14 years old and I have written a Fictional book, called "The Memoirs of Justine Martin." It would probaly be classified as a young adult book. I have a couple questions all under publishing. Are there any good non- "Self publishing" companies, for youth my age. Second of all, do you always need a agent to publish? And lastly I have checked out a couple of self publishing companies, and they are too expensive. I am very determined to get this book published, it has a message that needs to be spread. And also, I don't want take the chance on self-publishing and a year later, still have a collection of un-sold books. That is one of my biggest fears, money not well spent. Thanks for your time and if you would like to contact me via e-mail: [e-mail]

-Sierra
(Isabella)

Answer 1

No, there is no such thing as a good self publisher. Your books will not be on the shelves in book stores and yes, likely you will end up with unsold books. The average sales for a self published book is 100. It may be available online, but without advertising and marketing dollars, how is anyone going to know to buy it? And you should realize that most young adults do not buy books online because they don't have credit cards. They buy books in stores. Therefore, you would be spending a lot of money with very little return. I have seen people - adults- take out second mortgages on their homes to finance the marketing of a self published book and end up losing their homes. It is not a wise idea.

Besides, don't you think that if you believe in yourself and in your book, you owe it to yourself to spend at least twice the time you spent writing it on trying to sell it traditionally? One thing you must NEVER do is send a manuscript to a publisher or agent unsolicited. You need to learn how to write a great query letter and synopsis. While Nicholas Sparks isn't one of my favorite authors, he does have a wonderful tutorial on his website that teaches you how.

Ask for a copy of Writers Market for Christmas. And read it cover to cover. Don't just let it become a paperweight on your desk. It has a lot of valuable information for you.

Also if you go to my profile, you will see I star all good Q and A on publishing and writing. Surf through them and print out which ever ones you think will help you. That is why I star them. P
----
They're, Their, There - Three Different Words.

Careful or you may wind up in my next novel.

Pax - C

Answer 2

Although self-publishing is probably not a good idea for you, the person who said there is no such thing as good self-publishers is completely wrong.

Self-publishing is a viable option for many reasons including:

1) The author can control the creative aspects of the book, which many prefer to do;

2) The book might be very specialized and therefore a mainstream publisher would not be willing to risk the cost on a smaller audience;

3) The author might prefer to have a great share of the profits. My self-published books net me 40% profit on each copy (I have four) while my traditionally published books (I have two) net me just a few cents per book.

4) The author might not want to wait the 1-2 years traditionally published books take to hit the shelves.

For your book I don't recoomend self-publishing, especially at your age. I would have it read by a dozen people or so, get their opinions and their suggestions. Make sure it is grammatically correct. Then submit it - either through an agent or directly. You can get a copy of WRITER'S MARKET 2008 for help with that.

For those of you who want a GREAT company to use for self-publishing your books, I use www.48hrbooks.com -- they are fast, fair, inexpensive, and the quality is unbelievable.

Answer 3

No, there is no such thing as a good self publisher. Your books will not be on the shelves in book stores and yes, likely you will end up with unsold books. The average sales for a self published book is 100. It may be available online, but without advertising and marketing dollars, how is anyone going to know to buy it? And you should realize that most young adults do not buy books online because they don't have credit cards. They buy books in stores. Therefore, you would be spending a lot of money with very little return. I have seen people - adults- take out second mortgages on their homes to finance the marketing of a self published book and end up losing their homes. It is not a wise idea.

Answer 4

Writer's Market is a reference book you can probably find at your public library. It lists book publishing companies, and provides lots of other useful information about the writing and publishing business. Some publishers will read manuscripts submitted by the author without an agent, but some will only consider books represented by an agent.

Answer 5

Those are NOT self-publishing companies, but vanity publishers who just want your money. You're book will never see a brick and mortar bookstore, but sold only online from Amazon or B&N.

Self-Publishing costs a lot of money if it's done the right way. My book Spook Rock cost me plenty to self-publish. But it was in bookstores and I actually did several book signings in upstate NY . . . since it took place there.

Read what I've giving you below. I tell eveyone this same thing when they ask about writing. Also, remember that you can't sign a contract without an adult guardian. You're a minor.

Writing a book takes more than just sitting down and putting your idea into words. There are a lot of things that you have to consider.

You need a good grasp of the English language. Spelling and Grammar. You will also need to check and recheck your work. Editors are very expensive these days.

You need to know how to write an effective ‘query letter’ to a literary agent.

Can you write a synopsis that will hold the interest of the agent, and want to make him or her ask for the first three chapters of your work?

Do you know how to outline?

You’ll need to know how to format your manuscript. This includes the fonts that
most agents, editors, and publishers want. You will need to follow submission guidelines just as they are laid down for your submissions. Anything less will result in your manuscript sent back or destroyed unread.

Do you know what Point of View is? (POV) Do you know how to write in First Person Point of View? The can’s and can not’s?

Do you know how to write dialogue? How to format dialogue?

It’s a good idea to know some of the publishing laws. The use of names and places.

These include
o Delivery Of Satisfactory Copy
o Permission for Copyrighted Material
o Grant Of Rights
o Proofreading and Author's Corrections
o Advances and Royalties
o Author's Warranties and Indemnities
o Copies to Author
o Option Clause
Do you know how to get a ‘word count?

Do you know what a prologue is? An epilogue? Do you know how both of them are used and why?

Do you know what the word ‘genre’ means?

You’ll need to know how to use the proper ‘page set up’ for your work. Margins, indents, paragraphs.

Are you prepared to do a lot of ‘research’ involving your work? Many professionals such as, doctors, lawyers, nurses, public accountants, judges, architects, bricklayers, engineers, and police officers read, too.

Do you know what a plot is? A sub-plot?

Can you take rejection and constructive criticism? If you’re easily hurt in the feelings department, then this hobby is not meant for you. Critics will tear you apart or build you up. The best writers in the world “King, Patterson, Koontz, J.K. Rowling, and many others” have been torn up one side and down the other. You can’t please everyone.

If you decide to hire an editor, remember: Your manuscript will be double spaced, which means there will be twice as many pages. A 600 page novel could cost you around $1800.00, some even more depending on what the editor charges a page.

These are the things you must know to work at your craft. But don’t let these things deter you from writing. There are books in libraries and bookstores that can teach you all of these things. Buying these books (if you want to be a serious writer) is the best thing to do. Why? Well, because you can use a yellow marker to highlight all the points of interest. Then you can use the front of the book to make page references to those markings in order to check back on them at a later date, when you need to.

You’ll need to get a copy of Writer’s Market for the current year. This has literary agents whom you can send out query letters to. Some of them allow email queries.

I wish you the best of luck!

Answer 6

Great for you!

Your teachers will probably be angry (secretly) that you've succeeded with such a project.

I used a site called "Stumbleupon," entered "writing" as one my preferences, and it shows you a lot of interesting things about writing, including agents and publishing.

Good luck and continue on!

Answer 7

Just send it to a publishing company.

Answer 8

send a manuscript to various publishing companies, and see if they will publish it.