Is it hard to get a book published?

Question

Does being a teen make any difference?

Answer 1

2 months is a drop in the proverbial bucket. It can take two years. Often longer. Yes, it is often about who you know. The top ten publishers simply will not deal with authors anymore. Anything that doesn't come in through an agent is slush roomed and eventually destroyed.

The thing is they just get way too much material. Sadly, eventually publishers and agents are going to have to hire more personnel to handle the mail and that is going to end up being added on to their agent fee of 15%. What choice do they have? That irks authors because eventually published authors are going to be footing the bill for all the junk publishers and agents get. Sad, but true.

Being a teen has a difference in that your parents have to become active in negotiations and contract signings. They also have to hire some kind of a literary attorney to set up a trust for your royalties.

You must understand that even traditional publishing can be expensive. SMART authors hire editors before they show their book to agents and publishers. Editors do more than just dot your I's and cross your T's. They give you margin notes. They tell you where to change the pacing of the book, where more detail is needed, where to cut parts out that are superfluous. Most of today's editors have worked for publishers and agents. They KNOW the business. They know what publishers are looking for. They know how to change a so-so written book with a good story line into a great book. Trust them. They can triple your chances of getting published - at least. However they cost money. Expect to pay between 3 and 5 dollars a page based on 250 words per page.

What I hear from novice authors is "I don't need one. I write great. I can edit it on my own". You can't. In all of the history of publishing, there has only been one author who required no editing. His name was O Henry. He was in debtors prison writing stories and sending them to magazines under his pen name and they were printed verbatim. Every author from Fitzgerald to Hemingway to Hawthorne to Poe to Faulkner et al has been edited.

So start saving your pennies. When you have done at least 3 drafts of your book, send it to an editor. Let that editor work editorial magic. They will change nothing. They will simply send it back to you with suggestions. Then do your 4th draft using their suggestions and it is ready to send in.

You should know you are going to be edited anyway if you happen to sell the book. However once you sign a standard author's contract, the publisher takes over. All editing - as well as the choosing of a title - is put into their hands and you as the author have absolutely zero say in it. I would prefer to do the bulk of my editing while I still maintained control. After a while, you start learning from your editor. When they make corrections, you remember them. You remember the way they teach you to do things. And in the subsequent books, it becomes easier because you and your editor know how to work together better. There are grammatical things I used to do that have been drilled into my head now. It saves me a lot of time because I don't make those mistakes anymore.

Especially as a teen, an editor is the best way to go. Because you lack the life experience of older authors and you probably haven't gotten through a full education yet, so you will make mistakes. Of the teenage authors who make it, I would venture to say most have editors. Why take that chance? Hire an editor and send out a manuscript you can be proud of.

As for self publishing, I recommend you not do it. You will find you sell about 2/3 as many books as you have family and friends or roughly 100 copies. Follow "Uncle Jim's Law" = in publishing the money is supposed to flow toward the author not away from him. Self publishing will just eat up your money and leave you with nothing but a box of books to sell on your own.
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They're, Their, There - Three Different Words.

Careful or you may wind up in my next novel.

Pax - C

Answer 2

See i am a teen and i have been trying to publish my book i've been writing it for almost 2 months Its not hard just find the right person to publish and Age never matters

Answer 3

Getting a book published is extremely difficult and quite often you must self publish your first book (which can run up to $50,000). Often publisher will send back your manuscript with a very nice rejection letter. I have found that if you do self publish, find a printer and only purchase about 300-350 copies initially, just in case it doesn't sell well. Then you are out a minimal amount instead of paying for 1000 books that don't sell. Also be careful which book stores you approach with regards to carrying your books, as quite often they take a rather large amounts of the profits to sell your book. You may need some other advice, so just be careful you don't get taken.

Answer 4

Your age shouldn't make much of a difference. If the writing is of good quality and you work hard enough at it, you can probably find a publisher. Just don't make the mistake that a number of people I know have made - they write for the purpose of getting published, not for the sake of writing. If you love to write, go for it. But don't just put words on paper for the sake of trying to get your name out there.

Answer 5

Age does make a differnce? There are some publishers who are very reluctant to accept anything written by youngsters. Apart from lack of genuine quality, originality is another issue.

Often the work done by teens is accused of plagiarism, and such charges are often proved. You must have heard about Kavya R. If not google search her name. This is a huge loss for publishers they are not willing to take.

TW K

Answer 6

Age does not make a difference. The author of "Less than Zero" was very young. F. Scott Fitzgerald was also very young when he published his first book.

Write the book and focus on publishing it when you have a finished work. Pick up "Publishing for Idiots". It has a lot of information and a cd which gives you templates for writing your cover letters and a list of agents.

Write first, edit, proofread, re-write and then think about publishing. The work is what is important.

Answer 7

Publishers are deluged with material by would-be writers, and most of it is dreck. They almost never buy something submitted "over the transom," meaning manuscripts submitted by authors without agents. They rely on agents to screen out the junk, and show them work with potential.

Start by submitting to small or local presses or magazines, then get an agent.

Answer 8

Yes and no.

If you are a dedicated person, talented, creative, and willing to sacrifice large portions of your life just to see your ideas put to print, regardless of how much you earn, yes, it is easy to be published.

If you are not, it is most difficult and really you will rely on dumb luck, like Christopher Paolinni, author of Eragon, who lucked out in having his mom publish his little novel.

Answer 9

Yeah it can be really hard, but if your a persistent and you never quit trying it will happen for you!
Good Luck!

Answer 10

yes