Getting Published

Success with a big publishing house is no easy feat. The notion that your writing might be snatched up and sold in major bookstores throughout the country is enticing. But, it’s never a bad idea to start small and work your way up, letting your work speak for itself while you continue to grow as a writer. It’s called building a reputation and in the publishing business, a good name never hurts.

Make sure that you take the time to read and absorb the previous section (Revising and Editing). When you submit a piece of writing it represents who you are as a person. When an editor or agent receives a proposal and manuscript full of grammatical errors, typos, misspellings, it’s difficult to take a writer’s work seriously. Submissions must be clean, clear, concise, and as error-free as humanly possible.

With today’s modern technological advances, the world of publishing has opened up for many writers. Online blogging and journaling is one resources that any writer can take advantage off. Furthermore, most online blogging/journaling sites are free and very easy to set up and maintain. Here is a list of free online blogging sites:

Blogger.com
Joomla
Xanga
Livejournal
Vox
Typepad
Movable Type
Myspace
bebo
hi5
blogspot.com

While the above sites can be used for personal entries (i.e. diary format) they can also be used to unleash your inner creativity. Some writers will use blogs to post poetry and chapters from books.

There are several companies that will publish your book for a fee. This does not mean that the book is distributed and/or sold. It simply means that you can see your manuscript in published format. Many people utilize this type of service for creating their own family cookbooks, genealogy reports and wedding memorabilia. Creative writers can print out a handful of copies and attempt to distribute the material themselves—going door to door if you will, in hopes of finding a mom/pop bookstore that will take a few copies (buying outright or working with consignment).

The following is a list of companies that will help you self-publish a book. Most are also found online.

There are many other self-publishing companies online. Please make sure to research each and compare pricing.

If you are a novice poet (or writer of short fiction) then submitting to a literary magazine is a wonderful place to test the publishing waters. There are hundreds of literary magazines across the country. Furthermore, most literary magazines will take submissions from a writer regardless of whether or not you have obtained an agent.

The best way to get started is to get online. www.pw.org/literary_magazines is a wonderful place to begin. The website offers a description of each magazine. Information you can obtain on this website includes:

Website information
Submission guidelines
Contact Information: where to send submissions
Genres published
Period in which they accept submissions.
Circulation
Authors who have been published in previous issues
Whether or not the magazine accepts unsolicited submissions, email submissions, simultaneous submissions, etc.
Editorial Focus
Tips / Suggestions from the Editor

There are new literary magazines every year, and many are hungry for good, solid short fiction and poetry.

Submitting your work to a writing contest is another great way to not only get published, but to add a few feathers in your reputation-cap. Winners usually have their work published and may receive a small monetary prize as well.

Be sure to follow submission guidelines to the letter. You don’t want your work tossed to the side because of a technical error.

This website is great for news about writing contests: writingcontests.wordpress.com/

Obtaining an agent is a smart move if you’re considering getting your work in print. If you are considering a more modern vehicle in which to get your work out there (i.e. online/internet publishing) then an agent may not be necessary.

Large publishing houses almost always deal with agents. Most won’t read manuscripts or proposals that have been submitted without an agent. Keep in mind that these publishing houses go through a metric ton of submissions in a day. In most cases, the editor of a publishing house will maintain contact with various agents, cluing them in on what the publishing house is interested in and what style/type of manuscripts are being considered at the moment.

The best place to start looking is the Literary Marketplace. You can usually find one at the local library (in the reference section). You will find it in bookstores, but the price is hefty (approx. $150). Find the agent section; it will list the names of agents (any specialties/genres) and information about manuscript submissions.

Remember that a legitimate agent will never take a fee up front. They will, however, deduct their fee from your earnings. For example, if you sell a book the agent may take 10% out of your earnings as a fee.