Thursday, July 30, 2009

How on earth do i get my books published?

I have sent out a synopsis or ten, literary agents tell me that they have not got the time to read anything. "500 books a week come to this office," said one of them. Can one show chapters on the internet? One of my novels would be a great hit with younger readers 10 to 17 year olds, I know this because i let some kids read it and they begged for more. I've written 4 books and given up, both writing and sending them off to agents that kindly recycle them. I do need an editor, maybe even a co-author. My book about wife swapping is filled with secrets and agony and laughter and surprises, It's also a true story. Another is about the life of a little Bangkok prostitute, it shows why some Thai girls have little other choices, a sort of birth to now, a look at a typical bar girls world. I have put some on disc, but i keep going back and changing stuff, I supose a book is never really finished. What i need is a nice intelligent person to mark my work and even make suggestions, an old teacher

How on earth do i get my books published?
Your books must be very very good before an agent will take you on. There are 100,000 manuscripts doing the rounds of publishers and agents in the US PER YEAR! Most of them are crap, badly written, on topics that don't sell. For someone to read them, you need to write in the genre they're marketing, you need a previous histroy of publishing. If you don't, write very good short stories and submit them to magazines. On-line or vanity publishing doesn't count as history.





You can email me the first 5 pages of Chap one and I'll give you an honest appraisal for free. I won't pull any punches - if it's crap I'll tell you. If you don't want that, don't send it.
Reply:you can always try on line places such as lulu.com. Writer's Digest usually has lists of publishers for various genres.
Reply:you don't.





All the good publishers are on Mars.





Duh.
Reply:You got to have a hook, something that in the first sentence grabs the attention of the reader, its called marketing.





Try publising your first chapter on Blogspot, see what feed back you get. Make sure you indicate your copyright. Putting something on the Web doesn't mean you lose the rights to it.





Start small, the literay agent that told you they have 500 books a week to read ain't jerking your chain, its true.
Reply:If no editor will touch your work, no proofreader will gaze at it, no established company wants to give you a chance, then why not publish on your own? It might be a bit expensive in the start, but if you're lucky you'll be able to make some cash out of it.





The most important part of self-publishing, though, is getting noticed before you put the book out on the market. Make friends with those people whose sites deal with the topics of your books and have a website created where a chapter or two is posted. Advertise on those sites and see how popular your site becomes and how many people contact you requesting more. If it's a lot, then go ahead and get that book ready!


If it's not, perhaps the world just isn't prepared for your book yet.
Reply:Keep sending it to publishers - there are lots of small publishing houses out there, as well as the big ones. Or publish and market it yourself.
Reply:Do it yourself! Why make 80 cents a book when you can make $8?





www.lulu.com


www.iuniverse.com
Reply:I'm sorry you feeling gloom, but you have to keep on trying. Agents are picky and they don't have the time and day for every manuscript that comes by, unfair as it is. Just keep submitting, query letters are the best way to get an agent, or if they are any writers conventions in your area, I suggest you go there. You may have to shell out a few bucks for it, but in convention, agents and editors are likely to come. If you've written four books already, keep it up. You're off to a good start. and if you have a passion for writing, keep doing it. If people like it so much, that's one way to spur you on. Keep trying and I hope you get an agent. It's real difficult but worth it when you finally get noticed.
Reply:Print on demand publishing.


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