Follow The Yellow Brick Road To : Book Publishing

By Author: Rose DesRochers
Total Articles: 22
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So you have written something great and you wish to see it published. I suggest joining writing groups first and start seeking feedback that can help your career as a writer. It is most likely mom and dad are telling you that your writing is the greatest thing since Steven King and maybe it is but it doesn't hurt to get some feedback from your fellow writers. Now once you are ready to take that plunge into the deep oceans of writing and see your writing published for the first time the best place to start is magazines and those looking for calls for submission.

There are over 100 publishers listed on Today's Woman website looking for stories and poetry. You are going to want to purchase a copy of Writer's Market that is published annually. This is an essential book for writers who are interested in publishing their work.

You are also going to want to reach your market. You are going to want to see just what kind of stories the magazine publishes as often time's magazines will receive stories that is just not right for their magazine. Each publisher will have guidelines to follow. If you are looking to see ...
... your book published some publishers will want you to send them your entire manuscript, while others may only want a query letter outlining your book proposal, some may wish to see a chapter from the book. If you're sending a full manuscript or sample chapters, always include a

S.A.E. (Self Addressed Envelope) with your submission.

Present a cover letter that is professional. Offer your short stories for publication in their magazines, be sure to list your other publications if any and thank the editor for considering your work for possible publication. I suggest doing a Google search for query letter to give you some examples. If you are submitting by email make sure that you follow the guidelines on the website.

Stories posted on your website are they Personal or Publication?

In some cases magazines will consider a story posted on your website or an open community to be already published. Therefore you will not be able to claim first rights to it and most magazines; newspapers etc will not accept it as submission. This will differ from publisher to publisher and it is a very grey topic. I suggest if you are submitting work that has already appeared in the web for publication, mention in the cover letter the forum's where the story has been posted and let the editor make an informed decision.

Simultaneous Submissions?

There is a great debate in the writing community regarding simultaneous submissions. I have had a few interesting discussion myself. Some feel that it is the only way to get published quickly others feel that it could lead to a bad reputation for you as a writer. This being that publisher 1 will invest time in to reading your manuscript, only to find later it has been accepted by publisher 2. I do encourage writers if you are going to use simultaneous submission , the best thing to do is to be upfront in your query letters to publishers that you are doing this.

Look over the contract

Many first-time writers are so excited to just be published that they sign their name on anything without fully reading the contract. With out carefully reading over the contract you could sign yourself into a contract where for the next seven years you are bound to it and your publisher is reaping the rewards. Do not get trapped into this loop hole. Make sure you do an in depth check into the background of any publisher.

Once you send off your manuscript now the fun comes. You sit and wait. How long does it take? It could take from 8-10 weeks to 8-10 months. Don't be discouraged by rejections, every writer gets rejected. Even Steven king was rejected. One published author say's every story, on average, must be submitted to 100 markets before it is accepted. You are going to want to no about rights, like first serial rights etc. However that is another topic. Getting published isn't easy. The editors get thousands of unsolicited manuscripts all the time. However don't give up. Start at the bottom and work up. I know some very talented writers who still aren't published. They've been trying for years. Writing is all about creating a name for yourself and that takes time.

If you are really eager about having your book published you may wish to consider Self -publishing or Pod publishing. If you are considering this I suggest developing a budget of how much you want to spend on printing your book. You are going to want to shop around and look at the different prices of pod publishers or printing companies.If you are going to go the self-publishing route you are going to need your own ISBN number and cover designer. In Canada you can get an ISBN number through CollectionsCanada . If your looking for a print on demand publisher Books and Tales offers a Guide to Print on Demand Publishers. You can also check out InstantPublisher if you want to start on a small budget. A Quick and easy bookbinding for writers and others who want to see their words in print is GigaBooks Remember self-publishing is just what it says self-publishing you do all the marketing, advertising, distribution, and sales.

It might be good to get some writing credits under your name before you think big. Whatever you decide to do, I wish you much success.


About the Author

Rose DesRochers  is a published author and web columnist from Canada
Ontario and she is also the founder of Today's Woman 
http://www.todays-woman.net  a
community for men and women over 18, where writers/poets/columnists meet and
exchange ideas, contest, rate and review and help each other succeed in the
writing industry.