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Alrighty then.

~Anecdote~

Not to brag, never to brag--but I recently finished my (*coughhugefreakinglongtotallyawesomegomecough*) novel. And before that, I had written another one--this was years ago. So after both novels, I, influenced no doubt by the great twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl, decided to go ahead and try for publishing.

So with some help from a fellow writer, a wonderful mother of four who lent me Writer's Market 2006, when I was 13 I worked my a** off and sent a letter to Bloomsbury, which is very respected and has published many lovely books, including (if I'm not mistaken) Harry Potter in the US. I still have my rejection letter--they don't publish children's writing. At the time I was offended, btu I realize now that the editor really liked it, because she wrote more than a line or two and offered some advice.

But, rambling on.

The point is, I discovered early on just how getting a book published works. I got, in fact, through everything that's supposed to be the hard part, the research, the query letter--and of course, the actual writing. I'm in the know. wink

/anecdote.

So, a lot of people were asking me to put up a guide or something, and here I am! And here you are. If you want to know just how you publish a book, then (if you're willing to read a lot and ignore the know-it-all Kirby tone) read on.

Sources:
-Writer's Market, published annually by Writer's Digest
-The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Published by Sherri something and Jessica something, editors and stuff.
-a hell of a time experimenting and trying it out.

Contents:
Post 1: Intro
2: First steps
3: If you want an agent and the benefits thereof
4: If you don't want an agent and the benefits thereof
5: After that.

*NOTE* I do not know everything. I can't tell you anything much about after you get accepted. Nor can I guarantee that you will be accepted from reading this--it's just a how-to. sweatdrop

AGENTS!

The benefits of an agent:

-A common misconception is that you pay them. Well, YOU DO NOT PAY AN AGENT UP FRONT. They take 10-15% of your royalties, or your overall sales, I'm not sure. Point is, you have nothign to lose. They MAY send you an office fee if they can't sell the book--bout $100-200, not too sure, but not much really--but that money will just come out of your paycheck in the future if they do sell it. So see--no worrying about cash.

-An agent knows EVERYTHING about the publishing business. You wouldn't want to be your own lawyer, would you? No, because lawyers know how to work the system. Well, an agent is like a writer's lawyer. All of the stuff involved with publishing is complicated and hard to truly, fully udnerstand...best to get someone who already does.

-an agent NEEDS you, just as a publisher NEEDS them. They WANT you, and they practically dream of that novel that will get them their nice wad of cash--and it could be yours. Don't ever think they don't want you--an agent always wants a book if its in the proper genre and you follow the rules.

-An agent always takes simultaneous submissions--which means sending several query letters at a time. (The query letter is what you send to request that they read your book.) Trust me, it's so much better to just send them all at once in a nice little email than to wait four months, get rejected, and send another letter out again. s.s.'s are your best friend if you're impatient, which you probably are in this case.

-An agent knows who wants what when. You cannot possibly know this even with Writer's Market and such devices; but they do. They can worm your book into windows of opportunity that you would never have seen before.

-An agent is the only way to get to just the right publisher, sometimes.

-Editors are nicer to agents; the agents can provide you with very detailed rejection letters that will help you immensely if you read them. Without an agent, you get two lines, max. (I was lucky and got three paragraphs, but that was rare.)

-And an agent is more willing to work with you to make your book better. They need it to be its best too. Any help you can get with your book, you want, trust me on this. We think our book is perfect, adn we edited it until it was sanctified, but it is never perfect.

Now, the agent steps:

1. If you want an agent, research agents! research research research until you have at least fiveish that you want. Make sure they're right for you; check genres, availability, and check out their websites to see what kind of tone and sense of humor they have.

2. Write them a query letter convincing them that your book is what will get them the big bucks. More on query letters in the last post.

3. If they accept you, WOOO! Now go to the last post.

I do believe this is the last one I will need. o:

this goes here



Now for the fun part! QUERY LETTERS. This is the step that makes you want to hit yourself with a hammer. Basically it's like beginning a novel all over again, only you HAVE to hook them with the first few lines, you absolutely have to. And you can't be as creative as with your own work. I said step 1 is the hardest, and it is, but this one is right up there next to it.

The problem with query letters is that you MUST follow the rules. The rules are described extensively in that book I told you about, and in Writer's Market, so I won't go into full detail here. Suffice it to say that you want it to be neat, clean, and standard--no gimics, scented paper, special fonts, etc. And no sending anything but that one sheet of paper--query letters may NEVER be longer than one page--or else it'll all be thrown away.

To write it...well, I don't know the way to write a perfect formula letter. Tis why you need those books. The basic idea, though, is to describe you, your book, and why you're the only one who can write it--credentials and stuff. Keep it professional, and create a pleasant, businesslike, and most of all, attention-getting first few sentences to convince the weary half-asleep editor/agent to read on.

Never say never. I read a article written by a published author(I forget who), she describes in great detail how to get an agent and how to write a query letter. A query letter can be up to five pages and still be accepted.