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As you're finishing up the final touches on your book, you may be considering publication as your next step. Sending your work to an agent or publishing house can be intimidating if you're not sure how to go about it. Read on for some tips on how to publish a novel.
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Novel Publishing Tips
- Familiarize yourself with the market.
- Research publishers in your genre.
- Research agents.
- Write a query letter.
- Don't let rejection stand in your way.
- Once accepted, sit down with a lawyer and review your contract.
- Have your next project already rolling.
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Introduction
- Congratulations! You've labored for months, possibly even years, and your novel is finally complete. You've workshopped it to death, edited to perfection and feel confident that you're ready to take the next step: publication. You've probably heard all about how impossible publishing is, or how editors only look for big names to produce best-selling titles, very rarely even reading manuscripts submitted by new authors. Maybe you're not sure where to even start, and chances are you have a lot of questions.
- Publishing can be intimidating, but with a little research and careful planning you'll come across as serious and professional to the people you want to consider your work. If you're ready to try breaking into the business, this page will provide you with a few pointers.
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Step 1: Research Publishing and the Market
- Before you can go about publishing your novel, you need to know a bit more about the publishing industry. Here are a few things you will definitely want to look into before you even start putting together your query letters and submissions packets.
- Visit your local library's resource section for writers. Rainwater Press: Publishing
- Read as many books as you can get your hands on about things like publishing, agents, query letters and proposals. Rainwater Press: Publishing
- Browse through The Literary Marketplace (LMP) to find contact information for publishers. Rightreading.com: How to Get a Book Published
- Check out the Writer's Market guides for the current year. They also have a convenient online Writer's Market for subscribers to log into from home. Writer's Market
- If you're still a student, consider working or interning in the publishing industry to get a handle on how it the process works. Rightreading.com: How to Get a Book Published
- Research the market.
- Visit local bookstores and browse through books that are similar to yours. Jackie French: How to Get Published
- Write down the publisher and editor information. Jackie French: How to Get Published
- Get on the Internet and check their website to find out whether or not you'll need an agent to submit.
- If the publisher is not on the web, write to them directly and request their writer's guidelines. Writing-World.com: Ten Steps to Publishing Your Novel
- It is very important that when you do contact a publisher for submissions guidelines that you don't even mention your current project. As much as you want to get your book into the right hands, going about it the wrong way will only land your manuscript in the recycle pile unread.
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What an Agent Can Do for You
- A lot of publishing companies won't accept unsolicited manuscripts or materials to cut down on the mediocre or less-than-worthy submissions. Rightreading.com: How to Get a Book Published
- Agents tend to be more educated about the business and the market, which means they do all of the legwork for you. Rightreading.com: How to Get a Book Published
- A good agency will protect you from a publisher that wants to exploit you. The Richmond Review: How to Get Published
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How to Go About Getting an Agent
- If you feel you need representation to help get your book published, there are a few steps you'll need to take.
- Just as you searched the market for publishers, you'll need to search for agents.
- Browse through annual publications that list agents and their guidelines, like Writer's Digest's annual publication Guide to Literary Agents or The Writer's Guide to Publishers, Editors and Literary Agents by Jeff Herman. Official Site: Guide to Literary Agents Jeff Herman Agency: The Writer's Guide to Publishers, Editors and Literary Agents
- Subscribe to an online database like Publisher's Marketplace, Authorlink or Agent Query. Publisher's Marketplace Authorlink Agent Query: Agent Query
- Attend writers conferences and visit with as many agents as you can. Take their card and follow through if one tells you they'd like to see your work. Writer's Digest: The Conference Scene
- Remember that a legitimate agent will very rarely charge a reading fee to check out your work. SFWA.org: Literary Agents
- Once you've found an agent you would like to contact, write a query letter explaining your interest in working with them. Jack King: Getting Your Book Published
- It may take awhile before you hear from an agent after your query. Be tactful and professional in your follow-up inquiry. Right-Writing.com: The Three Hard Truths About Agents
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Step 3: The Query
- Whether you are going it alone or trying to procure an agent, at some point you're going to have to query. The query letter is your first pitch to a publisher or agent, asking if they might be interested in seeing the full package. How well your query is written will show how much research you've done in the market and how serious you are about publishing. Here are some tips on creating the perfect query:
- Every publisher and agent is going to want something different, so read the guidelines before you even start to put your query together. The Hal Spacejock Series: How to Write the Perfect Query Letter
- Start out with what is known as 'the hook'.
- The hook is a brief blurb about the overall plot of your book meant to hook the interest of an agent or editor. Agent Query: How to Write a Query
- Write a short synopsis (between one and two paragraphs long) detailing the plot of your novel. Jack King: Getting Your Book Published
- Provide a short biography covering the basics about your history and qualifications as a writer. Crawford Kilian: Writing a Query Letter About Your Novel (116 KB)
- Avoid personal or unrelated information.
- Proofread for spelling or grammar errors.
- Be sure to send return postage and an envelope so they can reply to your query. About.com: How to Find a Literary Agent
- Do your best to keep this initial query down to one page. Right-Reading.com: How to Get a Book Published
- Maintain a professional tone at all times. Agent Query: How to Write a Query
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Step 4: Submission
- Congratulations! Your query letter sparked interest and the agent or publisher you contacted would like to see more. When submitting a manuscript, there are a few important details you'll want to address to make sure you continue to appear professional and serious.
- Review manuscript formatting, and make sure yours is in perfect order. Writing World: A Quick Guide to Formatting Your Manuscript
- Some agents and publishers will request a partial manuscript, for example, the first three and the final chapters only. Send only what they ask for, and nothing more. Jack King: Getting Your Book Published
- Prepare a proposal based on what they have asked for.
- Include a two to three page synopsis pinpointing the most important plot points. Writing World: How to Write a Synopsis
- Write about the audience and market you feel your book would appeal to. SoYouWanna.com: So You Wanna Publish A Book
- Proofread everything and make sure it is concise.
- Include a self-addressed stamped envelope for them to use when they reply.
- Now it's time to play the waiting game. Hearing from an agent or publisher can take anywhere from a few weeks to six months or more. Writing-World.com: Ten Steps Toward Finding a Book Publisher
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Step 5: Handling Rejection
- Rejection is every writer's bane, but don't let it get you down. Most editors and agents won't even tell you why your manuscript was rejected, so there's no sense in trying to understand or figure it out.
- Don't get discouraged or take rejection personally. Writing-World.com: 10 Steps Toward Finding a Book Publisher
- Send your manuscript on to the next publisher or agent on your list. Writing-World.com: 10 Steps Toward Finding a Book Publisher
- If it has been repeatedly rejected, take some time to look over your manuscript with a critical eye and see if you can improve it before sending it out again. Jackie French: How to Get Your First Novel Published
- If you were lucky enough to get advice from the editor or agent who looked over your work, follow it!
- Remember that being rejected is not the end of your career as a writer. Right-Writing.com: Rejecting Rejection
- Getting rejected is just like learning to ride a horse. If you get bucked off, pick yourself up, dust off and get back in the saddle. Almost every well-established author will tell you that perseverance saw them through those dark days of rejection.
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Step 6: Acceptance and Contracts
- If you are one of the lucky ones who hears a positive response from an agent or publisher, congratulations! The next step is negotiating your contract to make sure you get a fair deal.
- Most agent contracts will request ten to fifteen percent of the profit base once they sell your novel to a publisher. SoYouWanna.com: so You Wanna Publish a Book
- Agent contracts are generally about two pages long, and, according to SoYouWanna.com, often don't require a lawyer to look over them. SoYouWanna.com: so You Wanna Publish a Book
- If you are represented by an agent, never agree to anything behind your agent's back. Tara K. Harper: Negotiating Contracts
- If you do have an agent, they will do most of your contract negotiating to get the best deal possible for both of you from the publisher.
- If you don't have an agent, you may want to seek legal counsel to help you understand and negotiate your publishing contract. Tara K. Harper: Negotiating Contracts
- Here are a couple of key things to take into consideration when negotiating:
- Ownership rights (who owns the rights to the book).
- Copyright ownership (whose name the copyright will be under).
- Author royalties (how much money you will make from the deal). Ivan Hoffman: The Ten Key Negotiating Points in an Author-Publisher Agreement
- If you're not happy with the contract, don't be afraid to ask if it is negotiable. The answer is often no, but it still never hurts to ask. Writing-World.com: Understanding Contracts
- Keep in mind that you are a writer, not a lawyer. While you may not want to hire legal counsel to help you make heads or tales of your contract, not doing so could come back to bite you later on. Always make sure you know exactly what it is you are agreeing to before you sign a legally binding contract.
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Conclusion
- Whether you are planning to work with an agent or braving the world of publishing all alone, perseverance is the key ingredient to success. Publishing is a competitive market driven by trends that change with the winds, so keep this in mind and don't let rejection get you down. Continue to study the market so you are always aware of these shifts, but most important keep writing and keep submitting.
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