I need advice about publishing?

There is a book you should pick up, it's called the 2012 Writer's Market. They publish a new one each year. It has in it listings for every known publisher in the US as well as a handful of over seas publishers. It also has agents to submit to, and what each of those want.

They tell you what exactly each different publishing house is looking for. Look up your genre, and it will tell you what you need to send into the house! For example, some houses want Agent only manuscripts, nothing unsolicited. Some houses want a query letter, maybe a short excerpt and a bio, others will accept unsolicited scripts! Send only what they ask for, nothing more, nothing less.

Style may also be in the book. You want it in plain font, Times New Roman or something similar, size 12, double spaced. Length is determined by the publisher.

You want to polish your work as best you can before submitting it. Imagine you submit the whole manuscript and they open to a page at random and start reading. What will they see? You want your grammar, spelling, everything to be as close to perfect as you can possibly get it. You do not need an editor before hand, though it would help to make sure you get a peer review done on your own as it will help you do your own editing.

Do NOT be surprised if you receive a rejection, but use any rejections to make your work even better! We have all been through it and learned from it! The longer the rejection letter the more promise they see in your work.

Also, if accepted, be prepared to do a full re-write, cause most places will require it.

I do not recommend online publishing for many reasons. One, you do the work of promoting the book yourself. Two, you pay for the editing to be done. Three, no advance payment. Four, online publishing does not hold clout in the industry. The books do not sell well and it is very rare to see anyone bother with giving a good review for a book online. And, statistically, they do not make it to the best seller lists.

What they look for is something they can sell. Is your work original? Does it have a good plot? Are your characters believable? Etc.

Also, check out this site: http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/writer-beware/

They have lists of agencies and publishing houses that should be avoided at all costs!

Good luck, and have fun!

1. You don't. At least not typically. The usual route is to secure an agent first. To land an agent, query them.

2. No, nor do you require it before querying an agent.

3. Sometimes - this depends on the publisher and/or the agent.

4. It's an utter joke and universally chuckled at by mainstream publishing. If you've put it online, do not submit it to a traditional publisher or agent. You'll be wasting your time and theirs.

5. Potential sales -- that is the one and only concern of mainstream publishers. If it will sell, they will buy it. For good or ill, that's the reality.

~Dr. B.~

1) check the publisher to see what they want. Most want a letter that has a few paragraphs of synopsis and then you ask if you could send them a few chapters. Others want you to send a few chapters, regardless. Typically, you send a letter to agents to get them to agree to represent you and will try to get you piece published.

2) that would be a good idea.

3) keep it short, and make it look nice. They will only want a lengthy submission if they are seriously looking at your work.

4) if it is a reputable website, then it is taken seriously.

5) That is dependant on the publisher and editor, who often work with different genres of writing. For example, you wouldn't send a historical romance novel to a publisher who only takes science fiction writers. So, do your homework.