How do you get a book/story published?

If you don't write unless you are going to be published, you won't get published because you won't be getting any of the practice necessary to get to the level where you might stand a chance. If you don't enjoy writing enough to do it even if you never get anything other than enjoyment for it, then yeah, you might as well walk away now.

Don't focus on originality. There's no such thing. Just write whatever you want to write and write it as well as you can.

Here is some information to get you started:

First of all, you do not contact anybody until after your book is finished. Your ideas and unedited unfinished manuscripts are worthless.

Second, all writers should know Yog's Law: the money ALWAYS flows towards the author. Any agent who asks you for money upfront is a scammer. Any publisher who asks you for money upfront is either a scammer or a vanity press and often enough, they're both.

1/ Write your book to the highest standard. Learn all you can about the craft. Get it criticised by people who are neither your friends, family or teachers. Get your ego crushed. If they say it is terrible (and they will. All first drafts are awful), ask why. Ignore anybody who says it's great, they're not helping. Follow people's advice. Then rewrite it all. Go get crushed again. Rewrite. Then edit and edit and edit. Repeat that process as many times as you need until people are just criticising tiny unimportant details.

Keep in mind it is UNACCEPTABLE to have grammatical, punctuation or spelling errors or typos in a manuscript you submit.

2/ Research. A LOT. Research how the publishing industry works. When you know how things work, start researching for an agent. Writers' Market is there for that purpose. Find agents who cater to your genre. Do a background check on them to make sure they are legit. I suggest the forum Absolute Write to start with. These guys are very good. Also google "Agent Name + scam" and read what people are saying. Then find out their query requirements and query. Get rejected. Often. Just persevere. Eventually you might be accepted. If that is the case, move on to step 3

3/ You and your agent will probably do some more editing and then your agent will help you query publishers. Again, research publishers before querying and make sure you follow their query guidelines. Again, get rejected a lot.

4/ If you're one of the lucky few, you will be accepted. A legitimate publisher will NOT ask you for any money. In fact, they will pay YOU an advance and if your book sells well, you'll get royalties after that. If your book doesn't sell well you keep your advance and the publisher is the one who will be at a loss. That's why publishers are so hard to get. They take a big financial risk when they take you on. It also means they are much more motivated to sell your book.

The publisher will provide: editing, cover artist, formatting, printing, marketing, copyright registration if you're in the US, ISBN and distribution at a cost of ZERO to you.

The alternative is self-publishing, but I don't recommend it unless you're a talented businessman. Be aware there are free options out there (lulu.com or Amazon Kindle for example) and certainly plenty which don't cost thousands. That alternative means you are alone. You do all the work. All the marketing, all the editing, the cover art (unless you buy extra options). They just print it for you. Be wary of vanity presses posing as Print On Demand and self-publishers (again google Name + scam and ask the guys at Absolute Write.). Be aware that self-publishing also means you will probably not sell a lot of books if any. It's a great option if you just want a few copies for friends and family or a small local project (ie a History of your local parish or a book about your family's ancestors.) Be aware that self-publishing does not count as publishing credits and you would not be able to join any professional writers guild as well as being constantly reminded of the fact that your work was not selected by professionals. You will also have more trouble finding reviewers for your book as many bloggers, websites and most magazines and newspapers have a no self-published books review policy.

1) Write the story.

2) Edit the story thoroughly

3) Buy Writers Market or Writers Handbook and look for an agent

4) Submit whatever they ask for

5) They'll recommend a publisher or pitch your book to a publisher...

6) Wait, be patient.

Be aware that you may well be rejected several times before someone shows interest. Don't be disheartened if this happens though... After all Rowling was rejected several times before someone showed an interest in Harry Potter. That doesn't mean you will definitely be accepted though... You just need to persevere.

To get something published, you have to get a publishing company to read your work and like it. That is not easy. There is so much competition out there and you have to be really good. It would help you if you took writing classes also.

well you can self publish the book and sell it online or if you are old enough to go to a publisher company you will have to most likely fill out a lot of paperwork and schedule a meeting with a bunch of publishers, print copy right people, etc... it is a very complicated exercise. you should e-mail an author and ask him/her how they got their book published.

here is a website that you can go to and e-mail a really nice author.

http://www.brucecameron.com/contact

Try Amazon Kindle Direct publishing

First, you have to write. Get writers' magazines and join writing groups.Then, get the Writer's Market or look at it online. Also, there are other websites to help you with things like formatting, etc. It's best to try to get an agent. Just keep at it until you do. Good luck.

Join a local writing group or an online one, or even one on facebook. It will keep you writing and may bring up small writing competitions or opportunities to get you started again.