Four main ways of getting published Part 1

I'm going to cover the four main avenues I've looked at in my quest to get published.

Back in 1999 I started writing a book. Two years later, a finished (or so I thought) novel later, I started looking around to get it published.

Of course, I tried the 'normal' avenues first.

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Traditional Publishing The Publisher pays for everything and sometimes (less often these days) pays the author an advance on Royalties.

For a Trad-Pub (Traditional Published) deal, you would probably expect to get 7% of PROFITS on book sales - sometimes more, sometimes less - around $0.25c on every book sold. The Publisher and your Agent will sort out printing, promotion, book sales and book tours - but not always.

You have a finished novel in your hand (or USB stick) and you want to get it into a book format. How do you go about this?

You are going to need a synopsis. Start it early, it will take a lot of your time.

Then you have a few questions to ask.

Which genre does it fall into?

If your book is a zombie apocalypse story, mixed with vampires and mythological mayhem, I can bet Mills & Boone are not going to be interested so don't waste their time. Yes, I did say their time because Publishers and at least their employees do get together and you can bet a faux-pas like that will be remembered and friends will be regaled with that story.

How big is it?

My book was way too big as a debut novel at 200,000 words, 65,000 - 75,000 is adequate, try to aim for that.

Novellas (around 40,000 - 60,000) are more difficult to place, so be aware of that too.

You can always target magazines with shorter stories and obviously the payments are lesser, but if you get a magazine to pay to publish your short story, it will look great in your covering letter when you send in a novel to an Agent.

Don't fall into the trap of putting your short stories into an Anthology because they can often be a scam to get you to buy books. See this post for a little info on that. Competition Post

These questions should be easy. You wrote the book - what category does it fall in and how many words. These are all pieces of information you're going to need when you write or email an Agent or Publisher.

Then you need to do your research.

Do not skimp on this part, it's VITAL!

Go to the library or a large book shop and take a look at other books in your genre. Look on the title page of the book, (inside the front cover) see who published them.

Then more research. See if you can find an agent or two for the authors that are published by them. Sometimes, an Agent will put a call out for submissions - keep an eye out for those.

Follow their directions for submissions to the letter.

Usually they want a covering letter, a synopsis and your manuscript (or part of it).

The Writer's and Artist's Yearbook is a great source of information. (Also a wonderful source for magazines and newspapers who may be looking for writers).

Again, it is vital that you do your research. An Agent may be approached but only once you've made sure they are a good fit for your book. Follow the directions. Don't just email out of the blue, you'll be dismissed out of hand and possibly blocked if you make a nuisance of yourself.

Email if you're allowed, write a snail-mail if they prefer that.

Once you're invited to send your work, go to the expense of sending a printed copy of your manuscript. Don't expect the Agent or Publisher to foot the expense of printing out your MS (manuscript).

Send the copy of your MS, your Synopsis and your Covering letter. Look on Google for formats of covering letters and synopsis if you don't know how to set them out properly.

Make sure the MS is set out in the format stated in your invitation to apply. That means title on the first page, double-spaced, title on all pages at the top, author's name on all pages and all pages numbered.

Send a return addressed and stamped envelope because they won't want to pay to send it back and if you're not successful, you will have to print it out again.

Expect to get your manuscript back - a LOT.

Although this method of publishing is great when you've made your name, for a debut author it can seem like you're going to get next to nothing for your book.

The chances of achieving this sort of deal is slim to none these days because Publishers want to see what you're made of before they take a chance on you. That means showing your social media platforms, who you have following you, how you interact with your fans and reviewers.

Yes, they WILL stalk your FB, Twitter, Blogs and Instagram accounts to see what you're about - you'll be an investment, why wouldn't they? So be VERY aware of how you conduct yourself on the public platforms. Not joking. Not even slightly!

I realise this post is a lot of Doom and Gloom but there's no way I want to fill you with anything like false hope. It's a tough business to get a place in and it's just as difficult to stay there.

Don't write to an Agent or Publisher until you have a finished and polished novel (or at least edited to the best of your ability/finances will allow).

If you're worried someone is going to steal your manuscript, you can always send yourself a copy. Put the printed email into an envelope, don't seal it and take it to the Post Office.

Tell the Post Master what you're wanting to do and show them the MS. Seal the envelope in front of the Post Master, get him/her to seal and sign and then send it REGISTERED post to yourself.

Your manuscript will then have a date and official seal. When it arrives at your house DO NOT OPEN IT!

My husband ran a publishing business over the past seven years so feel free to ask questions.

Pictures from Google and Amazon