So, You Want Your Novel to be Published?
By
Susan Gable
First question: Is the book finished? No? Well, you have to finish the book. You can't get pubbed without a book.
If the book is finished, what kind of a book is it? Mystery? Romance? What kind of romance? Is it a paranormal romance? Romantic suspense? Contemporary or historical? Category or single title? You need to know what you've written so you can target a publisher who is looking for your kind of book. One resource here is the local bookstore: Check out the new releases in your chosen genre and see who's publishing them. The other thing you will absolutely want to check out is the latest Writer's Market, a book that lists publishers' addresses, what they're looking for, and submission instructions. Your local library might have a copy of it. There's even a Writer's Market that specializes in novels and short stories.
Have you educated yourself about craft? Do you know what a well-written book looks like? Do you know what POV is, and Showing vs. Telling? If not, do yourself a really big favor: Get yourself a copy of Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King. Don't borrow this one from a library or friend - you're going to want it within arm's length. Another book I highly recommend for the building blocks of creating a strong story is GMC: Goal, Motivation & Conflict by Deb Dixon.
Seek out other writers, particularly in your chosen genre. RWA - Romance Writers of America - helped me learn a lot about my chosen field. Internet and e-mail loops of writers are other ways to link up with people of like-minds. Yahoogroups offers many varied groups of writers.
Do you know how to properly format a manuscript? Now, we don't need to get crazy about particulars, but suffice it to say that it should have at least 1 in margins all around, be typed - DOUBLE-SPACED, and printed on white paper. There should be a header that includes your name, the ms's title, and the page number - in consecutive order. You do not restart the numbers for each new chapter. Look around on-line - there are all kinds of articles about how to format an ms.
Okay, so now your manuscript is finished, and you're convinced it's polished to a fine-shine and ready to go. Now it's time to submit. Refer back to the trusty Writer's Market. You can also find some publisher's guidelines for submission on the web. Check out their websites. Other places to check include those writer's groups. RWA offers its members market information through its publication Romance Writers Report. Some publishers accept unagented submissions, which means you can go ahead and submit your work to them yourself. Does this mean you should send them the whole thing at once? Well, that depends on what their submission guidelines ask for. If you send the whole thing, unrequested, it's going to end up in what's known as the slush pile. You're going to need to write a query letter, and a synopsis. Again, there are numerous articles on-line that deal with writing an attention-grabbing query letter as well as a synopsis.
Some publishers require that you have an agent. The agent quest is very similar. You'll need professional query letters, and you'll need to do a lot of research first. There's a Writer's Guide to Literary Agents. Not all agents represent all types of books. Be sure to target agents who deal with your type of writing.
Now, you pop your query according to the submission guidelines (or your partial - 3 chapters and a synopsis - and don't forget the SASE for the reply!) into the mail, and you wait. (And possibly wait, and wait, and wait.) While you wait, get to work on the next book. It will make the time go faster, and give you something to submit once you hear back on the first one.
Don't forget this cardinal rule: If a publisher/agent asks YOU, the author, for money, run the other way. Money flows TO the author, not FROM the author. If someone says you show promise, but you need to have someone professional edit your book before they can consider it, and by jingo, you're in luck, they just happen to have someone they recommend to do that kind of thing - run the other way. Same thing goes with an agent. If they ask you to pay them a fee to read your ms, run the other way. If they recommend you get someone to help you "fix it up," and by jingo, they just happen to have some they know who can help you out, run the other way. If you get a letter in the mail that says your poem has been selected to be published in an anthology, and all you have to do is buy a copy of this wonderful book for just $45.99 (or whatever) - run the other way. There are many scams out there, many people looking to bilk the unsuspecting, hopeful writer out of his/her money. Ask around. Check things out.
Persevere. Quitters don't win - especially when it comes to getting a book published. It can be a long, tough road.
But it's worth it when you get that call from a publisher, saying they want to buy your book.
Good luck!