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Getting Published: Step 1

Philip Overby

Staff
Article Team
So, we all know you first need to write a book. Edit it. Revise it. Maybe let a beta reader give it a once over. But then what do you do?

Let's post some thoughts about what the first step should be after you've finished your bright, edited, shiny, hopeful novel. I'd like to see if there is a consensus or if there are tons of varying views.
 

Ireth

Myth Weaver
Start looking up agents or publishing houses (if going the traditional route). Focus on your genre to narrow down the list. Some agents and publishers don't accept unsolicited submissions, so that'll narrow your search as well. Once you've got a bunch lined up, start at the top and work your way down.
 
I'm assuming you're talking about "What do you do next if you want to get traditionally published," because I can tell you what I did after I finished my bright, shiny novel ;)
 

Lorna

Inkling
Once I've got my WIP up to the highest standard I can alone I'm going to send it off for a professional critique from this site, recommended by my local writing hub.

Helpful, affordable manuscript reviewing service.

It costs £199 for two reviewers to critique an 80,000 word novel.

I'll probably end up doing another rewrite, and possibly getting it professionally critiqued again, depending on how terrible the reviewers think my original draft was, then I'm going to start looking for an agent.

The reason I've made these decisions is that I'm a first time novelist with little critical experience or knowledge of the genre and publishing companies and I do not possess a business head at all. I'd rather spend a bit of money on perfecting my product and pay an agent to help me find a publisher than mess up because of my lack of experience.
 

Caged Maiden

Staff
Article Team
I'd recommend writing a few really awesome Query letters. It was a huge confidence boost to me when I sent a query and they asked for 35k words.
 
Ya know...these sorts of questions come up all the time - strategies to get noticed or a foot in the door etc.

Forget it. Put ALL your focus into writing an unbelievably brilliant book.

After 20 years of writing, the one big thing I've learned about publishing is this...if you have the right product, it's easy to get published. If you don't it's impossible.
 

Philip Overby

Staff
Article Team
I think what I was suggesting in the OP is not so much about marketing or any of that. More along the lines of "OK, I finished my book. What do I do next?"

Some may go the self-publishing route, but for those that want to submit somewhere, what should they do next? I think what some have suggested as far as making cover letters, queries, etc. seems to be solid advice.

This question has an ulterior motive in a way, as I'm hoping to finish my novel by October and I wanted to know what I should do after finishing the book. As far as submitting, finding an agent, or whatever.
 

TWErvin2

Auror
Once you have your novel finished--polished and in the best shape it can be...

If you already haven't dones so, research appropriate agents/markets to send your novel off too. Find out their requirements, and work on that query letter, cover letter and brief synopsis.

Send the query letters off, or submission package off.

Then, while you're waiting for a response, begin working on your next novel!
 

Telcontar

Staff
Moderator
Whether you intend to pursue traditional publishing or self-publishing, your next step should be to work on your story summary and blurbs.

Encapsulating your brilliant 80k word novel into a three-hundred word summary is hard. You need to practice. You need to write several versions. You need to let other people read them and tell you what they think, just like you did with the book itself.

If you want to trade-publish, you can then adapt the finished summary into your query letter (make sure to read the agent submission guidelines for exactly how!). If you decide to self-publish, that summary and blurb will be the second thing (after a cover) that people see of your book, and one of the main tools you use to hook them. Get it right.
 
You actually don't need to finish and polish the novel before you start submitting queries. Usually those who you'd send queries to (agents, editors) are interested in looking at the first couple of chapters before they want to see more, and as far as I know it's not a problem if it'll be months before the rest is ready to send to them. If they liked the first couple of chapters, they'll keep it on file in anticipation of whatever else you'll send later.

@Lorna: Have you had any friends/family critique your writing yet? You might be able to get some good advice (for less than £200) that can help you out. My main concern with paying for critiques is this: How do you know that the critique is going to be accurate or helpful? Is there any way to judge the critics' track record?
 

Ireth

Myth Weaver
You actually don't need to finish and polish the novel before you start submitting queries. Usually those who you'd send queries to (agents, editors) are interested in looking at the first couple of chapters before they want to see more, and as far as I know it's not a problem if it'll be months before the rest is ready to send to them. If they liked the first couple of chapters, they'll keep it on file in anticipation of whatever else you'll send later.

I've never yet seen an agent or publisher who didn't specifically state that they were looking for complete, polished manuscripts. It seems a bit premature in my mind to send out pieces of an unfinished work, especially if your query package includes a synopsis of what the whole story will be like. Sometimes you can't predict how a novel will change and grow in the telling, and then your synopsis might turn out to be useless since it doesn't reflect the story accurately anymore.
 

T.Allen.Smith

Staff
Moderator
Benjamin Clayborne said:
You actually don't need to finish and polish the novel before you start submitting queries. Usually those who you'd send queries to (agents, editors) are interested in looking at the first couple of chapters before they want to see more, and as far as I know it's not a problem if it'll be months before the rest is ready to send to them. If they liked the first couple of chapters, they'll keep it on file in anticipation of whatever else you'll send later.

Some submission packages ask for the beginning chapter, 30 pages that you consider a defining moment, and the ending.... There's all sorts of submission requests. Because of this, having a completed manuscript is preferred.
 

TWErvin2

Auror
You actually don't need to finish and polish the novel before you start submitting queries. Usually those who you'd send queries to (agents, editors) are interested in looking at the first couple of chapters before they want to see more, and as far as I know it's not a problem if it'll be months before the rest is ready to send to them. If they liked the first couple of chapters, they'll keep it on file in anticipation of whatever else you'll send later.

I'm one who also disagrees with this suggestion.

You're going to send the first three chapters and a synopsis of a novel that isn't finished? How close to finished would you suggest? I guess if you had the novel well outlined and you were experienced in novel writing and don't stray from the outline, it'd be possible.

How does an author know they'll have time to complete and polish the novel before a request for the full mansucript is made? An author generally only gets one shot for each project with an agent/publisher. Who would want to reply to the request along the lines of: "I am 3/4 finished with the novel mansucript you're requesting and have yet to send it out to beta readers and get it polished, but the minute it's complete I'll send it to you." Or, just say nothing and 3 or 4 or more months after the request, get around to sending the completed novel. What message would that send to the agent/editor?

Changes in a novel's middle, for example, can have ripple effects throughout the plot, including the first three chapters (or 50 pages). It can alter the end of the novel, and thus, the accuracy of the original sysnopsis.

Can one accurately gauge how long it will take for an agent/publisher to request a full mansucript? Can one accurately estimate how long it will take to complete and polish a mansucript? What if something interrupts and delays completion of said manuscript?

Beyond that, some publishers request the full manuscript right off the bat, including a synopsis and cover letter.

I think it's bad advice to suggest it is a good or reasonable idea to send queries and submission packages to agents/editors, who are expecting a novel to ready should they be interested.

Part of the problem is that writers early in their career are an unknown commodity. Completing a novel--a really good/compelling novel--is not something that every writer that has set out to do, actually manages.

I guess in the query or submission package, it could be noted that the novel isn't finished. But I bet that would torpedo consideration based on the paragraph above.

I do know several authors who have novels under their belt who can and have pitched proposals, a sysnopsis with the initial chapters through their agent to editors and get contracts. But they have a successful track record of completing solid novels--ones that have sold well and turned a profit for the publishers. An untested, first time author won't get that consideration, unless they can some how demonstrate a solid readership ahead of time.

It's been suggested that this thread is for published authors, but self-published authors have some similiarities in what comes next. Wouldn't it be an equally bad idea to self-publish a novel before it's ready for the reading public to see? Although not exactly comparing apples to apples, I'll still ask, Why would an editor/agent be any different than the reading public?

If getting traditionally published is important, I think it's best to finish the novel. Sure, it may delay the submitting process by several months (or maybe a bit more), but in the big scheme of a writing career, that isn't much. And, while that first novel's queries are out there, working to find it a home, the author can be productive working on completing another novel.
 

Lorna

Inkling
@ Benjamin

Have you had any friends/family critique your writing yet? You might be able to get some good advice (for less than £200) that can help you out. My main concern with paying for critiques is this: How do you know that the critique is going to be accurate or helpful? Is there any way to judge the critics' track record?

Yes, I'm a member of a local writer's group where we share readings and give feedback but that's not the same as textual critique. My mum's helped me out alot and a couple of friends have read some of it, giving honest opinions and highlighting confusion.

However, it's one thing to ask people to listen in to a chapter, or read and critique a couple of chapters and another to critique a whole manuscript.

It takes me an hour to read 30 pages. If my manuscript is 250 pages long that's 8 1 /2 hours. To read in depth enough to give a critique could take 2 - 3 times as long. Say 22 hours? Then there's the time spent writing up the critique- 3 pages and another page of marks on character, plot etc. Another 3 hours work? That's 25 hours. If the price for two critiques is £199 that means each critic receives £100 for 25 hours work. That's £4 an hour. Way under minimum wage.

Could be good value? Or perhaps the critique wouldn't be the standard I want? I don't know. But at present this seems like the best option.
 
I didn't mean to imply that it's a good idea to half-finish your book and start shopping it around; most of what I've read implies that traditional publication is such a long process that getting someone interested can happen well before the finalized stage. But maybe that's changed with the continuing evolution of the publishing industry; I guess publishers/agents are no longer interested in the hard work of helping an author develop a promising piece of writing.
 

TWErvin2

Auror
I didn't mean to imply that it's a good idea to half-finish your book and start shopping it around; most of what I've read implies that traditional publication is such a long process that getting someone interested can happen well before the finalized stage. But maybe that's changed with the continuing evolution of the publishing industry; I guess publishers/agents are no longer interested in the hard work of helping an author develop a promising piece of writing.

Benjamin Clayborne, you said:
You actually don't need to finish and polish the novel before you start submitting queries.

I am unclear what you mean by:
I didn't mean to imply that it's a good idea to half-finish your book and start shopping it around; most of what I've read implies that traditional publication is such a long process that getting someone interested can happen well before the finalized stage.

Shouldn't an author send the absolute best they can produce? What do you mean by "getting someone interested well before the finalized stage"? Before the novel is finished?

I guess publishers/agents are no longer interested in the hard work of helping an author develop a promising piece of writing.

What would lead you to believe this? Authors I know that have agents representing their work, the agents often provide input to improve it before it's presented to editors. And then editors, after acceptance, do edit and ask for/discuss revisions from the author with the objective of improving the work. Certainly the author would learn through participation in the process? I know I have.

Do editors have less time than, say, in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s to work with and nurture authors? Probably, as editorial staffs have been cut in the last ten years, but the work of preparing novels for publication remains the same.
 

Caged Maiden

Staff
Article Team
Yeah, I've done some critiques that took me hours to do, and all to help out someone who needed a little direction and encouragement. All I can say, is that others have done it for me, and it's my way of giving back to this awesome community. If I wanted a service, I'd pay whatever it cost, think about it, you probably pay more for your cell phone than having your work read by a critic, and the cell phone has no income potential.
 

Chilari

Staff
Moderator
I dunno, Caged Maiden, I've got a pretty good deal on my phone.

I do wonder about "professional" critiquers charging as little as £200 though - as Lorna pointed out, £4/hr is not much at all. I can't help but think that people like us, people who both read a lot and write a lot, and occasionally review short sections shared in the showcase, are fairly well qualified to critique. Hell, I nearly started a business in proofreading and critiquing before I got my current job. Surely working together, trading critiques and supporting one another as a community wouldn't be a bad idea for the critiquing side of things.
 

Caged Maiden

Staff
Article Team
I met all my critique partners here. I think it's been the single most encouraging and humbling experience, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I made friends, helped some people out, and best of all, I learned both from doing and receiving critiques.
 
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