Publishing books

jimbo83

Hi All

Has anyone tried or had any success publishing books?

Can anyone advise me of the process and how it all works? Anyone got any tips to help me succeed?

Thanks

lincroft1710

I'm not sure if you have written a book you want to have published or you want to become a publisher.

jimbo83

lincroft1710 wrote: »

I'm not sure if you have written a book you want to have published or you want to become a publisher.

Hi

I am asking from a writer's perspective. I probably should have made that clearer!

Thanks

tyllwyd

Are you saying that you want to self-publish? Do you want to publish a printed book or an e-book?

jimbo83

tyllwyd wrote: »

Are you saying that you want to self-publish? Do you want to publish a printed book or an e-book?

Hi

Either ebook or in paper format. I understand that it is extremely competitive and therefore difficult to be taken on by a publishing house.

I was looking for any advise on the best way to approach the publishing houses with my material that will give me the best way of being taken on. I have done quite a lot of research but I was looking for more information from anyone who had actual experience of the process.

Its childrens book which I am interested in getting published, if that helps.

Thanks

lincroft1710

Many publishing houses only deal with literary agents. The "Writers and Artists Yearbook" gives a lot of info on all publishers plus helpful articles for aspiring writers.

jimbo83

lincroft1710 wrote: »

Many publishing houses only deal with literary agents. The "Writers and Artists Yearbook" gives a lot of info on all publishers plus helpful articles for aspiring writers.

Thanks for this.

Are literary agents easy to contact and seek advice from? Do you know?

InsideInsurance

Getting their attention can be difficult, with the proliferation of personal computers so has been the proliferation of those that consider themselves a writer or web designer etc.

It is worth doing your research on who you are best to approach, how etc and develop a thick skin for rejections

The alternative is to self publish as an e-book which is fairly easy to do these days but actually getting it noticed by anyone (let alone bought) is the more tricky part.

uncommonadvice

I self published a few books last year via lulu.com and then listed on Amazon. I sold over 100 copies of one of the books. I thought this was not bad considering the minimum effort I put in. If I were to take it seriously and work on my Amazon reviews and other Social media promotion then I'm sure it could have been over 1000 sold. Note however that I was knocking out Quiz books (on the whole), not fiction.

Anubis_2

I have work published from a few years ago. I had to stop writing due to becoming ill, but I am interested in taking up the e-book method. You mention lulu.com, are there any more sites?

heretolearn_2

Are literary agents easy to contact and seek advice from?

Easy to contact, yes. The Writers' and Artists yearbook is where to find their details. Seek advice from? No, they are not free advisory services. They will skim your cover letter and possibly the first page and at that stage reject 95% of what they are sent. A few books will be read. Even fewer of those will be invited for discussions on their representing you. It's a business relationship. It sounds impossible but it isn't, you need a great book, the right approach, and a good dollop of luck. Someone I know has just been taken on by an agent. At that point, they may give you some advice on any re-working/re-writing that needs to be done before they will submit to publishers.

To get an agent

1) Your book must be well written with perfect spelling and grammar.

2) It needs to fit into a standard 'category' for children's books. So the right length/format/chapter structure for one of the standard age groupings. The manuscript needs to be produced in the correct format (double line spaced, single sided etc etc). You need to have done your research.

3) You need a good approach letter as this is what you will initially be judged on and if it isn't right, they won't even look at your book. There is lots of advice out there on this.

Of course you can go the self publishing route. There are SOME good books produced this way but the majority are rubbish to be honest with you. Have a little pride and ensure that if you go this route, it's a good product. So points one and two also apply for this. Then a professional cover design makes all the difference too.

Good luck with it, don't be put off by the hard work, having the initial idea is the easy bit and from here on it's the slog - but very satisfying if you get there.