Reaching Publishers

Writing a book by itself will not get you the recognition and income you need as a writer.

The choices that face you now that you have written a book are:

1. Do I get out and find a publisher?

2. Do I self-publish my book in hard-copy?

3. Do I produce an ebook and sell it on the Web?

Landing a publisher isn't easy today. First, publishing houses are born, die or get gobbled up by large corporations faster than you can send a query. Second, publishing personnel play musical chairs with jobs in this frenetic market. It's difficult to know what houses exist; what they are acquiring; who to address your queries to.

Then there's the issue of an agent: most major publishers will not accept a manuscript that doesn't come to them through an agent, and 40% of agents won't take on an unknown writer (more on agents later). Small to mid-sized publishers will, so long as the manuscript fits their specialized publishing niche. A lot of tedious research is involved in finding out who wants what.

Possibly you can find yourself a traditional literary agent who will represent you (and take 10-20% of your earnings) or you can do the research and querying yourself, resigning yourself to the publication potentials of small to midsized houses.

DETAILS:
    electronic publishing
    printing on-demand
    using an agent