How to Get Published

Disfunction · 02-12-2006, 01:29 PM

I'm tired of this uncertainty that's been hounding me constantly. I want to know if there's anyone out there who can help give me pointers on how to get published and how to, in general, get things done.

For the past couple of years, I've been penning work that I think is of decent to good quality, perhaps worthy of being published. The only trouble is, I haven't really a clue how to start, where to look, who to send work in to, etc.

So here it is. All of you experienced writers, I'm looking at you to be my guide. Any thoughts, suggestions, or pointers you can toss my way?

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Hopefully, this can also help out any other aspiring writers out there.

PhilSmith · 02-12-2006, 07:11 PM

http://www.quintamid.com/ has a long list of magazines (online and print) that accept submissions.

Keep your eyes open. Search for magazines online, see if they have submissions guidelines.

If you find any that you think might be worth submitting to, follow their submissions guidelines to the letter. Whether it's a limit on word-count (they can only run so much material each issue) or a simple rule of presentation, make sure your work complies with it. Editors have a crapload of submissions to plough through, and any simple non-compliance like that is usually grounds for immediate rejection.

Expect lots of rejections, but keep plugging away anyway. If nothing else your work will continue to improve. Bounce back harder each time.

Despite what you've learned, you don't know as much as you think you do. No-one does. But recognising the shortcomings in your writing and doing something about them is one of the marks of a good writer.

Develop rhino-skin. You'll need it.

Brevity is not a dirty word. A lot of writers fall in love with the sound of their own keyboard. Once you've got a complete draft, try to reduce its size. Remove the bloat and boil it down until you find the stuff that works. Then build it back up again if you think it's too short.

Read as much outside your chosen genre as possible. If you're writing horror but all you read is H.P. Lovecraft, then obviously your work will end up derivative and, most likely, stale.

Edit: Oh, and consider Nickolaus. Everything he does, do the opposite.

spookypurple · 03-07-2006, 01:21 PM

What sort of stuff are you writing?

http://www.writers.net/

http://www.scriptfactory.co.uk/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/

Hopefully these sites may be of some use.

One thing I would say - unless an editor specifically asks you to use email or you're sending it somewhere with a more 'emaily' ethos, snail mail seems to work best. Shows you're serious. And if you can send it Registered Post, even better. It costs a bit more, but takes out that element of 'did it get there?'

And make sure if you're including an email address that it's sounds like a writer's address, if you see what I mean. crazymofo@hotmail may not go down too well unless it's that kind of place you're sending you. I guess if the editor's email is madpillock@whatever.com then you may not need to worry!

And remember - a lot of it's being in the right place at the right time. Loads of classics got turned down and their writers almost gave up. Almost. Stuff like Watership Down, Jonathan Livingstone Seagull and Catch 22.

Keep writing. That's the key. And don't be afraid to re-read and re-write.

And expect criticism. One way to tell real criticism from harping: Is it useful? Criticism is only real criticism is if gives you ideas on how to improve. Anything else is just bitchiness.

PoisonHeart · 03-14-2006, 02:55 PM

I'm in the same boat as Disfunction, so thank you for the advice. I've heard that if you send snail mail (as opposed to e-mail) you should include a self-addressed envelope because editors don't waste their precious time on menial tasks like addressing envelopes.

morganhawke · 03-14-2006, 06:36 PM

The trick to getting into print is the same for eBooks, and eZines, as it is to get in with a big-name book publisher:

-- Write a book that is popular.

The difference between ePublishers and book publishers is that ePubs will publish you and Wait until you Are popular. Once you pass a certain number of e-Copies sold (proving that you're popular,) you go to print.

Big-name book publishers choose new authors based on whether or not your chosen genre is doing well (read: popular) and they have a slot open that hasn't been filled by an Established (read: popular) Author.

LUCK and an open Slot in a popular genre are your ticket to ride in the book publishing industry - not necessarily skill or talent. (Though it doesn't hurt to have both.)

If you have only a tiny bit of talent and they have a slot to fill -- they'll take you. On the other hand, if they're booked out for the next two years, no matter how good you are, you may as well shlog your manuscript elsewhere. (Even big-name authors worry about their publisher over-booking and having no room for them.)

It all boils down to:
-- Write a book that everyone wants to read.

Here's the kicker: No one knows from one book to the next - what the readers will find popular. The market changes That Fast.

I've been cheating by watching what movies are popular, and writing stuff along those lines, but curved toward the folks that actually buy my books. Comedy/Adventure with dark overtones, (VanHelsing, Constantine) and erotic gothics (Underworld, Sin City) are really popular right now.

In ePublishing, Erotic Romance is the niche of success, especially books with an element of the fantastic. It doesn't seem to matter what that fantasy element is either. As long as the book is Romantic, Erotic, and has a strong plot with a Fantasy element: dark, light, scary, paranormal, yaoi, magical, gothic, sci-fi..., it all sells really well. Kinky is doing very well too - as long as it's ROMANTIC.

Pure Horror & Gothics are very popular too, (especially in horror-themed magazines,) but they don't have the gi-freaking-gantic number of paying book-buyers that erotic romance has. (Think: Bored Housewives at the computer.)

Whatever you choose to write, you had better do it well.

Competition is FIERCE -- all the way across the boards in every publishing venue. There are some Very, VERY good e-authors out there. So good in fact, that NY is grabbing for them. (I was one of them.)

(AFTER you've been published, it get's worse! You have to compete for SALES against all those other books that have ALSO been published.)

ALWAYS read each publisher's Submission Guidelines.

EVERY publisher has them -- READ THEM. The guildelines will tell you exactly how they want their submissions formatted, and how to send them. (Most prefer snail-mail.)

ALSO ~ send them ONLY what they ask for. No matter how good your Evil Clown horror novel is, if the publisher is asking for Chuthulu-style Lovecraft stories, your Evil Clown story isn't going to get in.

Even the erotic romance ePublishers have become choosey as to who they will publish because the Buyers have become choosey as to who they will spend their money on. They want Skilled writing, Hot Sex and a tightly plotted Story - and there are enough talented authors out there that deliver just that.

Fore-warned is Fore-armed.

I know this sounds discouraging, but I'm of the opinion that padding the facts or Lying never did anyone any good. If you KNOW what your in for, you can make damned sure you know how to deal with it when you get there.

Always remember:
-- Writing is an Art -- Publishing is a corporate Business.

If you can write at a professional skill level, (meaning, you don't argue with your editor when she asks you to change your sentence structure for clarity, or asks you to stick to ONE Point of View rather than hopping from head to head,) and can compete with the other authors in plot creativity, then you stand a chance of making a tidy profit. All that's left is gathering your popularity.

If "I" can do it -- so can you.

morganhawke · 03-14-2006, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spookypurple

Criticism is only real criticism is if gives you ideas on how to improve. Anything else is just bitchiness.

That's frikken BRILLIANT!
- Can I borrow that for my blog???

succumb to the cessation · 03-17-2006, 01:10 PM

i've been wanting to get my work out there and read by people, how do i do this?

morganhawke · 03-17-2006, 04:07 PM

Hey SucCess
- The easiest and fastest way to begin getting your work out in front of the public eye, is Post it on a personal Blog. If you already have a blog -- get a NEW one, just for your stories. You can add pictures to go with the story, and people can read your work, then tell you what they liked about it in the comments.

Blogger.com will allow you to set up your blog to look like a book, and set it so that only one page at a time shows, so you post one story per page. You can also set up a "Contents" in the right column, so people can pick which stories they want to read. (You'll have to doctor the html code on the Template page.)

Once you get a good following of Readers, (fans) the next step is to find ezine & forum sites looking for stories, (like this one). People are always looking for good content. Just make sure you read their SUBMISSION GUIDELINES.

If you have a seriously kick-ass Zombie story, a hearts & flowers Romance site is still gonna reject you, even if your zombies are in love.

BEFORE YOU PUBLICIZE YOUR WORK...!

Do your stories in WORD or WORD PERFECT with SPELL CHECK & GRAMMAR CHECK turned ON! People can be nasty if you have too many spelling errors, and bad grammar -- then COPY/PASTE it into your blog editor.

SPELL CHECK and GRAMMAR CHEK won't catch everything, and they're no help at all when it comes to realistic dialogue (people just don't talk in perfect grammar,) but they'll catch all the nit-picky stuff.

ExistentialDisorder · 03-18-2006, 12:12 AM

Good advice there, Morgan.

I thought I'd add a link that got me interested a while back.

www.lulu.com

it prints and stores your manuscripts. Sort of a POD, but without all the bull and no steep upfront costs, just whatever it costs to print whatever/however much you order. they're not going to promote your work or do anything for you beyond printing whatever you order. you can buy a USBN through them, which allows your book to be ordered through amazon, b&n, etc. promoting, selling, etc, is all on you.

I'm seriously considering using this site to do some of my own work in the near future.

morganhawke · 03-18-2006, 04:26 PM

ExDis,
- Just make sure you get yourself a really, REALLY good editor before you print anything.

"Self-publishing" operations are rather like a Kinkos, a street-corner printing shop. If it's on the doc, that how it's going to be on the final product. If you have typos and bad grammar -- that's exactly how you will be seen by your reading public.

Self-publishing can be a really good option -- when you are already established.

If you're still new & unpolished...? Um, let's just say that when you finally make it into the big world of publishing, expect those early books to still be floating around -- especially when it's time for you to show up on a national TV broadcast.

chloegoth · 03-19-2006, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by morganhawke

ExDis,
- Just make sure you get yourself a really, REALLY good editor before you print anything.

"Self-publishing" operations are rather like a Kinkos, a street-corner printing shop. If it's on the doc, that how it's going to be on the final product. If you have typos and bad grammar -- that's exactly how you will be seen by your reading public.

Self-publishing can be a really good option -- when you are already established.

Hate to be the voice of dissent here, but I have a friend who's managed to get herself a rather decent fan base through both lulu.com and online posting of her stuff, and she is dyslexic. She recently found a publisher to print and distribute her stuff (though she still uses lulu for some things). Also, she had never published anything before she published through lulu, so it's definitely an option if you don't know how to get your stuff published.

I do agree, though - find yourself an anal English major before you send things off to be printed; it'll help make sure you don't have any glaring errors in grammar, punctuation, or spelling, and those who read your stuff will appreciate it.

morganhawke · 03-20-2006, 09:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chloegoth

"I have a friend who's managed to get herself a rather decent fan base through both lulu.com and online posting of her stuff..."

Hey Chloe,
Then your friend must be VERY good! Give her my congrats!

ExistentialDisorder · 03-20-2006, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by morganhawke

ExDis,
- Just make sure you get yourself a really, REALLY good editor before you print anything.

"Self-publishing" operations are rather like a Kinkos, a street-corner printing shop. If it's on the doc, that how it's going to be on the final product. If you have typos and bad grammar -- that's exactly how you will be seen by your reading public.

Self-publishing can be a really good option -- when you are already established.

If you're still new & unpolished...? Um, let's just say that when you finally make it into the big world of publishing, expect those early books to still be floating around -- especially when it's time for you to show up on a national TV broadcast.

Yes, I agree. A lot of people fail to do that, which is why so much of the self published stuff is sooo bad. well, that and the fact that some people just don't have any business writing, or at least writing what they're trying to write.

i want to use lulu to adapt my novel to a graphic novel. if i can ever get inspired enough to actually turn it into a graphic novel. so far it seems i can't even get inspired enough to finish writing the damned thing.

morganhawke · 03-20-2006, 09:23 PM

Hey ExDis,
- The main reason why so many self-published books are...less than the best in quality, is Author Impatience.

Rather than take the time to perfect their craft -- and find a good, trustworthy editor -- they rush their book in to publication before it is Ready. (sigh)

It's notoriously difficult to tell either the Good, or the Bad, in one's own writing. Case in point: I KNOW my grammar stinks, I just can SEE it. It usually takes several pairs of eyes to not only see the typos & grammar slips, but spot where a slump in the story needs tightening, or a character needs to be dropped.

However, not everyone wants to wait for an editor to comb through their work.

And then there are those who were not willing to consider that their work might not be ready for the reading public the moment they write: "The End". But that’s another rant entirely.

ExistentialDisorder · 03-20-2006, 11:46 PM

yeah, i have a problem with somebody else deciding that a character or scene of mine needs to be edited out. i take it rather personally, considering how much time i spend developing that character. i've dropped several from various things myself, when i realise they don't serve a real purpose beyond filler. and sometimes a few characters get merged into one. my main character right now started off as filler in the beginning.

morganhawke · 03-21-2006, 12:51 AM

Hey ExDis,
- editing out a hunk of text you've spent weeks on is never any fun, that's why I have four test-readers. If all four mention the same thing, then I take my big scissors out and hack.

-- But I never toss! I always save the offending bit as a new doc in case they're mistaken (they haven't been wrong yet,) or I can find a new place for it in a new story, (which I have done, a few times.)

It always comes down to:

What's more important?
- Salving my EGO?
- Saving the story?

I pick... STORY.

I never, ever want a see a review that says: "...it could have been so much better. If only...?"

Huh...maybe I am saving my Ego after all...?

angel011 · 03-21-2006, 04:14 AM

http://www.ralan.com/ is another one with a long list of magazines (online and print) that accept submissions. There's also a list of anthology markets.

emeraldlonewoulf · 03-22-2006, 08:45 PM

thx for the thread, lots of good pointers here. keep it up!

Engulfed_in_darkness · 04-19-2006, 01:43 PM

This sure is useful. I as well have been wondering how to get my work published.

Dark Adventurer · 04-28-2006, 02:51 PM

I started writing seriously (screenplays) while in college in the misty past year of 1982. All throughout a career in another field, I continued to write. In 1995, I got serious about trying to sell it, and landed an agent, for a while. Eventually, I was in a job that paid me a lot of money and I was damned serious about being published -- so rather than wait for someone else to agree that I should be published, I started my own company/imprint. A good friend of mine had done the same thing twenty years before.

You may say, "That's impossible, I don't have the money." And you may not. But consider the option.

Create your own imprint/label
Contact MORGAN PRINTING in Texas (morganprinting.com)
Est cost of 100-500 copies, and format, etc. (Est. $5,000/500 6x9 ppbk, <200 pgs)
Start a webpage (a one-pager will do) and sell via the PayPal option.
Design a banner and get it out there, attend BookExpo, Comic Con, etc etc

If the option above does not work for you, then go to LULU.COM-- it's FREE!!!
LULU sells your book 'print-on-demand'. YOU design the pages and the cover art and set the price.

I print all my company's books through Morgan. I sell through my website via links to my books at AMAZON.COM, BARNES AND NOBLE, BORDERS, and Yahoo Shopping. I got there because I have a distributor, admittedly. But on YAHOO SHOPPING you can post your book yourself.

I recommend and encourage you to get your work printed. You have created it. make sure it's ediited properly and the best you can make it, but get it out there. This will also help in getting attention from a larger publisher.

Whatever you do, don't listen to the petulant, negative-tongued dimwits you will encounter who lack the discipline to see anything through.

Check out adventuresunlimitedpress.com and see what David Childress has done with his company, but also check out Brad Olsen on the web. He publishes only his own books, so you'll see what you can accomplish and still keep it small.

Yes, by all means, pore through magazines for opportunities, and contests, etc. Talk to your local newspaper editor and pitch them on the idea of a weekly fiction piece. Start your own website and publish your stuff there.

If I think of any other suggestions, I'll add pass them on. I like to encourage writers because I do not buy off on the perception that the way the publishing industry works is a filter of talent. It's a filter of popularity and personal connections and nepotism and big turds get through on a regular basis.

If you feel this advice is useless, that's cool, too.

WizardElement5 · 04-29-2006, 05:26 PM

Hi. I've had three books published, two novels and one collection of short stories. (I don't write under my own name, I never tell anyone and not even my mother knows which books are mine). When I finished my first novel, I bought a copy of the Writers and Artists Year Book and selected some Publishing Houses that looked likely to accept my work, (Fantasy). The second publisher I tried said yes.

morganhawke · 04-29-2006, 05:38 PM

Hey WizEl!
-- Congrats on your fine achievements! I understand about some material not being fit for one’s family. I hear that regularly from a good number of my fellow authors, many of which still hold corporate jobs.

I guess I can count myself lucky in that I no longer need to work and my family is of a rather…perverse nature. My Mom LOVES my stuff – and I write nearly pure erotica. Even my Brother (kink-balls all,) read my books. (shrugs) Go figure.

WizardElement5 · 04-30-2006, 02:22 PM

Hi Morgan, pleased to meet you

I took a quick look at your web site and I think it's fab. I love the description of yourself, "smut writer".

I think porn is great and potentially the most difficult kind of writng to do well, so to be successful is a very fine achievement.

My situation is actually the opposite from what you guessed. I am an out SMer and sexual freedom campaigner. I could say I like to keep my debauched real life away from my literary life, but in truth, I just like to remain anonymous and for no one particular reason.

Wise Child · 04-30-2006, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WizardElement5

Hi. I've had three books published, two novels and one collection of short stories. (I don't write under my own name, I never tell anyone and not even my mother knows which books are mine). When I finished my first novel, I bought a copy of the Writers and Artists Year Book and selected some Publishing Houses that looked likely to accept my work, (Fantasy). The second publisher I tried said yes.

May I ask what the books are called, or will you have to kill me if you tell me?

morganhawke · 04-30-2006, 02:48 PM

Hey WizEl,
- So you're saying that you’re a Hedonist; you do what you feel as you feel it, exposing your proclivities, and hiding them at whim? How COOL!

Writing smut is surprisingly difficult, yet it's frequently the first thing anyone tries to write.

Sex has always been tied to strong feelings, physical & emotional, and this is where the difficulty lies. Few people have problems getting their emotions down on paper, but writing Action sequences can be very tricky. When you try to put it all together -- Action & Emotion -- in one scene, it can be very confusing, and really frustrating -- just like real sex.

Many folks end up writing Just the physical (porn) or Just the emotional (Romances). All my favorite stories have a balance between the two, so that's how I try to write it.