Publishing process

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So about six months ago I got an idea for the plot of a book, and after developing it in my brain for a while, I started writing it down a few weeks ago. So far I’ve written about thirty pages of it on Microsoft Word and I think it’s pretty good. The past few days I’ve really hit my stride, writing about five pages a day. I’ve also already outlined the rest of the book. I really think I might have something here. I’d like to start showing my idea to publishers.

Has anyone here done this before? Should I complete the book before I worry about this, or is my thirty pages, which has some really great scenes and really gives the reader a good idea of the characters and the plot, enough? Is there any resource I can use to make the process easier? Anything I should do? I’ve never done anything like this before, so any tips would help.

Thank you!

There is a book called “Writer’s Market” which is published annually and contains information about book publishers as well as agents. It should also be available at the library.

Best of luck.

First, I’m going to highly recommend you head on over to the Absolute Write boards. Not only can you learn a lot about writing and publishing, the boards can help you learn how to avoid scammers (of which there are a lot.)

Second, no. Fiction, as a rule, sells on a completed book, at least if you’re a first-time author. Literary agents and acquisition editors need to know you can actually complete a book, and that the story doesn’t fall apart at the end. This is harder than you’d think.

Agreed. You don’t show “an idea” to editors, you show your writing. Finish the entire book. Then have someone you trust read it and make comments. Then rewrite it.

You don’t say what kind of book it is, either. It makes enormous amounts of difference whether the book is literary mainstream, a thriller, science fiction, romance or whatever. Each field has different rules and requirements. In some it is next to impossible to place an unagented book with an editor. You’ll need to find an agent first who will agree to represent you. Agents too will want to see a complete book.

The Miss Snark, the literary blog blog is no longer live, but its archives have an enormous amount of clues for new writers. Clues for the clueless. If you started writing “a few weeks ago,” are up to “about five pages a day” and still only have 30 pages written, but think it’s time to show them to “publishers” you are part of the clueless. That’s no disgrace for a newbie, as long as you recognize how much you have to learn.

Also check in a bookstore or library for books on writing that first novel, finding an agent, and specializing in whatever genre of literature you are working in. You’re not a tenth of the way done yet, so you have a long time to work on all aspects of your craft.

And remember this absolute rule: Money flows toward the writer. Do not pay an agent anything. Do not pay an editor anything. Do not pay to get published.

By the way, the book I’m editing now is the fastest one I’ve ever written. I wrote the first draft in three months (66,000 words), edited a second draft in five months (91,000 words), and now I’m spending about a month doing final edits before I hand it over to my agent (word count more or less unchanged). This is over the course of about thirteen months (because it’s a good idea to let the book rest between edits if you’re not under deadline). Then when she gets back to me, it’ll get edited yet again. That’s all before it ever gets sold.

Plenty of people write faster (and better at that), but I want to emphasize that writing isn’t something you just toss out there and expect anything to happen. This is the <counts on fingers> seventh book I’ve written over the course of ten years. Two of those are D&D adventures and are/will be published. Three of those books will never be published. They just aren’t good enough. The last one landed me representation. I was considered a good writer from the time I started working on my first one, yet it still took me four novels to land an agent. (And the book still hasn’t sold).

Check out Lynn Viehl’s site. She’s a longtime, prolific writer. She’s current running a virtual workshop on writing. The first one’s on pacing your story; the second on editing your work.

She’s one of those really fast, very publishable writers, isn’t she? 4-6 books a year, IIRC.

I’m hoping I can one day be fast enough to maybe do two a year.