I am currently writing a book and some short stories. I was wondering what are some things I can do to be more likely to get published? Thanks to all.
To improve your liklihood of getting published, write better. You need to write something that’s better than 99% of all the stories that come in to an editor. (Luckily, this isn’t impossible, since most of what editors get is crap. If you can write a good, interesting story, you’re ahead of 90% of the submissions already.)
If you’re looking for an easy shortcut, there is none. Writing, like genius, is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.
Now, once you’ve finished with your stories, then start looking for magazines or publishers that will publish it. For stories, find the ones that will pay cash money for your work. You can start at the one that pays the best if you can’t choose any other way.
Which magazines depends on what you’re writing. A good place for beginners is to pick up a copy of Fiction Writer’s Market, which should help you get some ideas. Get the newest edition (2004, right now). If you don’t want to buy it, your library should have it. If you’re writing in a genre, there may be specialized lists for you (I write science fiction/fantasy and can give suggestions if you like; send an e-mail).
For books, you’ll probably need an agent. Again, Fiction Writers Market is a good place to start. Remember Rothman’s Rules for agents: Never, under any circumstances whatsover, pay money to an agent. This will weed out the scammers.
Never forget rule #1: Money flows toward the writer. They pay you; you don’t pay them. Anyone who is asking you to pay – no matter how plausible the reason – is out to rip you off.
Now, before someone else jumps in, let me mention POD presses. Despite their claims, these are just a cut-rate version of the old-fashioned vanity press. A legitimate publisher sells books; a vanity press sells publication. You should always remember this.
Electronic vanity presses are always a ripoff. While there are some reasons for self-publishing (usually a book that has a small niche market – and never fiction), they are just a bad way to go. Their books are overpriced; they overcharge bookstores (and their books, unlike all other books published, are nonreturnable); and the average author’s sale is only about 75 copies – most of which the author buys himself. Lots of bookstores refuse to stock them (especially since a few authors got the cute idea to order the book under a false name, leaving the bookstore to eat the loss of an unsaleable book).
And don’t let PublishAmerica fool you – they’re a vanity press, even if they pay you $1 (:rolleyes:) as an advance. They only give you two copies, so you end up in the red just by getting a few copies for your family, and you’re in a deep hole if you buy the copies to give to reviewers (who won’t review them anyway).
A further disadvantage to all these relates to my first point. Your work may not be publishable now, but if you work on it, you can make it so a publisher might want it. However, if you sell to a POD press, there’s no incentive to improve your writing.
Marry a publisher.
Win the lottery and become a publisher.
Of course, I can’t advise you to blackmail a publisher.
And don’t bother to have sex with a publisher, the casting couch is just an excuse for ugly people to have sex with pretty people and then ignore them.