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As a published author and creative writing teacher I often get asked how writers can get published. One of the simplest ways to answer that question is tell the story of my publishing contracts with two different publishers.

Like many other writers, I have always wanted to write a book and started scribbling stories as a child. I have also always been an avid reader. When I started my first book I did not know what I was doing. It was a learning experience and I was not sure I could even write an entire book, but at last I did have a completed manuscript. I then began my search for a publisher.

As I knew no other authors or writers I started with the only place I knew. The Writers Market book. I came up with a list of publishers and started sending out queries. I had some interest from some of the big houses but as time went on I collected a pretty impressive list of rejections. I worked my way through all the major publishing houses and then started on the smaller houses. Then came the exciting day when I got the call that a small house was willing to publish my novel.

Now in hindsight I’m not so sure I should have leaped at the offer. Small publishing houses can offer opportunities that the bigger houses cannot. They are often more willing to take a risk on an unknown author or a manuscript that does not fit cleanly into a niche. But they are riskier ventures. Many small publishing houses do not have a long life span. My first publisher did print my first book and contracted with me for my second but went out of business before the second book even came out. Smaller publishers also have lower distribution. It was up to me to arrange distribution in my regional book stores as well as arrange my own book signings and promotion. However the biggest drawback for me was the lack of editorial support and guidance. Remember, this was my first book and I wasn’t even working with a critique group. I could have used more editing than I received from that publisher. While getting my first book published was a confidence booster and an education, it was not a financial boon. I received only one royalty check before the publisher went under.

After that experience, I then became even more determined to learn about publishing. I sought out writing groups, attended writers conferences, and joined a critique group. As I gained more confidence in my writing I started entering writing contests and placed in the top three in several writing competitions. One of my first place prizes included being read by a senior editor at Kensington. The editor liked my manuscript and offered me a two-book contract.

This experience was dramatically different from my first. A major publishing house meant a standard contract, a standard advance, and regular royalty payments as well as good distribution. However I also lost a great deal of control over my book. Both covers are bodice rippers and the title of the first book was chosen by the marketing department and I was not even given the right to approve it. Even worse for my writing career though was the fact that the editor who bought me quickly passed me off to another editor and then when that editor left I was handed to yet a third editor. As an orphaned author my second book received little support and I was not offered a new contract.

I would be lax if I did not mention agents during this article. Many unpublished authors ask if agents are important. Obviously as my story points out you can get published without an agent. In fact, I might have gotten published sooner the second time around if I wasn’t working with an agent who did not take advantage of some of my previous contest wins. The problem is that the type of agent who is willing to take on an unproven author is not likely to do you much good. If you can make a contact with an agent through a conference or contest or the like then definitely do so but I would not recommend spending a lot of time trying to get an agent before you are published. After I had my contract with Kensington I did work with a higher quality agent for a time but nothing came of that experience although the fault probably lies with me as well as with the agent.

I wish you luck in your pursuit of book publishing and hope me story is informative and helpful.

Many writers aspire to write books. Writing a book is a long, involved, difficult process. Book publishing is harder. A writer may submit his book repeatedly only to be turned down. The writer may eventually succeed. Wouldn’t it have been easier to get published the first time? Is that possible?

You can improve your chances of a publisher accepting your book manuscript if you understand more about what happens at the publisher’s desk. Book publishers are busy people with several projects bombarding their desks every day. They must decide quickly about what will sell. They must also delegate their time efficiently to keep the business running. Only occasionally do publishers actually seek out work. Let’s look at a typical work day of a publisher to help you understand book acceptance and book publishing.

PERSIST AND PERSEVERE

Writers must be persistent. Regardless of how many times a publisher rejects your book manuscript and throws your ideas in the trash, you have to keep going back for more discouragement. Eventually you’ll make it in the door. If you can get all the way through, you will finally get to a place where publishers accept more of your work. When working with a book publisher, the rule is the same. If you have a book that you know will sell, you must persevere to get the publisher’s attention. Most likely, you will be sending excerpts of your book, not the entire book, to a publisher. As you continually send your manuscript or book excerpts to publisher after publisher, you should try to market it in different ways. Publishers seek a particular kind of writing; they will dismiss anything that doesn’t meet their criteria and high standards. Variation in your marketing techniques may turn a rejected book into an accepted book.

WHAT DO BOOK PUBLISHERS WANT?

Book publishing is a strange business. People’s tastes are somewhat fickle. A book publisher has to keep up with what kinds of books will sell. It seems mysteries will always have a place on the bookshelves. Crichton and Grisham may tie up the book market until they are finished. That is just one example from one genre of books. Publishers have to keep track of what is selling in all areas of literature. The best way for you to get your work noticed is to make it look similar to what is already selling in the marketplace. Be careful not to imitate style or voice of another author. Write with your own unique words while imitating the use of popular public opinion. Another way to improve your chances of getting published is to find out who’s publishing what.

ARE YOU MARKETING TO THE RIGHT PUBLISHER?

Some publishers specialize in a certain kind of writing. If you are writing a novel, you’ll look stupid (and get rejected) if you send it to publishers who publish technical manuals. How do you find out who is the most likely candidate to publish your work? There are reference manuals, such as Writer’s Market, at your library that will tell you who’s publishing what and what publishers are seeking. It will contain valuable information leading you to children’s book publishers, novel publishers, and textbook publishers. If the handbook at your library is not up to date, your next option is to check out the new releases and best sellers rack at the bookstore. Buy a few books and read them. You’ll have a much better feel for the book market as a consumer first, and book writer second.

Book publishing is difficult to break into. It can be helpful to approach the issue from the direction of the publisher. Before you submit your manuscript again, improve your chances of acceptance by following these tips:

1) Change your marketing style so that you grab attention;

2) Make sure you are a book consumer yourself. You’ll get a better feel for what’s selling and what a publisher will buy. You’ll also find out who is publishing which types of books.

3) Finally, by buying the product you are trying to sell, you will improve the book economy all together. Publishers need to see people buying books before they can commit to publishing more.

Many authors begin their careers with the single goal of getting their book published by a reputable publisher. Book publishing is difficult to accomplish. It takes many months of work and extensive preparation. Writing a book involves intricately woven ideas. A book is a project, and it may contain many other projects that involve research, development, and marketing. Most authors are disillusioned about the intensive process of creating a full, coherent book. Writing a book and finding a publisher is like nothing you have ever done before. It will take extensive and intensive work and development. It will also probably include much of everything you know, and more.

As more and more old-growth trees are cut down, and we face the reality of having to wait close to 100 years or more to replace them, the need to recycle paper becomes increasingly important.

Paper, of course, includes books and magazines. Although paper products are nearly 100% biodegradable, it is pointless to send these resources to the dump to rot in the landfill when we can recycle and reuse them.

More than any other material we hope to recycle, books and magazines represent knowledge. We find wisdom in the pages of old books, and learn about culture in the pages of old magazines. Because of these factors, the best thing to do with old books and magazines is pass them on.

Your local library or college library will accept donations of old books, and sometimes magazines in good shape. This allows other people to benefit from the publication as well. Once you have enjoyed your book, donate it to a library rather than letting it sit on a shelf to collect dust.

The second choice, for both books and magazines, is to sell them to a used bookstore, at a garage sale, flea market, or on eBay. Other people may be looking for the exact book or magazine you have; passing it on is a win-win scenario for you and the new owner.

If you wish to reuse publications in a creative way, magazines make good colorful craft supplies for children and adults. You can cut out parts of pictures to make collages by pasting the picture pieces to a cardboard backing; or make hanging mobiles by cutting out shapes, stringing pieces of thread through holes at the top, and attaching the strings to a clothes hanger.

You can also cut out whole pictures to construct a dream board or a vision board, which helps you to think about and visualize the goals and dreams you want to achieve; for instance, a Hawaiian vacation, a certain type of job, or a new sports car.

As for traditional recycling, some areas will let you place books or magazines in your blue bin for pickup as well. Many publishers print magazines on glossy paper. It is more expensive to recycle glossy paper because the demand is low for this type of paper. This will change in the future as the need to recycle paper becomes more important.

The biggest challenge with recycling books and magazines is separating the paper from the adhesives or staples used to bind the pages. Forward-thinking recycling companies have a way to remove the waste from the bindings magnetically; in the future we should begin to see growing opportunities to recycle all kinds of paper products.

Next time you’re thinking about throwing away some books or magazines, think first about how you can pass them along for others to enjoy. If that doesn’t work for you, try to reuse them creatively. If you still can’t find a use for them, look for places to take them where they can be recycled into new paper products, so we can save more trees.

Ask any published book author about writing a book, and they will tell you it’s a monumental task. The process is long, drawn out, and grueling. Even if you enjoy writing &ndash and don’t mind writing on the same subject for an extended period — the writing process will, undoubtedly, exhaust you. Getting your book published, however, will take even more time and effort than writing the thing in the first place.

Are you thinking about writing a book? Have you already written one? Do you wonder how to get your book published? If you so, read on. Here are some hand-picked tips on how to publish your book.

WRITING YOUR BOOK

To write a successful book you need to start out with some original thought. You probably have plenty of originality, but you may have trouble creating a coherent flow of ideas and information that the public will digest. The first step is to create the skeleton (or blueprint) of your book. You need to organize your thoughts into a progression of chapters.

If you are writing a non-fiction book, start with a table of contents. Write chapter headings and sub-headings. Organize your chapters so you build each chapter upon one another. If you can brainstorm more chapter headings than you will use, you will find it easier to fill your book with a series of short articles that flow into one another.

If you are writing fiction, you will need more of a storyboard. You will need to create cause and effect as well as character sketches. To make your story coherent your characters will need to react to events. Their reactions should become predictable as your readers get into the story. You may need to create some situations for your characters to introduce their traits to the reader.

These are general guidelines on how to construct your book. The complete process will be much more involved as you move closer to finding out how to get your book published. Even after you are finished with the bulk of the content, your goal to publish your book involves a lot more work.

GETTING YOUR BOOK INTO PRINT

The next step to get your book published is finding a publisher. Both the Internet and your local library have many resources. You can tap into these resources to find the best publisher to publish your book. After a series of queries and correspondence with potential publishers, you may get an invitation to submit your manuscript. Then the work begins.

A publisher is very experienced in finding marketable books. He knows what it will take to get your book to sell. Don’t be offended when a book editor tears your writing apart, as this may be a positive sign that the publisher is interested in your book. Expect to enter into a close relationship of compromise and change with the editor as you rework what you have already painstakingly written. When you are finished, you will have a readable, clean, and correct manuscript, ready for print.

The road to getting a book published is a long one, but it is well worth the effort. Trust yourself, and trust the publisher to create a beautiful masterpiece. Don’t be discouraged if several publishers are not interested in your book. You may have to self-publish your first book, and then again, your book may eventually get accepted right away. Good luck and enjoy the process.

One of the most thrilling moments for an author is when they are invited to participate in a book signing. This is often the stamp of approval many writers need, especially with their first book.

Most bookstores see a book signing as a means of increasing foot traffic and promoting a sense of connectedness with the writing community. Most bookstore owners are open to the idea of providing time, space and promotion for a book signing.

From a writers perspective this should be a gold mine in promotion. Bookstore owners will often post notices announcing the book signing; many will also provide announcements in regional newspapers that are designed to promote the book signing.

Bring comfortable shoes and your favorite pen. Then enjoy your moment in the sun.

However, unless you are a well-established author there are a few things that you should not expect from a book signing.

A waiting line.

The sale of a significant amount of books.

Writer’s cramp.

The truth is a book signing will likely result in a few friends, family and an assortment of curious others who have come to have you personally sign their purchased copy of the book.

So, if that’s all there is to it, why do it?

Well, primarily because as a writer you should consider yourself a ‘word farmer’. What I mean by that is a book signing can be a wonderful time to visit with the general public about your book, its subject matter and why you chose to write the book and be willing to wait to see the seed sprout.

In many cases, positive contacts with those who do not purchase your book may ultimately find these patrons returning to purchase the book at a later date.

A book signing isn’t about ‘hawking your wares’ it is about good will and being an ambassador for the craft of writing.

If you have been invited to participate in a book signing do so with good grace and with an eye toward the long-term goals you have in writing. A book signing is simply one small step toward your ultimate destination, enjoy the step, but don’t make too much fuss over it.

There is some form of ego in every writer, but a book signing isn’t a good place to don a prima donna persona. Remember the people who come to see you want to leave with something positive to consider - not an author to avoid.