How do I get a book published

[Royal Dragon]

So I make $$ on it?

Ok, the Debbie thing was a big issue for me, and when we fell apart it messed me up for quite a while (Sure you all remeber the thread).

Anyway, I started writing it all down (don't know why, I just started typeing about the time the thread got locked), and I now have a very healthy outline for a cheap romance novle in my hands.

Seeing as how I just started writieng, and could not stop, and I can't explain why this spontanious writing experiance happened to me, I think I should publish it.

Any thoughts?


Oh, PS,
There are mentions of my doing Kung Fu in her back yard every Saturday moring, just to keep on topic. ;)

[Gangsterfist]

RD-

I have written a few books, comics and screen plays myself. I have yet to have anything published but there is a course at a local community college you can take on how to get your written works published. It was like a 1 weekend class and was like 20 bucks for the whole thing. I would recomend checking out some local community colleges for some classes like the one I mentioned before.

I have not taken that class yet since I have not had the time, LOL, and I have known about it for a bout a year now. I plan on taking it once I get my stuff in order to present to someone.

[Reggie1]

Read this book:

The Art of Fiction (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0679734031/qid=1112723462/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-8692079-8071830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

I haven't been published, but it really helped my writing. And getting published is a lot harder than you would think. Even the guys who write trash novels are usually people who spent their entire college preparing to become an author.

[Royal Dragon]

Cool, that at least gives me a starting place.

I'm going to shelve the project for a week, as I am just burned out on writing rigth now. I've been doing this since the thread got locked.

I started out by just jotting down my favortie memories of her when we were together, and each major memory reminded me of a smaller one, and so on, and so on. By the time I got done, and re read it I realised I have the rough draft of a whole book, if not a thoural documentation of our whole relationship. I have detailed writiengs on how we met online, the first phone calls, then meeting in person, the romance, and how it fell aprt, and rekindled and ultimately ened in a freindship that doesn't appear like it's going to last. There are even side plots about the drama's some of her friends were going through at the time, and how her and I got involved.

There are lies, cheating, an almost fight (Which I'd trump up for the book of course). It's got it all, the romance, wild reckless out of controll sex, fights, agruments hurt feelings and heart breaks betrayals galore and of course lots more sex! I've seen movies with worse material do well.




I think it would be damm funny if it makes me a million $$ :eek:

[MasterKiller]

You don't need books or classes if you already know how to write.

You don't even need an agent, but it helps.

All you have to do is prepare your manuscript thoroughly (spelling and grammar errors get you sent to the trash can quick), format it appropriate to the genre, and send it out to publishers. Now, some publishing houses ONLY take manuscripts from agents, but these are usually the big houses that wouldn't look twice at you, anyway.

Get the 2005 Writer's Market (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1582972710/ref=pd_sim_b_1/103-3623212-0050255?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance) or 2005 Guide to Literary Agents (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1582973288/qid=1112724068/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/103-3623212-0050255?v=glance&s=books&n=507846), find all the listings for PAYING houses that accept your genre, and start mailing out manuscripts.

It may take 12 weeks or more to hear back, so send out 10 or so at a time. While most houses frown heavily on multiple submissions, what they don't know won't hurt them. ;)

If you don't know how to write, or think your writing needs work, then I suggest going to college and possibly graduate school for an MFA, then following the suggestions above.

[Reggie1]

Good luck. And get the book. It's got a TON of really good stuff.

[Reggie1]

format it appropriate to the genre

How do you know what the format is for your genre?

[MasterKiller]

Well, the general rule is 10 to 12-point font, double-spaced, author name and page # in header justified right. However, some publishing houses request different formats (Title centered in footer, etc...), which are usually genre specific. It's best to check the publishing house's criteria before you send them a manuscript. The Writer's Market should list the publisher's preferences, or at least provide the URL for their website so you can check yourself.

Because everybody and their dog thinks they should publish a book, the sheer volume that publishers get basically means your manuscript gets about 2 minutes of reading before it's either trashed or sent to a higher level. Presentation is everything. A well-written first 10 pages doesn't hurt, either.

[Reggie1]

Thanks! I've been meaning to ask about this for a while. I'm trying to get published and had NO clue where to start.

[MasterKiller]

Also, KNOW YOUR MARKET. I write Literary Fiction, high-brow stuff, so I don't bother sending my books to say, someone who specializes in romance novels. In your cover letter to the publisher/agent, you have to SELL THE BOOK to them in 2 pages. So, make sure you know exactly who the book is targeted at---kids, pre-teens, romance crowd, taiji hippies, etc... Tell them how your book relates to OTHER BOOKS IN THAT SAME MARKET. If possible, find a book fromt that publisher and compare yours to the one they published.

For example: "The ****erotic themes of my book Two in the Stink are similar to the novel Kilted Man Love you published in 2003 and would appeal to the same reader base."

All the publisher wants to know is if the book will make money. If they think it has a chance to make some, you'll get your foot in the door. If they love it but don't think it will sell, you'll still be bagging groceries.

[Reggie1]

Cool--thanks again. I'll keep all of that in mind.

What have you published? PM me if you don't want to announce it. I'm a voracious reader and always looking for new stuff.

[Gangsterfist]

MK-

thanks for the info, I need to start revising my writings to get them out there. None of what I write is about kung fu tho, its all fiction and science fiction.

[Akhilleus]

I don't have time to read the whole thread right now...but that sounds good man...go for it! I myself have written some crap that I showed friends and family but never anything halfway decent...I think I might start writing again in my spare time...and just remember, no matter what you write, it can't be worse than the forgotten realms books I used to read...

[Royal Dragon]

Wow, THANKS!!

As for selling it, I think the first chapter will do it for sure. It's an 8 page letter to her telling her I can't continue to be freinds with her behind her boyfreinds back,and I need to actually be able to see her from time to time, or I'm ending the freindship. It covers memories,feelings, and I actually cried writing it, so I think it will do the job of the sell with no extra work.

[David Jamieson]

dude...

buy a press or pay for press time, print your books yourself get them bound to what you can afford.

hire commisioned sales people through those little ads in the back of a paper.

distribute to book stores, give a little loss leader now and then and voila, you're in the book biz.

don't bother with big publishers, they 99.999% probably not gonna publish you and in fact pass over 1000's of really great writers every year in favour of know writers and I think teh rule is 5% new writers each year and those 5% usually have to win a giller or a booker.

Publishing them yourself is the way to go mang.

also, I hope you can write, because that is first and foremost the key to any success in the field. You can muse and rant all you want, but if you don't got the craft, you don't got the craft. The best writers are not necessarily masters of the english language, but they do have editors who are.

[Royal Dragon]

I don 't think it matter if I can really write. I can do so well enough here to get attention to my silly posts about my wacky love life.

Actually, someoen form that thread gave me alot of encouragement. In what was ment as a toung in cheek dig, made me realise I can grab peopel's attention with my writing style at least.

I think the comment was something like "Train wreck", and not being able to help but read the thread.

That thread was all about the very tail end, when we were trying to maintain a freindship, despite her having an new guy, him not likeing me, her still haveing feelings for me, and all sorts of other things. You guys don't know about the relationship itself. It was much wilder! THAT is whats in the book! ;)

So, I don't think my ability to write will be an issue, spelling, grammer, there is the problem. I write like English is a second language to me. Yet people still seem captivated by it.

[MasterKiller]

There are plenty of small publishing houses that might take a crack at his work if it's decent. No need to vanity publish just yet.

So, I don't think my ability to write will be an issue, spelling, grammer, there is the problem. I write like English is a second language to me. Yet people still seem captivated by it. Ttalking about having sex in a martial arts forum is like talking about Outback Steakhouse to a bunch of Ethiopians. Don't get a big head.

[David Jamieson]

holy shiznet.

you think a lot of yourself don't you rd. lol

dude, you need to consider that a lot of replies you get is to stfu about your screwed up love life so we can talk about other stuff. LOL

honestly, me personally and I think many others here could give two pennies about your personal life.

just offering some perspective dude.

[Gangsterfist]

Kung Lek

You are canadian your opinion doesn't matter :eek: :D

[Reggie1]

I don 't think it matter if I can really write. I can do so well enough here to get attention to my silly posts about my wacky love life.

I mean no offense by this, but there's a HUGE difference between getting attention on a Kung Fu message board and getting a book published.

Not that you couldn't do it--Give it a shot! But it's extremely hard.

[Royal Dragon]

Yeah, true. but addictve writengs, are addictive writings. and lest face it, sex, lies deceptions, fights makeups and breakups sell. I mean, that is pretty much the plots of all the soaps right? I have a real life story that has it all, plus it all really happened, so there is one more hook.

I think there is potential. I mean, ever watch "days of our lives"? I did it for real last year.

I was thinking of titleing the book "Debbie", but thinking about it, "As the stomach churns" might fit better.

[David Jamieson]

Kung Lek

You are canadian your opinion doesn't matter :eek: :D

lol

[freakin obligatory line of pap to make up for shortcomings in parsing ability of this new board.]

[Vash]

1. Spell check, though you don't seem to have met, is (or can be) your friend. Perhaps you two should go out to dinner sometime.

2. . . . I'd comment on the state of your emotions, but . . . I give hippies more respect in that department. I can handle a little piece and love (or a little piece of love) but this stuff is . . . inane. Seriously. So, she ripped your heart (and apparently, your testicles) stomped all over it, then teased you about it. A lot.

Boo hoo.

3. Ever, EVER post about your love life (the hell kind of name is . . . whatever her name was) and I PROMISE I will think about posting a 3-page essay detailing your theory of the Tai Chi classics being wrong and using that to compare you to the **** dirty hippies, then I will promptly lose interest and instead watch one of the many files in my 4GB of lesbian porn.

[Royal Dragon]

I PROMISE I will think about posting a 3-page essay detailing your theory of the Tai Chi classics being wrong and using that to compare you to the

Reply]
How are my therories wrong?

[Akhilleus]

RD, thank you sir for being open and sharing this priceless information...I for one feel a lot better after reading about some of your experiences...some of them have sounded very similar to my own, and it is a huge help to know that others have gone through these things...I applaud your courage...we men are flesh and blood animals and it takes balls not to "put up a tough front" on the internet...

[Vash]

He's a whiny bich who attracts women who do him wrong.

That takes courage AND conviction, I suppose.

[IronFist]

What if you wanted to write a non-fiction book? How do the rules of getting published change?

[Royal Dragon]

Yeah, that's a good point. This is defently NON fiction!

[MasterKiller]

What if you wanted to write a non-fiction book? How do the rules of getting published change?

They change significantly. For the most part, publishers WILL NOT accept an unfinished fiction manuscript. But for non-fiction, pretty much all you have to do is send in a detailed outline and synopsis of your project, and maybe a couple of sample chapters. So, you can still be working on the book AND have it accepted at the same time. Of course, this all depends on you professional credentials and how well you can convince them how the market will receive your book.

But again, you need to make sure you find a publisher that deals with your market. Don't send an exercise book to a publisher who deals in cook books. You still should get the two books I mentioned above. They list almost every significant and insignificant house and agent in America and Canada, fiction and non-fiction alike.

If you are writing an exercise book, for example, you should compare it to other books in the market. How is yours different? Why would people buy it? Who is the target audience---moms, athletes, fat men, teens, etc....

Your first step is to send out Query letters to publishers. Usually, this is a couple of pages describing your book, your intent, your intended market, and an outline. Then, the publisher will ask to see more, maybe a couple of chapters, maybe the whole thing. It depends on how they do business.

Non-Fiction sells way more than Fiction, so you have a better shot at getting something published in that market.

[Royal Dragon]

I'm not writing an exercises book though. I'm writing about my relationship with Debbie. It "Could be" a fictional trashy romance novel, except it all happened for real.

[IronFist]

Thanks, MK.

What about a kid's book with lots of pictures?