Tips for publishing a book?

Question:

Tips for publishing a book?

what do I need to know for publishing a book?
will it cost anything?
who do I contact?
what steps are there to take?
any good web sties?
--What do i need to know?--

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: "What do you need to know about publishing a book?" Not so much about publishing, but you do need to know about making submissions. Never send a publisher anything without first reading their submission guidelines on their website. No website? Then go to the public library and get a book called the Literary Market Place and look up publishers that are interested in your genre. Read their submission guidelines then follow them to the letter. Most large publishing houses will not accept unagented submissions. That also means they won't accept your query letter. Small, independent publishers will accept unagented submissions.

"Will it cost me anything?" Yes and no. If you submit your work through an agent and they option the book, you have to share a certain amount of commission off your royalties with that agent. If you submit your work directly to the publisher and they option the book, you don't share your royalties with anyone. However, if you do submit your work through an agent, never ever pay them for editing, reading, or any other fees. An agent makes money the same way you do...from the sale of your work. Now, there is a third option and that is self-publishing. Is you publish your work yourself, you foot the bill for the books and for all the marketing.

"Who do I contact?" See answer to question #1. You can either go to the public library and read the Literary Market Place or you can go to the Preditors & Editors website and review the listings for publishers and agents they have available.

"What steps are there to take?" Again, refer to the answer to the first question. Adding to that, you have to have a finished and marketable manuscript. By marketable, I mean that it's complete, fully edited, and free of errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Then you'll probably need a query letter, a synopsis, and a short bio of yourself and your publishing credits.

"Any good websites?" Yes, there are tons of them. Preditors & Editors, Writerswall.com, just to name a couple.

"What do I need to know?" See all of the above. You really need to do a whole lot more than ask a question on Yahoo. Begin by doing some research on the Internet, then go to the library.

However, if you don't have a completed manuscript, there's the place you really need to start.

Good luck to you in this endeavor! :o)