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Position:Home>Books & Authors> I'm Really Clueless On This Please Help Me!?Question: I'm Really Clueless On This Please Help Me!!? Okay so I wrote a novel recently and I want to send it to a publisher!. I don't know any publishers, let alone their addresses in which I should send the CD to (saved on a disk)!. I really want to get this done!. Please please please help me!Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: First off, you say you recently wrote it!. Okay, that is only about 10% of actually finishing your novel!. You need to do so much more to polish that thing and prep it for the eys of anyone!. Go through, do a good revision/proofreading, rewrite what you feel needs to be rewritten, and get an unpaid editor or beta reader to read it for you!. I say unpaid because a real editor will cost you a couple thousand dollars, and even then, that doesn't guarantee you'll get published!. In fact, you may never get published!.!.!.so it would have been a waste of your money!. Good unpaid editors can be college lit teachers, authors, even foreign language teachers!.!.!.somebody with an exceptional eye for it!. Meanwhile, you need to study self-editing because when you go through to do your final rewrite, you need to know what to take out and what to keep!. Only you know what's best for your novel, but you have to know what's best within reason and limit!. In any case, once you're through that lengthy, heart strangling process, then you go on to deciding whether you want an agent or just put your foot in the door!. I recommend an agent!. An agent represents your work and can get it to the eyes of an editor of a larger publishing house!. Most big ones want literary agents!.!.!.meaning they don't accept unsolicited!. You can find a nice listing of them in the Agent Market books, or Writer's Market books!. You can even find more of them on absolutewrite!.com!. Don't go searching for them on a search engine!. There are villianous agents out there who will try to steal your money!. You should not have to pay an agent at all!. They take royalty fees from the sale of your novel!. In order to nab one of these agents, you need to perfect your query letter and synopsis!. also, research cover letters!. Those are not difficult to do!. You might have had to do one before!. Query letters let the agent know what your novel is about for the most part!.!.!.it has to grab their attention on one page!. A synopsis lets the literary agent know more about your novel!. Study those!. Get an account on absolutewrite!.com!. There are authors on there who have been through it and they can help you through this mind-numbing process!. Now, if you want to put your foot in the door, research the same query letter, synopsis, cover letter stuff!. But find ones that accept unsolicted!. Get yourself a copy of Writer's Market!. It has listings of many publishing companies, and there are some that take unsolicited!. There aren't a lot, but they are out there!. also, look on my bio to see what books I recommend for the aspiring author!. They are EXTREMELY helpful, especially the self-editing book!. It will tell you pretty much what an editor looks for in relations to corrections!. DO NOT get a copyright!. It's extremely amateurish!. Most of all, do not give up!.Www@QuestionHome@Com Please, for you best interests, keep the CD home right now!. Read, study, copy the first section of the current The Writer's Market book (as purchased or to use with a copier at a library for free, or print out) to see how to publish properly!. ADD: (Some use The Writer's Digest!. Parts of these books may be online, but to see 'good and bad' examples, get helpful links, read tips from professionals, and more!.!.!. get The Writer's Market) Learn to write a book synopsis and queries, who to and when to send the best you can write of these, and wait for proper responses!. There will be rejections, so be prepared for that!. Yet there may also be a 'yes, send more' !.!.!.it's happened for me, so it can for you!. Don't copyright beyond keeping a CD or other form of this novel at home, with your name and a date on it, always!. Don't send a CD to publishers without being asked to send it, you'll just get it right back!. Study The Writer's Market, and everything will be much easier to do and to understand!. Best of luck!.Www@QuestionHome@Com Find an agent, first!. Publishers use unsolicited CDs for coasters!.Www@QuestionHome@Com google the name of a publisher!. Google!!works everytime!Www@QuestionHome@Com |