Friday, March 18, 2011

The Fourth Rule of Writing a Novel


Okay, so you wrote your first novel, actually finished it, and declared it abandoned. Now what? Well, if your intention is to be a published author, the next step is probably the most frightening of all. You have to put your work out there. This can mean many things, and all of them can terrify a novice. It terrified me after finishing Arianna's Tale.

Now that you have what can be considered a finished product, you should start sending this work to either agents or publishers. This means locating publishers and agents who take on your type of novel. This is easy to do with a quick web search. For example, if you're a fantasy writer (as I am), try 'fantasy book publisher.' You'll find some publishers listed. Those that accept manuscripts will have a submission guidelines page. Look carefully, as sometimes these guidelines are buried on the site.

Once you find the guidelines, follow them and fire off your manuscript. If you fail to follow the guidelines of a particular publisher, your manuscript will not even be looked at. Send it out and see what hapens. If your book is publishable or close to it, publishing houses will tell you that.

Of course, you could also choose to self-publish. This means you are responsible for everything. Editing. Layout and format. And fronting the money to publish the book in the first place. This is quite a risk for many people, and sometimes self-published books are frowned upon. This is not to say you should not self-publish. I have seen some truly wonderful self-published work. However, it will be your responsibility to ensure that the book is truly ready for the public.

Whichever method you choose, just get your book out there. You can't call yourself a published author until your book is in print and available for the public to purchase, so don't delay. The publishing process can often take longer than the writing process.