How Can You Get Your First Book Published?
Your dream is to have your first book published but, with all the competition out there, you feel you have about as much as a chance of getting published by some big New York publishing house than you do of getting discovered by some Hollywood producer. Fact is, you are probably right, but even so, there are many avenues to get published that exist outside of Manhattan.
Other People Are Reading
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Small Press
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For every publishing giant such as Random House or Harcourt Press, there are 10 excellent small presses. Target the presses that best fit your manuscript and, before sending out your manuscript, find out whether a given press is accepting unsolicited manuscripts. University presses often look favorably upon new authors and often publish works in poetry, nonfiction and academic works. You can also find many local presses that publish regional works, especially nonfiction or historical narratives, and specialty presses can be effective fits for genre works.
eBook
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According to the Association of American Publishers, sales of electronic books increased over 115 percent in January 2011 over January 2010 with $69 million in sales. E-books represent a low-cost and low-risk alternative for many small presses and authors. While an e-book might not represent your dream of seeing your book on the shelves of Barnes & Noble, this alternative can allow your words to be seen by readers worldwide on digital platforms such as Amazon's Kindle and Barnes & Noble's Nook.
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Self-Published
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The desire to realize a dream come true has driven many an author to self-publish. Self-publishing carries a bad reputation among many in the public and in the writing community since some books can be poorly produced and written. However, self-publishing can be a successful option for you with the right combination of quality book production, marketing and distribution. If you decide on the self-publishing option, you'll need to invest in all the costs involved in publishing -- from the editing and printing of your book to the marketing and distribution.
Literary Agents
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If your dream is to become published by a major publishing house, you'll need to land a literary agent who can evaluate your book, provide you with valuable feedback and promote your book to editors. According to FirstTimeAuthors.org, though, literary agents are overwhelmed with submissions with some agents receiving more than 200 queries per month. As a result, 99 percent of all submissions are rejected, meaning you will need perseverance and a manuscript that can rise above the competition.
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