Getting a book published.

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Getting a book published.

Postby aliveinHim » Sun Aug 28, 2011 6:34 am

How many of you writers out there actually had something published? How did you do it if you did?
"And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." Ephesians 2:1-7

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Postby Atria35 » Sun Aug 28, 2011 6:38 am

One of my friends had a book published last year. She went to an independent publisher to do it, since most major publishers won't give you a second glance. I can't remember which one it was- I'll update with that once I get back to my apartment. However,t he downside was that she needed to do the editing herself, and unfortunately she needed a better job than what she herself did.
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Postby ChristianKitsune » Sun Aug 28, 2011 6:55 am

Lulu.com is a good start. It's a website that you have to pay to be published but I did a book cover for a client who used this and it looks really nice and professional.
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Postby LadyRushia » Sun Aug 28, 2011 10:49 am

That depends on if you want to self-publish or go through traditional publishing and THAT depends on your goals for the project. Are you trying to start your career or just do it for fun?

With traditional book publishing, the process basically goes like this:
-submit your MS directly to the publication or a literary agent (this depends on their specs for submission. If a publisher says they don't take unsolicited manuscripts, you need an agent)
-when I say "MS" I really mean send them what they ask for. If they only want a synopsis and the first chapter, don't send them your entire story
-from there, the agent or publication will either accept your work or not. If they do, they might ask for the first 50 pages. After that, they might accept your whole manuscript or decline it

This website has some good articles about the pitching and publication process. Since the farthest I've ever gotten is having an editor interested in publishing one of my poems, I don't have much personal experience with these things.

http://www.sfwriter.com/agent.htm
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Postby FllMtl Novelist » Sun Aug 28, 2011 11:13 am

LadyRushia (post: 1500288) wrote:That depends on if you want to self-publish or go through traditional publishing and THAT depends on your goals for the project. Are you trying to start your career or just do it for fun?

With traditional book publishing, the process basically goes like this:
-submit your MS directly to the publication or a literary agent (this depends on their specs for submission. If a publisher says they don't take unsolicited manuscripts, you need an agent)
-when I say "MS" I really mean send them what they ask for. If they only want a synopsis and the first chapter, don't send them your entire story
-from there, the agent or publication will either accept your work or not. If they do, they might ask for the first 50 pages. After that, they might accept your whole manuscript or decline it

This website has some good articles about the pitching and publication process. Since the farthest I've ever gotten is having an editor interested in publishing one of my poems, I don't have much personal experience with these things.

http://www.sfwriter.com/agent.htm

This. And before you submit anything, make sure that piece is the best it can be. That means giving it to others to read and listening to criticism. (Dealing with criticism/feedback is a whole 'nuther topic, actually. PM me if you want more information.) It means looking at the characters and plot first, and the grammar last. Neither will necessarily be fixed in one draft. Expect more than three drafts, more depending on your writing process, and even more if this is your first piece.

Also, don't assume your work is done upon signing a contract. No matter how polished your work is, the agent or editor will want some changes (which may be big or small, it's up to the individual's vision for your book). Don't expect your book to sell itself, take an active role in marketing (poke around for ideas). If you expect to make writing a career, writing the book is not the entire job.
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Postby aliveinHim » Mon Aug 29, 2011 4:40 am

I'm writing my book for fun. I definately have a lot of people to help me edit it. I'm used to letting people criticize my work since I've taken classes on where people have to criticize my stuff. I know my book will probably have at least 10 drafts :P. Thanks for all your advice everyone :).
"And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." Ephesians 2:1-7

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Postby Alreadyish » Thu Sep 15, 2011 2:17 pm

I have two manga I have self-published. I did all the work, making the manga, printing the manga, cutting the manga, binding the books....Yeah... It's a lot of work, but I love how if something goes wrong or if I noticed something wrong with a page I can always go back and fix it easy.~ There's a lot of downfalls to this though, like how it takes about a week to make 8 books. It's not for massive sales or anything. So limited books.~ Also not one page is the same since some of the edges cut can be a little less then personal. ^^; For my manga though, I like that feel. xD;;;
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