How to get published

lizzybradbury · 05-01-2012 4:32pm

I have started submitting my MS to agents rather than publishers and, after spending time carefully selecting the ones I thought would take on my work, started submitting. So far I have submitted to about 8-9 and have had rejections or no word from all of them.

Naturally I'm slightly frustrated even though I know this is normal. My question is, how many agents would you submit to before either giving up on that novel or going back to the drawing board?

I do really believe my work is publishable and would make money, I wrote my query with the help of a published author and an author success coach who is also published and I had my MS proof-read by a published author and several other people as well - What are your thoughts?

lizzybradbury · 05-01-2012 4:35pm

Fewcifur wrote: »

Positive! Standard inoffensive response seems to go along the lines of the book not being what they're looking for at the moment. The fact that they gave the excuse that they have something similar in the works is different and so I'd say positive.

Definitely, they wouldn't have bothered going out of their way to say it was good if they didn't mean it. That means that they did really like your style but they're already committed to another author and cannot jeopardise their work - Keep at it, create something new and get submitting again!

chuckaloo33 · 12-01-2012 5:33pm

Hi,

I wrote a screen play in 2011. Initially I tried to get it read by someone, anyone but there is very little information out there on what to do or where to go. I contacted the Irish Film Board and while they did get back to me the information was more for what I should do if I was thinking of writing one.

Can anyone shed any light on the area. All I want to know is am I wasting my time? I have a few more ideas and if I am totally off the mark with the first one then there is no point in writing more unless I know how.

Thanks,

Chuck.....

lizzybradbury · 20-02-2012 3:19pm

chuckaloo33 wrote: »

I wrote a screen play in 2011. Initially I tried to get it read by someone...

Can anyone shed any light on the area. All I want to know is am I wasting my time? I have a few more ideas and if I am totally off the mark with the first one then there is no point in writing more unless I know how.

Hi Chuck,

I think one idea is to find like-minded people - Like on a forum about writing or through sites like authonomy run by HarperCollins. Once you have built relationships with people you trust and can respect for their work, you can go about swapping MS's and giving each other feedback.

Don't bother paying for any editorial help (at least not at this stage), but find other screen-play writers and get their opinions, then you can not only improve you screen-play, which probably needs several revisions if you're like the rest of us, but you can also find out if you're going along the right lines.

Plus, finding other people often means you can talk to people who are a little further on the journey and get their advice and learn from their experiences about the next steps you can or need to take.

Hope that's helpful.

Lizzy x

chuckaloo33 · 21-02-2012 3:39pm

Hi Lizzy,

Thank you for your response and a big thank you for your advise. I will check out the sites you mentioned and hopefully I do meet some like-minded people.

I turned on the laptop again last week and found myself a number of hours later going through the screen play and making changes everywhere. Another draft complete!!

Thanks again,

Chuck.

Livvie · 30-03-2012 6:58pm

I submitted my synopsis to a reasonably well known publisher, and was asked to send the whole m/s. They told me it would take 4-6 months. Last week (4 months since sending it) I had an email saying that the m/s had been well received, and it was highly likely the MD of the company would like to meet me.

Is this standard or should I be just a tad excited?

EileenG · 30-03-2012 8:03pm

Livvie wrote: »

I submitted my synopsis to a reasonably well known publisher, and was asked to send the whole m/s. They told me it would take 4-6 months. Last week (4 months since sending it) I had an email saying that the m/s had been well received, and it was highly likely the MD of the company would like to meet me.

Is this standard or should I be just a tad excited?

Get very excited. That is NOT standard. The MD does not ask to meet someone unless they are seriously offering you a contract.

Livvie · 30-03-2012 8:06pm

EileenG wrote: »

Get very excited. That is NOT standard. The MD does not ask to meet someone unless they are seriously offering you a contract.

Eeek. Scared now!

I can't believe it will happen though...this is the first time I've submitted to any publisher. It's all too good to be true.

EileenG · 30-03-2012 9:20pm

Good luck. I'll keep my fingers and toes crossed for you.

They'll decide on your MS, not the meeting. The meeting is more to decide if you are likely to be an asset for publicity.

Even if they don't accept, it's just a huge coup to have got this far. You definitely have a good book on your hands.

Livvie · 31-03-2012 2:12pm

EileenG wrote: »

Good luck. I'll keep my fingers and toes crossed for you.

They'll decide on your MS, not the meeting. The meeting is more to decide if you are likely to be an asset for publicity.

Even if they don't accept, it's just a huge coup to have got this far. You definitely have a good book on your hands.

Thanks, Eileen. And if it doesn't happen, it'll be disappointing, but not majorly so, because as you say, I feel it's an achievement to have got this far.

Off topic - have you anything more in the pipeline? A sequel to Don't Feed the Fairies, maybe? I so enjoyed that.

EileenG · 31-03-2012 7:56pm

Livvie wrote: »

Off topic - have you anything more in the pipeline? A sequel to Don't Feed the Fairies, maybe? I so enjoyed that.

Yes, the follow-up, Don't Eat the Earthlings, was published just before Christmas. And I've just got a contract with Ellora's Cave for an Erotic novella which is due out in June.

Livvie · 31-03-2012 8:34pm

EileenG wrote: »

Yes, the follow-up, Don't Eat the Earthlings, was published just before Christmas. And I've just got a contract with Ellora's Cave for an Erotic novella which is due out in June.

Congratulations! And I just rushed to Kindle for Don't Eat the Earthlings.

EileenG · 31-03-2012 9:22pm

Thank you. Shout and tell me all the bits you don't like.

Livvie · 31-03-2012 9:29pm

EileenG wrote: »

Thank you. Shout and tell me all the bits you don't like.

Doubt there will be any bits I don't like - there weren't in the first one. But if anything stands out - in any way - I'll let you know.

pickarooney · 02-04-2012 9:10am

I presume this is the book about the traveller kid, Livvie?

Livvie · 02-04-2012 10:00am

pickarooney wrote: »

I presume this is the book about the traveller kid, Livvie?

That's the one.

Have started work on second novel, but it's really hard to break away from those characters.

You put so much effort and thought into that first book, that you feel that you've exhausted the supply of ideas!

I still can't believe that anything will come of this and am prepared for that. Just concentrating on the positive.

OneColdHand · 22-06-2012 3:54am

I have a question about publishing. I should clarify that I know literally nothing about the process of getting a book published, and next nothing about writing one.

My question is sort of a how-long-is-a-piece-of-string question. It's regarding pricing/costs. I'm wondering what is the break down of the price of a book? For example, if I was to buy a book for €20, how much goes to the author, how much to the publisher, and how much goes to the shop that sells it? Are there any other parties in there that get a cut of the money?

I know this is a very general question, and I'm sure it varies greatly from book to book, but even a general answer would do. Is it different for non-fiction as opposed to fiction?

Thanks.

Livvie · 22-06-2012 8:55am

Quick update, by way of offering hope to all! My m/s was reviewed and accepted and am waiting for contract to arrive in the mail. It doesn't seem real - this is something that happens to someone else, not to me! In other words, if I can do it, there's a chance for everyone.

pickarooney · 22-06-2012 9:02am

Livvie wrote: »

Quick update, by way of offering hope to all! My m/s was reviewed and accepted and am waiting for contract to arrive in the mail. It doesn't seem real - this is something that happens to someone else, not to me! In other words, if I can do it, there's a chance for everyone.

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of it

Will it be e-published, paperback or both?

Livvie · 22-06-2012 9:03am

Both. Will give you more details once the contract is actually signed.

EileenG · 22-06-2012 11:46am

OneColdHand wrote: »

I have a question about publishing. I should clarify that I know literally nothing about the process of getting a book published, and next nothing about writing one.

My question is sort of a how-long-is-a-piece-of-string question. It's regarding pricing/costs. I'm wondering what is the break down of the price of a book? For example, if I was to buy a book for €20, how much goes to the author, how much to the publisher, and how much goes to the shop that sells it? Are there any other parties in there that get a cut of the money?

I know this is a very general question, and I'm sure it varies greatly from book to book, but even a general answer would do. Is it different for non-fiction as opposed to fiction?

Thanks.

Obviously it varies, but as a general rule, on a €10 paperback, the distributor will get close to half of the price. The bookshop will get somewhere around a third to a quarter, the rest goes to the publisher to pay for editing and printing, and the author will get about 80 cents to €1 per book.

This is why e-books can be so much cheaper, even with the same editing and promotion. The distribution is much cheaper.

OneColdHand · 22-06-2012 1:49pm

EileenG wrote: »

Obviously it varies, but as a general rule, on a €10 paperback, the distributor will get close to half of the price. The bookshop will get somewhere around a third to a quarter, the rest goes to the publisher to pay for editing and printing, and the author will get about 80 cents to €1 per book.

This is why e-books can be so much cheaper, even with the same editing and promotion. The distribution is much cheaper.

Thanks, that's very helpful.

Wouldn't have thought the distributor would get so much, but that just shows how much I know about publishing!

EileenG · 22-06-2012 5:17pm

OneColdHand wrote: »

Thanks, that's very helpful.

Wouldn't have thought the distributor would get so much, but that just shows how much I know about publishing!

That's why self-publishing is so difficult. It's not the cost of the printing, it's the distribution. Shelf space in shops is valuable, most will not give it except to the big distributors.

oterra · 05-07-2012 7:50am

Livvie wrote: »

Both. Will give you more details once the contract is actually signed.

Great news Livvie.
I'm delighted for you.

Livvie · 07-07-2012 8:10pm

oterra wrote: »

Great news Livvie.
I'm delighted for you.

Thank you.

I just PMd you - sorry I didn't see yours until now.

FutureGuy · 10-07-2012 10:44am

Hi all,
Just few questions to the people who are close to publishing or are already published (congrats!).

Given the incredible differences between the cut given by regular publishers and those offered by selfpublishing (ie Kindle), which option are/were you considering?

At what stage in the writing process did you contact a publisher?

Is selfpublishing to Kindle first to gauge reaction a good idea or would it hamper your efforts to get a publisher later? Would they see it as less profitable and thus not bother with publishing the book?

EileenG · 10-07-2012 1:10pm

If you self-publish, you get more of the cover price, but you'll sell a lot less. Quite apart from the marketing and promotion power of a publisher, you wouldn't believe the difference a proper professional edit makes to a book.

And it has to be said, particularly for Irish authors. The biggest market is American, so really unless your book is aimed only at Ireland, you need to be aware of that market. It's not just a matter of colour/color etc. It's the whole way we use language and because it's how we speak, we're not aware of it unless there's an American editor pointing it out.

An awful lot of self-pubs are very very bad. They have messy covers and are full of typos, grammar mistakes and dodgy punctuation. I sometimes buy books from publishers I know without clicking "Look inside", but I never do with a self-pub.

Normally I contact a publisher when my book is finished, edited as much as I can do, and polished. If they like it, they send me contracts and rip the book apart.

I would not self-publish any book that I think might get accepted by a publisher, but if I had a short or a related story to a published book, I might stick that up as a self-pub.

kilrush claire · 24-09-2012 1:44pm

Hi, I've enjoyed reading all the entries here and find them very helpful. Could anyone advise me if it is a good idea to submit a first novel to several agents and publishers at the same time. Also is it a good idea to submit my work to overseas agents and publishers even though my story is set between Ireland and America. I welcome any advice that anyone thinks relevant. I'm on my second book and loving it.Thanks, K.C.

Livvie · 24-09-2012 4:36pm

kilrush claire wrote: »

Hi, I've enjoyed reading all the entries here and find them very helpful. Could anyone advise me if it is a good idea to submit a first novel to several agents and publishers at the same time. Also is it a good idea to submit my work to overseas agents and publishers even though my story is set between Ireland and America. I welcome any advice that anyone thinks relevant. I'm on my second book and loving it.Thanks, K.C.

What genre is your book?

kilrush claire · 24-09-2012 5:57pm

Hi, it's a character novel set in the 1920s

Livvie · 24-09-2012 7:09pm

kilrush claire wrote: »

Hi, it's a character novel set in the 1920s

I submitted to ChocLit, who don't require you to have an agent first. They do require a hero pov though, not necessarily throughout the book - we had around half a dozen povs - and they do like a defined hero.

kilrush claire · 24-09-2012 8:07pm

Thanks for that Livvie, yes the hero is strong alright. Thanks again, K.C.

Livvie · 24-09-2012 8:15pm

kilrush claire wrote: »

Thanks for that Livvie, yes the hero is strong alright. Thanks again, K.C.

No prob. Look forward to reading your book.

kilrush claire · 20-03-2013 12:18pm

Wondering...is it just me...or..are Poolbeg / writing.ie really only interested in submissions from Yummy Mummys. I have a reason for asking and its not sour grapes because I have not submitted to Poolbeg or joined writing.ie. But I have noticed that several of Poolbeg's authors are similar in looks and age and are mothers to the 2.2 children and living in suburbia and writing.ie appears to pick up on that. Are they just trying to find chick-lit authors that look like the characters in their books. Is it a beauty contest or can anyone join in?:mad:

EileenG · 22-03-2013 1:50pm

Anyone can join in. They don't care what the authors look like, it's just that the ones who are most willing to do publicity tend to look alike.

shuffles03 · 30-05-2013 8:40am

I've just finished writing my book and I have a quick question about submitting exerts. One publisher is looking for 40,000 words. Is it best to submit 40,000 from from one part or choose different chapters throughout the book to make up the required amount?

blue.jester · 05-06-2013 12:56pm

shuffles03 wrote: »

I've just finished writing my book and I have a quick question about submitting exerts. One publisher is looking for 40,000 words. Is it best to submit 40,000 from from one part or choose different chapters throughout the book to make up the required amount?

Generally it is submit the first three chapters/first block of words up to the total.

A few times I have submitted less than, or slightly more than, the 40K request to have it end on a natural break.

I was told by an agent once to never submit chapters randomly because it comes across as "I really think these bits are awesome, but the first three chapters are not so great so let's not look at them just yet."

Basically it makes them wonder why you didn't use the first words the reader is going to read.

shuffles03 · 05-06-2013 1:05pm

Cheers for the advice. I had originally thought about selecting different chapters throughout the book as it spans different continents so I wanted to give an example from each but I definitely see why doing so would make the reader sketchy.

Cheers.

kev2010 · 18-06-2013 10:51am

It's hard to get published but find the write publishing house for your genre and keep sending in manuscripts. Edit, edit, edit.

echo beach · 19-06-2013 5:17pm

kev2010 wrote: »

It's hard to get published but find the write right publishing house for your genre and keep sending in manuscripts. Edit, edit, edit.

I've done a little editing for you.
Sorry, I couldn't resist.:)

Walls · 16-09-2013 9:34am

Morning All,

I was having a television interview about my novel last Saturday (it will go out over Halloween) and one of the things they said was that it should be offered as an option for a mini series to Morgan O'Sullivan, the producer of the Tudors. Hands up, though, I know nothing about such things, or even how to arrange representation for such things. As far as I can see, even getting representation would be an uphill battle. Anyone any ideas or tips to arrange something like this?

Easog · 16-09-2013 7:18pm

Hello

I have known Morgan for a couple of years now and the best time to approach him is when he has been on the sherry. He drinks in the Dargle inn most Friday nights and by about 11 he is pretty sloshed. The best way to get chatting is to tell him you have a rock solid tip for a horse race the following day. Do your research and just pick out a random horse. Tell him the tip came from a jockey in England. Hope this has been helpful.

ps, if you don't know what he looks like try Google images.

Walls · 20-09-2013 12:41pm

Many thanks, Easog, but I'm not going to approach him in a bar. I've since been told that his company is dealing with the Tudors, Vikings and a third, huge project after that, and to try an agent in London instead. I've sent off a very polite email as a result, we'll see what can be done from that.

Alicep · 22-09-2013 3:17pm

Any guidelines on e-book publishing. Is self publishing on Amazon a difficult thing to actually do

Livvie · 22-09-2013 3:30pm

Alicep wrote: »

Any guidelines on e-book publishing. Is self publishing on Amazon a difficult thing to actually do

I don't think so. It's becoming more and more common - and if you buy a magazine on writing, you'll probably find someone advertising to do it for you.. I've seen it for less than £100.

What you would need is to get really involved in social networking to promote yourself...Facebook (an author page), Twitter, have a blog, get yourself a blog tour etc. etc.

pickarooney · 24-09-2013 10:12am

Alicep wrote: »

Any guidelines on e-book publishing. Is self publishing on Amazon a difficult thing to actually do

it's a piece of piss to publish. getting anyone to buy it or even know it exists is the difficult bit.

Easog · 24-09-2013 1:52pm

pickarooney wrote: »

it's a piece of piss to publish. getting anyone to buy it or even know it exists is the difficult bit.

Pickarooney, we don't appreciate that kind of language here. I suggest you find some other threads to express yourself such as motoring or livestock. Thank you.

maccored · 02-10-2013 1:40pm

pickarooney wrote: »

it's a piece of piss to publish. getting anyone to buy it or even know it exists is the difficult bit.

Totally agree

Dortilolma · 02-10-2013 4:25pm

Alicep wrote: »

Any guidelines on e-book publishing. Is self publishing on Amazon a difficult thing to actually do

It's very easy - but make sure your manuscript is the best it can be and get an editor to go over it (and not a friend of a friend who is good at that sort of thing but a proper copy-editor and a proofreader).

You can self publish ebooks in multiple stores not just Amazon. However as has already been pointed out once you've published you have to market your ebook which is the ridiculously hard part.

To start off have a look at Kindle Direct Publishing, Kobo's Writing Life and Smashwords.

For editors check out The Association of Freelance Editors, Proofreaders and Indexers

If you have questions about marketing feel free to PM me. I worked in marketing in Publishing and currently work in marketing digital products - including ebooks.

Livvie · 07-10-2013 7:38am

My co-written book, Beneath an Irish Sky, has now been out in paperback since August, ebook since July, and it's the most nerve-wracking time of my life.

There have been mainly highs, but also some lows which I can't quite define. I've been on edge a lot of time, and even depressed, without really knowing why, but I attribute it to the stress of having my baby out there at the mercy of predators (aka reviewers). Plus the stress of commitment combined with the fear of failure.

Are these feelings normal?

I'd recommend a rhino-hide coat, but have to say I wouldn't change anything. And two great reviews in the Irish Independent made my year.

(It's currently free on Amazon btw. The novel that is, not the Irish Independent

).

How to get published

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