Ever since I first read The Outsiders in my first year of high school, I've been bent on writing a book myself. The first book I was going to write about was about a troll. The next one was about a kid doing the things that I did. The one after that, I was going to do this weird cross-dimensional-timey-wimey story. I also thought about turning Joey Z into a book (and started). The last one was titled The Reluctant Superhero and was about a kid in Seattle, but the conversations and characters felt forced. But... I finally did it!

The thing that all of those book ideas had was that I never got past writing the seventh chapter!

I'm currently starting Chapter 9 of my latest attempt at writing. In fact, not only did I do that, but I've also managed to create a feasible outline that projects at least one (if not two) more books!

I broke my curse!!!!

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That's good to hear - are you aiming for a publisher yet?

No, I'm not just yet. I just finished chapter 9 and I'm going on to chapter 10. I only have like 20,000 words. I'm aiming for 80,000 words.

If you know of any publishers I should be aiming for, let me know!

These days there are three main ways to publish:

1. Get an agent. They'll usually want to see various samples of your work and proof that you can finish a full novel (best proof = finished novel, but don't send the whole thing unless they ask for it). Some agents are old fashioned and will want a paper copy of your work. DO NOT EVER give money to an agent to place your work for you. It's a scam. A real agent will review your work and if they want to take you on you'll agree to tithe them a percentage of your earnings from the deals they set up, usually 12-15%

This is probably the most profitable way to sell books these days. Almost all the big publishers don't accept direct submissions from writers any more, only things sent in by professional agents. However, agents need to be picky on who they take on their books, so often it helps if you have "record" before you approach them, perhaps by...

2. Get a deal with a small publisher. Look at the small imprint companies like Pro-Se. They all have webpages, and most have submission guidelines. Try and find one that puts out the sort of stuff you write. Approach them in whatever way the guidelines say and try and sell them on your stuff. The deal there is usually that you keep copyright and grant them a licence to publish for a period of years, and that you get a back-end share of net profits, usually around 60%. Note that these profits can be VERY small. Nobody gets rich from this kind of publishing, but it does develop your "rep".

Another way in to some of these companies is to look at their "want to buy" list, the things they need someone to write. For example, one company wanted a Robin Hood story for their catalogue, so I pitched one and got a three book deal. Another wanted a 15000 word Sinbad the Sailor story fast so I provided it. Then when I wanted to sell them something I'd thought up I was already known to them and they were ready to listen.

3. The quickest and simplest way to do a first novel these days is to publish it yourself. Ignore all the companies that want money from you to do this. They are scams. Take a look at Createspace and its imitators and at Amazon's Kindle publishing deal. I've never used these myself but I know plenty of folks who've had reasonably good experiences of them (and two that haven't).

The only upfront cost is if you want an ISBN (the book number that bookshops use to order in your work and libraries use to catalogue it). You can publish without, but stores and most critics won't treat it as a "proper" book. You can buy ISBNs yourself from the government-licensed organisation (Google it) or I think there's a deal where you can buy one that already belongs to Createspace or Amazon. I'm a bit vague on how that works in the US. It is WORTH getting an ISBN. Self-publishing doesn't have the stigma it used to (although some folks still sniff at it), but having no ISBN screams "amateur effort" to some potential buyers.

Self-publishing has a few extra problems though. First, you need to design the cover yourself (usually your publisher handles that and takes the cost from their share). Next you need to layout the text in the formats used by Createspace or Amazon or whoever. This takes some time and I'm told it's fiddly. Then you need to set up a system to ship out the books that people order from you, and do it well and on time because otherwise Amazon etc. will penalise you.

But if you don't mind the hassle this is an effective way of starting to build an audience. I know some writers who actually prefer this method because it gives them more control over the finished product. They make reasonable amounts of money taking their books to conventions and selling them. Otherwise, expect this to be more about the credibility than about the cash.

Not ready for any of those? Start sending short stories to the various online and print magazines that are interested in your kind of stuff. Maybe Pro-Se Presents and Pulp Spirit to start with? Most of these mags don't even pay you for your story, but its free publicity to get your name known and its a "print" credit.

Hope that helps.

IW