Authors Lounge discussion

Since I am still unpublished, I am looking for solid advice as to what others did to get published. Tips, warnings and rules would be appreciated.

I would also be interested to know your opinions on self-publishing vs the traditional route with an agent. I have won a literary award for my manuscript, have a blog, a Twitter account & author page on Facebook. Does any of it really make a difference with promotion? Sometimes I get frustrated and feel as though I'm spinning my wheels. I'm sure there are others like me that are interested in your expertise.

You seem to have hit what I used to call The Dark Zone. It's where you've got as far as you can on your own, and now you need soneone to take a little faith in you. Its the hardest part of the publishing journey.

When I hit it, I decided to self publish, get my work out there, builf a CV, basically. And it worked pretty good. I dont think my publisher would have looked twice at Greaveburn if it wasnt for the fact that Not Before Bed had sold relatively well (for a completely unknown author).

So I'd say dont be afraid to self publish. An girl I once met, Ania Ahlborn, self pubbed then got snapped up by Amazon. Anything can happen! :)

Hi BJ
Congrats on your literary award! Your book must have some merit, so keep the faith. Self publishing is so popular nowadays, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it, however, I made up my mind years ago that I was not going to pay somebody to publish my work. I got published the old-fashioned, traditional way. I wrote and wrote, went to ocassional conferences and writers meetings, read tons of books on the craft . . . and kept writing. When I felt my children's novel was truly ready, I started to query agents and editors. I receivied numerous rejections, but some really positive feedback as well. I think that helped me to persevere. Finally, after what seemed like forever, I found the right agent--Mary Kole from the Andrea Brown agency. After sixteen months and further revision, she sold my novel to Harcourt. Talk about excitng. My book, "A Smidgen of Sky," will finally be out this Nov. 6.

I know this is a long post, but what I'm trying to say, is it IS still possible to get published the traditional way. A good agent is worth her weight in gold and I would highly recommend finding one. Don't give up. If your work is truly of publishable quality you will find the right match. Carefully research your choices so you're not wasting time subbing to the wrong agent. It does not take a miracle to get published--it takes a little talent and a huge dose of determination. You can do it.

I feel your pain. You've gotten really good advice above, but I might add something I've discovered since my first book was published in 2009. Depending upon your writing voice and style it's critical, maybe more than any other single thing right now, (assuming professional level copy and development editing), that you pigeon-hole your genre. Targeting your reader is so critical because of just how hard it is to make your book discoverable among everything now available. I also firmly believe that self-publishing, no longer the venue of last resort, actually make the most sense for niche genres where there is not so much competition for the reader's time. YA and Romance would NOT be my first choice genres to begin a new writing career with. They are genres whose readership is increasing, and there are lots and lots of very good, very successful writers already working in them. Mystery, Fantasy and SciFi are more niche markets, but their readers are very niche oriented and it is quite possible to miss the mark with one group and hit it with another. Age is also a factor. For example, I'm not a young writer -- I'm 60 plus, so I've learned that my best readers are people from my own generation. Readers in their twenties and thirties don't have the same cultural and language touch-stones and as children of the internet, they expect a different kind of pacing in their reading. I'm this close ("-") to putting an age-warning on my work! Good luck. Your work is clearly up to snuff, so get out there and spread the word, and don't be afraid to mess up and learn.

Richard, thanks for sharing that. It makes sense to me.

Thanks to everyone for their advice & input. I truly appreciate it.

Consider creating a publishing company to help with the self-published smell.

My advice if you choose to self publish:
1. Hire an editor -- there are many reputable freelancers that will do a novel for a few hundred
2. Hire a professional proof reader-- few things are more important
3. Hire a jacket designer
4. Hire a publicist

Self-publish shouldn't be done entirely by you. Making the above investments can mean the difference between not being taken seriously and selling your book in the marketplace.

There's much to discuss on the topic of distribution as well. There are several good books on this, be sure to read them before you publish.