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How
to Get Published
By - John Bell
In this article the author John Bell shares some top tips on
the steps necessary to getting work published. He works on the theory that
everyone has a book inside them just waiting to come out and with help and
guidance there are few reasons publication cannot be achieved.
I was renting space at a convention to display and sell my
books when an elderly admirer of my work made a comment that has remained with
me over the years. He said "I am so envious of you as a published author -
you have something that will be here long after you have gone. They are
testaments to your very existence on this planet".
I thanked him for his kind words and suggested he ought to
have something published, as I believed, as the old saying goes, everyone had a
book inside them.
He replied, "I penned an autobiography some years back
to leave for those who come after me. I thought it would be easy to get
published until I tried. I soon realized no one was interested in my life".
After the man moved on and out of my life, probably forever,
I thought about what he had said with some sadness. I believe he was wrong when
he had said no one would be interested in his story. Many of our greatest
literary works are autobiographical. As a teenager my favorite book was Cider
With Rosie by Laurie Lee.
I was required to read the work as part of my school studies.
It is a simple story about the author's childhood in a remote Cotswold village
and life as it was then. Laurie Lee's memoir has now sold more than six million
copies.
The author died in 1997. He has gone, but his memory lives on
in the vivid and idyllic pictures he painted so well. Laurie Lee's words have
now become a cherished record of England as it then was. It is an important
record of history that might well have been lost forever if, like most potential
authors before and after him, he had given up at the first hurdle of sourcing a
publisher for his work.
Let me at this point give you hope. If you are capable and
motivated sufficiently to read the remainder of this article, there is every
probability you can be published. I can say this as the author of over
twenty-five books and I will now share with you some useful and essential tips
so that you too can leave your mark on this planet.
The first hurdle for Laurie Lee was most likely putting pen
to paper. Your story may be the greatest since time began but if you do not
share it with others it will die with you.
Today we have computers that make life so much easier - aids
Laurie Lee never had. He also added to his difficulties by choosing to become a
poet before becoming a novelist. To this day it remains extremely difficult to
persuade an editor to even glance at a poetry manuscript.
Imagine editors as being a kind of gatekeeper. Their prime
responsibility is to make lots of money for a publishing house. They do this in
two ways. They only select material they believe will sell well. It follows that
to do this they must reject material that they consider will not sell well. This
is the main reason you might wait months before an editor will even acknowledge
receipt of your masterpiece.
The editor's dilemma is that they are bombarded with 'want to
be' authors submitting their masterpieces. Most editors are overworked and spend
much of their time concentrating on their current authors whom they know have
previously made money.
Their real dilemma is there may be a J. K. Rowling in that
pile of unheard of authors scattered around their desk. According to J. K.
Rowling, as a single mother struggling to make ends meet, she was rejected by
one editor after another. Sales of her work have now exceeded 375 million
copies. Now imagine those editors as they see how the bookshop cash registers
continuously open and close! Do you think they sometimes wonder what might have
been if they had just taken a little bit out of their precious time? And so they
procrastinate and in periodic fits clear the decks of all those unknowns. You
may get a "Dear John' letter, you may not.
Getting published tends to require an element of luck.
However, for any reader who has read my book 'How to Negotiate With the Power of
Placebo' you will know that luck is for the most part created by the recipient.
Timing is also an important factor in being accepted by most
publishing companies. If there are topics that are currently popular with the
general public and your manuscript, fortuitously on that same topic, lands on an
editor's desk, then you have a great chance of getting published.
If you have been working on a great story for ten years that
describes how you gave up a life you hated in the UK and started again in
Southern France, your moment has possibly gone as the numerous writers who
followed Peter Mayle and his 'A Year in Provence' found to their dismay. Their
timing was out.
You can of course find an agent who is prepared to represent
and recommend you to their editor friends and associates. Those that have
attempted this route will testify you have more chance of being awarded the
Booker Prize for your first work.
If you still wish to follow the Literary Agent route you are
best to begin by conducting a little research on the agent you are interested
in. Many agents specialize in particular kinds of books. Don't waste the cost of
stamps sending material off if your topic is not something that is likely to
interest that particular agent. If you want a reply, be it a yes please or
polite no thank you, include the cost of a return stamp.
As a minimum send a letter of enquiry giving an overview or
synopsis of your book. Don't make your letter more than two sides of A4 or it
will mysteriously float into the waste paper bin. Offer to send the first two or
three chapters. If you are feeling particularly rich, lucky and the stars say
the time is right try sending a few chapters. Use double spacing between lines
for the agent to make notes as they speed read. They are looking for
well-written material, focused on a target audience, which is of interest to
them. Also include a CV and information about any books you have already had
published.
If you are invited to submit further material for
consideration, follow the instructions given to the letter. They will judge your
material as an indication of your reliability.
When you have completed the required amount of chapters check
it carefully for mistakes and errors. When you are totally satisfied it is
perfect, ask a trusted friend to read and check your work - and get ready to
receive a long list of mistakes they have found. Correct the errors. Repeat the
process with a second friend. It is surprising how a fresh pair of eyes finds
things that have been missed.
Reduce the potential for error by obtaining a copy of Make No
Mistake by William Hicks. This book is full of top tips on English, with copious
examples, and is a great way to check out your punctuation, grammar, spelling
and common misuse of words. When you are confident your work has no silly little
mistakes, then, and only then, send off your work remembering to send postage if
you would like the manuscript returned. And if you find a silly little mistake
after posting off your manuscript don't worry too much. Even my copy of Make No
Mistake has the odd mistake.
Now for a reality check. Unless you are a household name,
someone who is seen on the television a lot, you need to whet the agent's
appetite quickly to keep his or her attention. Realistically, whether you are
taken onto their books comes down to money. They have expensive overheads,
offices, staff, etc and, as they work on commission, the odds of finding the
dream agent is, for most, simply that, 'a dream', so don't be too despondent;
there is still hope so read on.
You could of course self-publish. This often involves having
a printing company set and print the book for you. You then do the marketing and
sales. A direct approach to bookstores and other outlets often works well -
especially if you offer a sale or return deal. That way, the retailer pays you
only for the books that have been sold and returns to you any unsold ones.
Be aware that printers often tempt you with attractive
discounts, usually tied to quantity. You will need to find sufficient capital to
have a few thousand books printed - and you may not sell them all. Your spouse
will soon become fed up with parking their car on the driveway of your home
whilst the garage is filled with boxes of books. Storage has other problems -
books need to be kept in warm, dry conditions. Damp air in a garage can soon
cause books to become moldy.
If you have already gone down the road of attempting to find
a traditional literary agent or publishing company and, like the many thousands
that went before you have failed, or if you would prefer not to store large
quantities of your work and have the responsibility of marketing, distribution,
etc there is now a great new option with Printing on Demand. I discovered this
method some years back and, having realized how effective it was, decided to set
up my own company providing the service to other potential authors.
Companies providing such a service are relatively new to the
UK although the system is well tried and tested by others world-wide.
They work on the principle that there is always, somewhere,
someone interested in the work of an author just like you. They want you to
succeed by helping to publishing work supplied by you, the author. They do
charge a fee that is competitive and fair. Their main profit comes when you make
a sale. You receive monthly notifications on number of books that have sold and
the monies due to you.
These companies offer a personal and professional tailor-made
service in all aspects of publishing. Your books are printed on demand to meet
the exact needs of your market. They will carrying out the legal work on your
behalf & provide ISBN numbers etc. Staff are generally friendly and want to
help in any way they can.
Such publishers also offer a distribution service with access
to a wide range of wholesalers and retailers world-wide.
This is how it works. All of the hard work in editing, proof
reading, layout, artwork etc can be arranged on your behalf.
Your work is made ready for printing. You are provided with a
proof of your work and, when you are totally satisfied that everything is to
your liking, your work is processed and advertised internationally.
As the orders come in, be it an order for one or one
thousand, your books are printed and dispatched. If you prefer you need do
nothing else other than count your royalties.
Now you know what is required all you need to do is take
action. Do it now, don't procrastinate. Search out such a company. There are few
reasons why you cannot become a published author.
For those in a hurry try http://www.pelicanpublicationsuk.synthasite.com
To every potential Laurie Lee or J.K. Rowling out there act
now - it's time to leave a testament to your very existence.
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About The Author:
Top motivational speaker John Bell is the author of over 25
books including How to Hypnotise, How to Acquire a Remarkable Memory, and, for
those involved in sales, the best seller How to Negotiate. John holds a Master's
degree in Education. Using delegate evaluation scores, collated from delegates
at conferences, a large, independent meetings organizer has voted John 'Best UK
Conference Speaker of the Year' on 4 occasions. www.johnbellspeaker.com
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