Pay To Publish?

There’s pretty much always a way to get your manuscript published, either by finding an agent, going directly to a publisher or crowdfunding. If you want it that bad, you’ll find the right way for you.

A few weeks ago I submitted my work to a publisher, without doing full homework on it and today it’s come full circle on me. I will tell you the name to help others. Austin Macauley.

After sending my work off, I got an email saying they were interested but that the next step would to get it approved by the board of editors and they’d be in touch. So far, responses to project one have been a no, all very nice and professional about it, some provided useful web links etc. As soon as I received a potential yes I went to look at the publisher further to see what the next steps will be.

They basically want money from me in order to publish. Today I received a contract through the post which I will not sign. I don’t have £2500 to go down this route and even if I did I would not pay to publish.

Would you?

Advertisement

Title Angst – Word Cloud Time

I’m struggling to come up with the perfect title for project three.  I thought I had it, but when it came to the end it suddenly felt out of place, it needs to have the right impact but I can’t quite figure that out.

So it’s time for the trusty, probably rusty, word cloud to come out and play. I haven’t drawn one of them in years but desperate times call for desperate measures.

I need to have a title sorted by the end of the week, I don’t want any more delays!

Humour For Authors

Saturday Agent Time

I’ve concentrated on looking for a literary agent this morning.  If you’ve not done this task before, you might think it can’t be that hard surely? Google, get an email address and submit. You’d be very wrong, to say the least.

Starting with Google is a definite, but then the hard work really comes in after that point.  So you find an agent, you then have a look at their successes, what clients they represent and what books have been published.  It’s at this point where you leave the website and go back to square one.  More than likely you’ll find out around this stage if your manuscript would have fit in.  If it did, then you would have gone to the submissions page.  So you research again, and again and you keep on going until you find one that ticks all of your boxes.

Then next you look at the agents and what they are seeking, if they aren’t looking your type of work then go back to square one again. Keep on going until all of the above has been addressed.

Finally you’re at the exciting point, the submissions page. If you’ve done your homework then typically a good 80% of their criteria has already been completed, and you just tailor the covering letter, maybe change the font or file size quickly – all are simple jobs.

The process, for me this morning, has taken an hour.  Just to find someone who will represent the children’s picture book I’ve written.  I’ve even tried looking for a publisher directly who will accept unsolicited manuscripts, but I think I’ve got the determination and the skill to find an agent and go down a more accomplished route.  The more I do all of this, the more I’m picking up the necessary abilities to accomplish my task.  I will get there!

 

Choosing A Literary Agent

I’m in the process of finding an agent so everyday, every submission is a continuous process which I’m thoroughly enjoying.

To look for a right agent can be tricky. Research and asking lots of questions to make sure you understand what you’re signing up for can be daunting to say the least. Over on writers digest there’s an article with a lot of things to consider and there are some additional links too. I definitely recommend having a read.

10 Steps To Finding A Literary Agent

You’ve completed manuscript, it’s ready to go but what next? How do you get it published? Where do I go and who do I speak to?

10 steps shows you how to maintain professionalism to ensure you are prepared enough to turn those dreams into reality.

Writing Rhyming Picture Books

I came across an article with some useful guidelines and helping points to those wanting to write a rhyming picture book.

Check it out here.

Project Three – Second Draft

Tuesdays are typically my Starbucks-Writing day.  Today I didn’t feel like going, whether it’s the weather – the lack of any sort of cold anywhere, or my ideas didn’t feel like being typed out with the help of a Latte, I’ll never know.  Instead, I ran a few errands and was home before 10am.  For the first time in days, I opened up Project Three and edited a bit more.

I think one more draft, and then it’ll be sent off for submission – if I’m honest, I think that’ll happen by the end of the week, it’s that close to the end.  I’m looking forward to having another piece of work sent out into the ether, waiting for a positive response.  It will happen one day.  It has to.

Publishers on Twitter

To keep up to date with potential publishers I am following a lot of them on twitter, and I enjoy following their stories.  They like to retweet work from their clients, obviously.  Then there are some who are very passionate about charities and want to support the causes on top of advertising themselves.  This to me is ideal.  It shows professionalism and passion and those elements are good indicators of a hard-working publishing house.

Have you seen anything from a publisher or an agent that’s made you feel differently about them?

Publisher Tips

In one of the rejection emails received, I was given contacts and websites to visit to encourage me to keep on trying, polishing up the skill they call writing.

I’m going to share these websites with you because knowledge is power, power is pizza, and we all deserve some pizza right?

****

Help with the manuscript; I recommend Blue Pencil Agency http://www.bluepencilagency.com/ for an in-depth editorial analysis of your work by industry professionals.

An

assessment report, we recommend Daniel Goldsmith Associates http://www.danielgoldsmith.co.uk. They give an honest, comprehensive and constructive review of fiction, non-fiction and children’s literature.

House of Editors is a group of award-winning and industry-leading editors, mentors and writers who have helped prize-winning writers polish their novels http://houseofeditors.com. I recommend them for anything from a manuscript assessment to mentorship.

There is also an online forum where authors can get in touch with each other and the writing world at http://writing-community.writersworkshop.co.uk/forum.htm

****

The websites do work on a fee type basis but if it helps you in any way then excellent.