Advice For Aspiring Writers
I am
often asked for advice from those who seek to publish their own work and so I
have created this section of the website to offer some simple tips. The
advice in this section mainly applies to the publication of books although
they do list newspaper and magazines and provide some details of their
submissions policies. If you write articles or short stories, with magazines
or newspapers being your intended market, then feel free to e-mail me for
information although the publications listed below will still be of great use
to you.
Anyone who tries to publish a book will receive a number of rejection letters.
It is inevitable, no matter how good a writer you are. If you do not receive
rejection letters then you are one of a tiny minority. Most rejection letters
from the big publishers tend to suggest that you consult one of the following
books, which have details of publishers and agents. These are British books.
If you live in the USA
you might find the third publication to be more appropriate, although the
first two do have sections on publishers in many other countries. Here are
the details:
THE WRITERS’ & ARTISTS’ YEARBOOK
This book contains a vast amount of invaluable information, including the
names and addresses of all the main publishing companies along with a large
number of smaller publishing houses in the UK and many listings for other
countries across the globe. The addresses of literary agents are also
included for the UK
and USA.
Magazine and newspaper details are listed. Whatever your medium there are the
details you will need to get your work into print as well as information
regarding radio and television. Helpful advice chapters on topics such as
internet sites, libel, copyright and avoiding vanity publishers are also
featured. Whether you are an established or an aspiring writer then this book
is considered to the best on the market. This is the book that allegedly
helped J. K. Rowling become the success that she is, or at least an earlier
edition of this annually produced book was what she claims made her the
multi-millionairess that she is.
THE WRITER’S HANDBOOK
This book is incredibly similar in content to The Writers’ & Artists’
Yearbook, though ever so slightly cheaper. The Writers’ & Artists’
Yearbook was once considered to be the book to own but in recent years The
Writers’ Yearbook is being increasingly recommended by publishers. Personally
I recommend this book above The Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook but they are
very similar. I have had much more success since buying this book than when I
used to buy the previous one. You should certainly consider purchasing one,
because without doing so you cannot know the details of all the companies in
existence.
WRITER'S MARKET
A 'no nonsense' guide for writers to find a suitable publisher and/or agent
in the USA
for their work. It includes detailed advice of various aspects of writing and
publishing in addition to 'dynamic interviews' with well known authors. This
book is allegedly the writing 'bible'.
HOW TO OBTAIN THESE BOOKS
Both of the first two books can be obtained through large bookshops. They can
be purchased through Amazon by clicking on the relevant advert image for the book.
Alternatively your local library might have one or both of these books,
although they are unlikely to have the latest editions and in the world of
publishing companies do tend to change addresses and submission policies on a
fairly frequent basis. In this economic climate a number of publishers or
their imprints go out of business or make significant changes to the types of
book they publish. Magazines also frequently go out of business or make
significant changes to what they feature.
OTHER
ADVICE
There are a number of magazines, which offer articles of advice and
frequently hold short story competitions. Writers' Forum and Writing
Magazine are excellent examples of such magazines in Britain. Any good
newsagents should have these magazines.
However, be careful when reading magazines and looking at the adverts where
companies are asking for authors to submit their manuscripts. Many writers
and other members of the public believe that it is usual to pay to have your
work published. It is not. I would never dream of paying anything towards the
cost of publishing a book and I would suggest no one does. There are many
companies which will charge you hundreds (if not thousands) of pounds and
give you little or nothing in return. These are the companies who will
contact you soon after you have sent some of your work and who will tell you
how fantastic it is, how it could be the next best seller and other false
flattery. For a certain sum of money, you will be told, your book will be
published and you will make a lot of money in sales. This is very rarely the
case so be incredibly cautious when asked to pay money to publishers. My best
advice is NOT to hand over any money under ANY circumstances.
If in any doubt consider joining the Society of Authors (for British writers)
who offer members a free appraisal of contracts and offer other invaluable
advice to authors. Alternatively seek advice from someone else (I will
happily offer advice to you where ever I can, so feel free to contact me). Do
not commit yourself to anything without checking with someone first. No
decent publisher will try to pressure you. Remember, at the end of the day it
is your book. Visit the company’s website (good publishers should have a
website) and see what books they have published previously – many vanity
publishing companies take your money and never publish a single book. The
term 'vanity publisher' is given to those companies who expect the author to
pay for the book to be produced. The Society of Authors has information on
this type of publishing. Their website is www.societyofauthors.net. If, after
seeking advice, you are in any doubt then do not go with the company. There
are far too many people who have lived to regret having risked their money
simply because they wanted to see their name in print. Don’t be one of them.
My best advice would be to approach a literary agent. Full details are
available in both of the two books listed above. Approaching an agent is the
only way to be published by many of the large publishing companies.
There are no guarantees you will ever see your name in print and as the
rejection letters pile up it can be very disheartening but most successful
writers will have been rejected many times before they find the right
publisher. It is just a matter of perseverance though, at the same time, you
have to be realistic. Despite all the effort and time in the world most
books, no matter how good they are, will never be accepted because there are
too many manuscripts being submitted and not enough resources to publish them
all.
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