I've never wanted to write a book. I certainly didn't know what was needed to be done to get one published. In my head you write something, send it to publishers, they read it, love it, publish it, and send you money. That is definitely not how it works, especially not for a first time author. Most publishers will not accept anything directly. You need an agent. The agent talks to the publisher for you. But you can't just go out and pick an agent, they pick you. I didn't know this.
In order to get an agent you need to have what is called a query letter. It tells about your book and you and basically tells them why they should publish it. I don't want to write that. I just want my book to get to the people that need it. I don't even care about the money. I would give it away if I could. I just need to get someone to publish it first.
I've been working on the letter. It is hard. I need for someone to see the desperate need for this book. I have 3 paragraphs to convince them.
I think I have something good written. I'm having a few people read it to see if it needs to be fixed or changed. Then I can send it out.
Step 1 of ? almost done.
Up next the search for an agent.
I don't want to do this, but I need to.
I'm in the same boat! I would love to write a book but I haven't really begun the process yet. I should probably get on that... I have read that you need to have the memoir at least started before you start to find an agent, though. Not sure how true that is. Let me know how your search goes. Maybe we can help each other get started!
ReplyDeleteI will gladly pass along anything I learn. I went to a seminar on publishing. We were told that we need to have a sample to send to agents. I don't think it is sent right away for adult books since they are long, but you would at least need to have a summary of what the book is about.
DeleteAlso an online presence is very helpful (blog, twitter, facebook, etc) in getting your book picked up by anyone. That's a major reason I actually started my blog.
For searching for a literary agent I was told agentquery.com is a good place to go. You can search by type so that you don't waste time sending to someone who is not interested in your type of book.
Thanks for the info! I'm not sure when I am going to start this process... I might do so after we have another successful IVF cycle so that I have more to write about. My husband's cousin published a book so I may ask him for some help, and I will send you any information I get as well.
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