Method 1: Prepare your book before publication.
1. Know whether you should prepare a manuscript or proposal. Novelists should prepare a complete manuscript, but non-fiction writers must prepare a detailed proposal. Before you show your work to the world, knowing what you need to prepare will save you time and make you look more professional. Many novelists tried to publish their books before finishing the manuscript-in vain. If you are an experienced writer and cooperate with the manuscript agent, then just a few chapters or even an outline can get you a publishing contract. But for most people who just started writing novels, this book should be 100% finished before the publishing stage.
If you are creating non-fiction works, then you need to have a complete proposal first. If you are writing a fitness guide or cookbook, you should focus on suggestions. If you write non-fiction literature, then you need to create more sample chapters, and in some cases you even need to complete the manuscript.
If you have decided that you only need to make a proposal for the nonfiction literature you are creating, then you can skip to step 6 and decide whether to hire a manuscript agent or go directly to the publishing house.
If you are writing an academic textbook, skip to the last section and learn how to contact the publisher directly to publish your book.
2. Revise your book. It is more difficult to revise this book than to finish it. Once you have written a detailed proposal for your book, whether it is a historical novel or a horror novel, you need to revise it repeatedly to make it reach the best level before handing it over to an agent or a publishing house. When you revise this book, please try the following steps: Make sure your book is as touching as possible. Although not every book is a spy novel or a fascinating story, make sure that your readers are deeply attracted from the beginning and are interested in continuing reading.
Remove any superfluous words or words. Many agents say that it is difficult for a novelist who has just entered the business to be accepted if his book exceeds 6,543,800 words.
Make sure you express your views. Whether you write a love novel or a science fiction novel, you should achieve your goal and convey your message at the end of the book.
Make sure your thoughts are as clear as possible. Your idea may be very clear to yourself, but will it confuse ordinary readers? Of course, your book can be aimed at a specific audience, but the audience (such as college students or nurses) must be able to clearly understand your point of view.
3. Get feedback about your book. Once you feel that you are "really" finished, it is important to get feedback about this book to determine whether it can be published. You may think your writing is absolutely perfect, but there is always room for improvement. It is better to get feedback from experienced writers or trusted professionals than to get rejection from brokers or publishers. If you seek feedback too early in the drafting process, you may feel frustrated. So make sure that the book is really ready before asking for help. Here are some ways to get feedback: ask a senior writer. Friends who know how to create will have some suggestions, which are useful and which are not.
Ask a reader who has read many poetry books. A person who has read many books can tell you whether your book is moving or whether he/she fell asleep after reading the first chapter.
Ask someone who knows your subject. If you are writing nonfiction literature in a certain field, such as business, science or cooking, ask experts in this field to determine whether you really know your material.
Submit your materials to a writing seminar. You may have an informal writer's seminar with local friends, or you may have attended a writing exchange meeting. In any case, you should submit a chapter of your work to the seminar, which will give you an opportunity to understand various viewpoints.
If you are in a Master of Arts or Master of Creative Writing program, you will have many resources to get feedback, whether it is your classmates or teachers.
Find a reputable editor and ask him what he thinks of your manuscript. This may be expensive, but the right person can help you judge whether your book is ready.
Remember to accept qualified feedback. It doesn't matter that not everyone will fall in love with your book. It is important to get constructive feedback from people you trust. But also realize that you will not benefit from every point of view. Getting good feedback means knowing who to ask.
If necessary, further revise your book. Revise your book according to the feedback you received. You won't regret it. Take some time to absorb the feedback you receive and continue to create. Although revision can make your work better, you should continue to ask for more feedback to ensure a more perfect draft.
Before you revise the manuscript again, put it aside for weeks or even a month. Then take it out and look at it with new eyes to see if you are satisfied.
Finally, re-examine your book. When all the big problems are considered, make sure that the manuscript has no grammatical and punctuation errors. These mistakes will make your work look unprofessional, and your readers will not praise your efforts.
5. Prepare the manuscript. Once you think your manuscript is completely ready, you must arrange it according to the prescribed format to meet the requirements of potential agents or publishers. There are some rules of thumb to follow, but you should still check the guide on the website of the publisher or agent to ensure that your manuscript meets their standards. Here are some things you can do: indent the first line of your manuscript by two spaces.
Leave a margin of 2.5 cm on the left and right of the manuscript.
Don't use fancy fonts. Song style is the most commonly used font. In the past, italics or fonts that looked like typewriters were often used, but Song Ti was more appropriate.
Insert page number. Insert the page number in the upper right corner of the page after your name and title. Such as: "Magolin/White Sky/1"
Make a cover. The cover should include the following contents: name, email, telephone number and address, and be placed on the left page.
The title of the novel should be capitalized, centered on the page, and so should the name. For example, "White Sky" occupies one line, and just below it is written "Edited by Lin Yutang".
The word should be centered at the bottom of the page. It is best to take an integer multiple of the latest 5000 words. You can write: "about 75 thousand words"
6. Decide whether you want to seek the help of the manuscript agent or go directly to the publisher. Although it is very challenging to sign a contract with an agent, it is even more difficult to directly contact the publishing house to publish your book. The advantage of working directly with publishers is that you don't have to use (or pay) an agent as a middleman. The disadvantage is that publishers tend to trust the opinions of agents, so if you don't have an agent, they are unlikely to consider you.
You can also try the manuscript agent first, if that doesn't work, then find a publishing house. However, if your manuscript is rejected by many manuscript agents, it is likely to be rejected by the publishing house.
Method 2: publish a book with the help of a manuscript agent.
1, research the market. Before you are ready to hand over your book to the agent, you need to study the market and find a suitable position. Find a suitable foothold in the bibliography of your field or genre, and see if these books sell well and who is the celebrity in this field. If your book is not suitable for a certain genre, then study more types of books to determine the type of your work. After studying the market, you should be able to find ingenious ways to describe your book. Is it science fiction, literature or history? Science fiction and historical fiction? Is it a literary work or a novel suitable for young people? Knowing the type of book you are writing will help you find the right agent.
2. Study the manuscript agent. Now that you know what kind of manuscript agent you need to deal with, it's time to find the most suitable and representative agent. The ideal agent will pay attention to your information, be enthusiastic about your work, revise the book with you and sell it to the publishing house. Please make sure that your agent does sell this type of books you created, otherwise everything will be in vain. The following points can help you find a good agent: the word-of-mouth evaluation of the agent who browses the manuscript. This book will show thousands of manuscript agents, their professional subjects, the new customers they attract every year, and the latest sales quotas.
Check the publisher's market. Although you have to pay $25 a month to browse the website completely, you will learn more about the recent sales quotas of these agents, the types of books sold, and who sells the most books.
Tracking query. This website will help you to know which agents can reply to the query fastest and which will take months or months to reply. The statistical report of this website is provided by other writers, so the data is incomplete, but you can still refer to it when you choose an agent. The website can also tell you the types of subjects the agent specializes in.
Check the websites of different agents. When you find that an agent sounds suitable, you can check his or her website to get detailed information about the submission requirements and the customers and topics they represent.
Ensure that these agents accept unsolicited content. Unless you have contact information, you must obey the way of agency.
Beware of the false agency behavior of swindlers. An agent without credibility will charge you a review fee. If the agent can sell your book, he can make money from it. Make sure that the agent has a good evaluation in advance.
3. Write an inquiry letter. Once you have found the ideal agent-it would be better if you could find some agents-it's time to prepare your confirmation letter. The inquiry letter is a good opportunity for you to introduce yourself to the agent and let him take a fancy to your book. In the letter, you should also write a short summary for this book. It may take some time to get a reply from the agent, so you need to contact more than one at a time (as long as they are allowed to submit at the same time) and then wait. The inquiry letter should follow the following format: the first paragraph: introduce your book and the agent you want to find. The first paragraph should show the following contents: let the agent know about your book through "introduction" in one or two sentences. This should be special, original and exciting.
Then, let the agent know what theme your book is based on, whether it is multicultural, young people or historical types. Can be divided into many categories. At the same time, you should also mention the number of words in the first paragraph
Tell the agent why you chose him. Is it because he has represented many bibliographies in your field, or are the works of several writers he has represented similar to yours? Do you have the personal contact information of the agent? Here, it's time to mention it
The second paragraph: About the outline of the book. Here is what this paragraph should include: describe what will happen in your book and what the theme emphasizes. Make the description as accurate and exciting as possible.
Explain who is the protagonist, what is the profit point, and why this book is important.
It will take at most one or two paragraphs to complete.
The third paragraph: some brief information about yourself. If you have won some awards, tell your agents and tell them the relevance of this book to your real life.
Paragraph 4: Show the agent that he can provide a complete manuscript or sample chapter as needed (if what you wrote is non-fiction), and attach the contact information. Thank the agent for taking the time to consider your article.
Follow the requirements carefully. If the agent requests manuscripts or sample stamps, please attach them to the letter.
4. If you get the reply from the agent and feel that there is no problem, sign the contract. If the agent likes your inquiry letter, he or she will ask you to send some samples or even the whole manuscript. If the agent is attracted by your article, you will receive a representative quotation that you dream of! But before signing an agent, you must make sure that he is really the agent you have been looking for in your dream. Have a telephone conversation with an agent. If possible, have a private interview with the agent. It's easier if you live near Manhattan, because many manuscript brokers are headquartered in new york City. Try to understand this person's personality and judge his enthusiasm for your manuscript.
Trust your instincts. If you can feel that the agent is too busy, anxious to hang up, or not excited about your job, don't sign with him. Instead of giving your book to the wrong person, keep looking for an agent.
Ask if you can talk to some clients of the agent. A good agent will be happy to give you some lists of his clients, so that you can communicate with them and better judge whether this agent is a good choice.
Think carefully about your research. Ensure that the agent has proper sales and a solid customer base.
Read your contract carefully. If the contract is very standard, the agent will charge 15% of your domestic sales and about 20% of your foreign sales. Meanwhile, if you are satisfied with this agent, sign the contract and send it back to the agent. Then you can celebrate your excellent work.
5. Modify by proxy. Even if your agent is impressed with your work, you still need to revise your book once, twice or even three times before it is published. You may have to do something, such as reducing your words, making your audience like it more, and solving any problems raised by the agent. Please remember that this book is still yours, and you don't have to completely change it to meet the needs of the agent. Make only the changes you agree to.
6. Sell your book to the market. If your agent is very satisfied with your work, you can prepare to package your book and he will recommend it to the publishing house. This is actually the most nerve-racking part, because the fate of your book is out of your own hands. Your agent will vote for trusted editors in various publishing houses. With luck, there will eventually be an editor working in a publishing house to handle your work. Sign a contract with your agent and publishing house.
7. Cooperate with the editor. Now that your book has been sold to the publishing house, you need to sign a contract with it and continue to revise your book with the editor. You will work until the book is fully formed, and then wait for the publisher to make a decision, such as when the book will be published and what the cover will be like. But you can't just sit around and wait for the publication date. There is more work to be done!
8. Promote your book. Once the publishing dust settles, you need to work hard to promote your book. Whether through public relations, websites, Renren.com, informal reading or oral publicity, what you have to do is to constantly improve the popularity of books, so that when they come out, they can get high sales. Don't stop advertising your book, especially after it is published. You can immerse yourself in the glory of publishing a book for a while, but remember that promoting your book is as important as writing it!
Method 3: Publish your book directly by contacting the publisher.
1, Research Press. Check the websites of different publishing houses to see if they accept inquiry letters or only accept delivery from agents. Many publishers only accept works delivered through agents. Look for publishers who not only accept delivery from agents, but also make sure they are professional in your creative type.
2. Send a confirmation letter to the appropriate publisher. The specific content of the inquiry letter is the same as that of the contact agent. You must introduce yourself and your work, and provide a brief description of your work. If the publishing house is moved by your letter, it will ask you to send some or all of the manuscript.
If your book is accepted, sign a contract with a reputable publishing house. If the publishing house is impressed with your work, you will get a job. Examine the contract carefully and sign it if it meets your requirements.
4. Same as editor * * *. Modify your book with the editor until it can be published.
5. Sell your book. While you are waiting for the book to be published, sell your book to people you know and don't know. When your book is published, you must continue to promote your book. You can enjoy your job, but remember that marketing should never stop. Promote your book by blogging, talking and reading.
Develop a personal homepage and website to promote your book.
Method 4: Self-help publishing books
1. Looking for companies that provide self-publishing services.
2. Create an account with the company that publishes books for you.
3. Write a book with Microsoft Word or other similar programs. Most self-publishing companies will ask you to upload your book as a Microsoft Word file.
4. Select the size and type of books you want to publish (paperback or hardcover).
5. After completing the steps of self-help book publishing, begin to provide readers with purchasing channels. Be sure to provide payment methods so that you can make money from every book you sell.
6. Promote your book. Tell friends and family first. This will increase your chances of book sales. Use social media and online advertising to let more people know about your book.
In addition, be wary of any book publishing company that charges you. These publishers are usually liars.
As a new writer, you will be rejected many times. Never let it destroy your spirit. Many great writers were rejected before they were accepted. Few writers can achieve great success when they publish their first book. A true writer, whether his works are published or not, will continue to create.
Try to publish an excerpt from a book before handing it over to an agent or publisher. This will help you build your reputation as a writer and show that your works are attractive.
Please be sure to establish cooperation with credible book publishing professionals. Any agent who charges to read your work is not to be trusted.
If you want to contact the manuscript agent through the network, talk and distribute your works in written meetings. But make sure this method is acceptable.
If you haven't found a suitable agent or publisher, you should consider publishing it yourself.
Warning that there are many fake manuscript agents and publishers in the society. Be sure to do some research before you establish business with anyone. Don't sign a contract with an intermediary who charges you for reading!