You've written a book. Now what?

It seems a daunting task to write a complete manuscript. But many writers have discovered that the completed manuscript is only the first hurdle. Once you've got a finished product to pitch, you have a lot of decisions to make.

Did you ever see the movie Little Women? Remember the scene where Jo takes her book to a publisher to try to sell it? It's a stack of paper about three inches deep, all written painstakingly by hand and tied up with a string. Boy, have times changed!

In the modern age, all we need is a computer and the click of a button to send the fruits of our labor hurtling through Cyberspace to any editor, agent or publishing house. But that's the trick, you see. Who will you send it to?

Do you want to go the traditional route, and only pitch to literary agents? If so, you need to do your research first. Find out which agents are accepting works from unpublished authors, in the genres you write. Then check out their website to see what their specific submission guidelines are. Once you narrow it down to a few, you're ready to start sending out those query letters. Most agents will only want a query letter, or "pitch", of what your story is. Wait for them to request a partial or full manuscript before sending it out. and pay close attention to the format they expect. Most have certain keywords they want in the subject line of your email, or else your message might be deposited straight into the spam folder and they'll never even see it. For most of us, it is difficult to land an agent, but it's certainly not impossible. So if you want to go this route, don't give up, and keep perfecting your pitch. Have faith and be proactive and it will happen!

Maybe you want to skip the agent and pitch directly to a publisher. Again, do your research. There are many publishers who will accept pitches directly from the author without having to go through an agent. Do your homework and find out which ones will accept a direct query from you. Then, just as with an agent, go to their website to learn their submission requirements. Your book may wind up in a "slush pile" (or the giant mound of mostly unsolicited manuscripts that aren't earmarked for a specific person to look at or within a specific timeframe). But many great books have been plucked straight out of the slush pile and wound up becoming blockbusters. Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl was pitched to Doubleday in Paris. It wound up in the slush pile and was later picked up. Even Stephenie Meyer's book was doomed to the slush pile due to its very big word count (over 100,000 words, which is nearly half as much as a typical YA book has) but a mistake by an assistant helped Twilight find its way on an agent's desk. The rest is history. I could go on and on, but you get the idea. It might be a long shot, but it's a chance nonetheless.

An overwhelming number of people nowadays go straight for the e-publishing option. The explosive popularity of ereaders such as Nook and Kindle have made this a very fast growing market. The advantage is that your book can find its way into a reader's hands at a fraction of the time it would take to print hardcopies. There are scores and scores of electronic publishers out there now, and more pop up every day. Again, go on line and check them out. Find out the submission guidelines. Find out what the typical agreement is like between publisher and author. The commission payouts can vary widely. The editing process can also go from one extreme to the other. Protect yourself, and research them before you make a decision. But it can be a very rewarding experience. There is nothing to compare to seeing your book downloaded to your own portable reading device! It's such a thrill! Finally, you might want to check into Self-publishing. That's an option too.

The point is, your book is like your baby. Unless you are like Stephenie Meyer and have a dream inspired story that basically writes itself, you have spent many months working on your manuscript. Remember that it is a partnership between you, your agent and the publisher. You each have an important part in the future of your novel, and you want to choose your partner(s) based on who you feel shares your vision and your rights over your story.

There are groups that can help you along your journey. You don't have to face it all alone. One of the best resources is the national organization of romance writers, or RWA. You can join them for a very small fee, and then you will be able to search for local chapters of romance writers in your own city, or one close by. Even if you choose not to join a local chapter, the RWA site and magazine provides excellent tips on how to get published, how to perfect your pitch, how to make connections and network to get your book published. They also show a list of contests that you can submit your work to. These are great for getting excellent feedback on your story. And if your work is good enough, the winning entries can lead to great exposure or even monetary rewards. Personally, I'd be choosy about which contests I entered though. Make sure you read the details. You're probably better off to stick with ones that tell you you'll recieve score sheets back, rather than just an average numeric score. If you're gonna get a 7 out of 10, don't you want to learn what cost you those three points so you can decide if you agree or disagree with the judges' opinions?

There is much to consider as you pursue publication, and this would be an extremely long post if we tried to delve into all of it. But I hope this has helped you start to think along the lines of which avenue of publication you are interested in. Like I said, reseach, research, research! You'll be glad you did.

www.querytracker.net

www.rwanational.org

www.writersdigest.com