Meg Schneider - The Everything Get Published Book: All You Need to Know to Become a Successful Author

The
EVERYTHING
Get Published Book
2ND EDITION

Dear Reader;

Broadly speaking, there are two kinds of writers-those who want towr ite, and those who want to have written. The first group consists ofpeople who would like to be published someday, but, even if that neverhappens, theyll continue to write because writing is as much a part oftheir lives as breathing. The second group tends to be more busines slike,wanting at least recognition and perhaps the fame and fortune thatcomes along with being a bestselling author.

Theres nothing wrong with either approach. Writing can be a rewardin itself, but there are few thrills that compare with seeing your name inprint, associated with the words that you wrote, whether its in your localnewspaper, a national magazine, a popular blog, or on the cover of abook. And when someone actually pays you for what youve written, well,thats like having an extra scoop of ice cream on your cone.

Our goal in this book is to expand your knowledge of publishing ingeneral and to introduce you to the myriad of oppor tunities to see yourwords in print. As writers ourselves, we treasure every tiny thrill of successin our quest for publication, and we hope you will find and savor thesame pleasures on your journey.

The EVERYTHING Series

Editorial

Production

Visit the entire Everything Series atwww.everything.com

2 ND EDITION

All you need to know to
become a successful author

Meg Schneider and Barbara Doyen

Adams Media
Avon, Massachusetts

For writers everywhere, we offer these tools to help you in your
pursuit of publication. May success attend your quest!

Copyright 2006, 2000 F+W Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced
in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions
are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

An Everything Series Book.
Everything and everything.com are registered trademarks of F+W Publications, Inc.

Published by Adams Media, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322 U.S.A.
www.adamsmedia.com

ISBN 13: 978-1-59337-567-6
ISBN 10: 1-59337-567-0
eISBN: 978-1-44052-375-5
Printed in the United States of America.

J I H G F E D C B A

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
is available from publisher

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the
American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations

This book is available at quantity discounts for bulk purchases.
For information, please call 1-800-289-0963.

Contents

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the many people who have shaped their love of words over the years: those who taught us the joys of reading, those who encouraged us to do what we love, and those who inspire us to keep reaching for our dreams. With this volume, we hope we are able to pay a little back to those people and pay a little forward for our readers.

Top Ten Things You Should Know
about Getting Published

1. Writers today have more opportunities than ever before to get published in traditional and virtual media, and more opportunity means more demand for good writers.

2. The difference between a rejection and a contract often lies in the quality of your market research, not necessarily in the quality of your writing.

3. The maxims Think like an editor and Write to the market are code for putting the reader first.

4. The fierce competition in publishing is really an opportunity to learn and motivation to improve.

5. Submission guidelines are your friends; your work stands the best chance of getting noticed when you follow them.

6. Constructive criticism should be cherished. It can make you a more effective writer and increase your chances of getting published.

7. In traditional book publishing, look for a good agent before you try to approach editors on your own.

8. Building solid, respectful working relationships with editors will help your career more than writing the perfect query will.

9. A healthy skepticism is your best protection against scams and the unscrupulous.

10. Getting published is the gravy. The real joy is in the writing, and no one can ever deny you that.

Introduction

THERE ALWAYS HAS BEEN a peculiar romance about writers and writing. The process itself is mysterious, even sometimes to those who do it for a hobby or for a living; it has been compared with giving birth, and it has been described as a form of madness. Most writers dont like to delve too deeply into the mystery of writing. They fear that the magic will evaporate and leave only the wispy, dreamlike memory of the excitement .. they feel when the perfect combination of words bubbles up from their inner wells. Madness it may be, and laborious, and inexplicable. It doesnt matter. Its what we do.

But thats only part of the romance. The true seduction of writing is the idea that somebody, somewhere, someday will read what we write and be touched, informed, and entertained by it. And, when that happens, we achieve a sort of demigod status, even if only for a fleeting moment. That is the glory of getting published, not just the first time, but every time.

How to get published also is a major mystery for many writers. Countless aspiring authors of every genre find themselves flummoxed and befuddled by a steady stream of standard rejection slips and wonder if there is some dark conspiracy at work to keep their words out of the reading publics hands. Its easy to believe in such a theory when you dont know the inner workings of magazine and book publishers. For ninety-nine out of 100 hopeful writers, the unpalatable truth is that mere talent and great ideas are not enough to pierce the natural and strong sales resistance in todays publishing market. You need a platform to stand on, a track record to prove your ability, and a thorough familiarity with the needs and wants of your readers and the editors who select content for them. There is precious little romance about the publishing business, and writers who want to build a career for themselves doing what they love to do must learn to balance the sentimental glamour of the process with the more prosaic realities of the industry.