What comes next?

What genre? In most genres, 35,000 words is a novel, not a novella. Only SF and fantasy demand 40,000 words before callimg it a novel.

Were I you, I'd try to get some other people to read it for you and provide critiques. They shouldn't be close friends or family members. This will give you some outside viewpoints on how to improve upon the manuscript. I made the mistake of not doing this before trying to query my novel - thankfully, I realized what I was doing before I made any enemies among the agents.

But it's always good to get more viewpoints on your work, because no matter how many times YOU go over it, there's always something you'll miss.

Jamesaritchie said:

What genre? In most genres, 35,000 words is a novel, not a novella. Only SF and fantasy demand 40,000 words before callimg it a novel.

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Um, that's only a novel if it's for children. Novels generally start at 60k words, per pretty much everyone I've read.

Alias said:

I'm am new to AW, so sorry if i should know this already...

Anyways, I recently finished a 35,000 word novella that I am satisfied with. I would like to get it published. The manuscript is complete, and I have revised/reviewed it a couple times. What would be the next step to getting it published?

Do I query to an agent? To a publisher? Is it even worth trying to get published? Self publish? How do I go about the publishing process?

Thanks

edit: the work is fiction.

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Everyone's a newbie at some point. BRDurkin has good suggestions about the next step to take, but you also ask if your 35k-word piece is even worth trying to get published.

Well, novellas are a hard sell, at the moment. (I understand that erotica is an exception.) Some places are starting to sell serial novels, though, so if your piece is well suited to that format, you may be able to get into that market more easily.

Your first step is to figure out what genre and audience your novella is intended for. Find some beta readers who preferably aren't related to or friends with you (unless you're like me and your friends and family are more critical than any of the people you've found online). Still, you want at least 1 reader who doesn't know you, who isn't used to how you think, to make sure the piece is comprehensible to anyone who doesn't know you already.

You also want to be researching the various publication options. Each one has its pros and cons, and which one is best for you will depend on a variety of factors. Don't just pick a method because you see someone else doing it.

If you decide to go the traditional route, get an agent instead of seeking a contract on your own. All research I've read says agent was able to get a higher advance, on average, which more than paid his or her fee.

Only seek publication once you've been through a few betas to make sure your work's as best as you can make it.

It sounds like you have a young adult novel rather than a novella, so you might want to check out the resources in the young adult and the novels forums. The fantasy novella market is limited, and it's aimed at adults, so trying to sell as a young adult novel is likely to be your best bet anyway.

While it can be a good idea to test your manuscript out on your target audience, I wouldn't rely only on them. I'd try to find some beta readers who are older and a bit more experienced in writing. Beta readers aren't people who are simply willing to read the manuscript and say "Yes I liked it" or "No I didn't like it." Beta readers are people who are willing to read it carefully, and then talk with you in depth about any problems they may have encountered, any weaknesses at certain points, and also to encourage you about your strong points and offer suggestions on ways you can improve. This is an in depth process, and most young teens probably aren't good candidates for that.

In my experience, AW is indeed a good place for you to find people to critique your work. You can post parts of it in the Share Your Work forum once you've been around here and contributing for a little while. If you want an actual Beta reader for the whole work, I suggest you post a thread requesting such in the Beta Readers request forum. There, people who also enjoy fantasy and have experience reading it or writing it can offer to read and critique it for you.

Don't expect it to be a fast process. It often takes time, but trust me, it's time well spent. You will learn a lot, and your work will become better as well.

I would advise against posting a manuscript in its entirety on a website somewhere. It's not very secure, and while it's unlikely someone would plagiarize it in its entirety, I've simply found that posting stuff on a website rarely does much to help you. You want a dedicated reader to look at it, not some semi-interested person who's just surfing a web site.

Only send your manuscript to people you know if you've talked to them about it ahead of time, and they indicate they're willing to read it. Otherwise, they might get annoyed. Again, unless they're a writer or a very experienced reader and able to offer constructive, objective feedback, the use of doing this as far as improving your work will be limited.

I hope this helps you out with some of your questions.

Just asking, have you looked at Ralan.com which lists Sci-Fi and Fantasy markets? Check out the Pro, Semipro and Book links, scroll down and look for magazines/publishers that match your genre and wordcount. If you think they might be a match (check out individual submission guidelines, and look at what they've published previously) then submit your novella. Good luck.

-Derek

A series of novellas might work well with a traditional print publisher. In my last go around with queries to lit ags, I noticed a slightly increasing interest in short story collections. With today's reading habits shorter may sometimes be better.

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