Where do I go from here?

Hi Theo! Welcome to AW. first, congrats on finishing your novel.

Second, Don't pay to publish. Go through another draft of your novel. Polish it up until you think it is the best it can't be and then query agents. Agents will help you with more editing, suggest changes, and present your novel to publishers. Lots of information here on publishers and agents to avoid, and where to find lists of agents to query, lots of information on how to write a query letter too.

good luck!

Hi Theo,

Welcome to AW and congrats on finishing your novel!

First, YES you will need to edit it before sending it off to publishers or agents. Probably several times. After you secure a publisher, they will likely edit it again, but you'll never get it that far unless it's really, really clean and sparkly first.

Second, NO you should NOT pay a publisher or agent. That should be an alarm bell going off in your head. Run, do not walk, away from such offers. Also, check out the Bewares and Background Checks forum for info on disreputable firms.

You CAN pay a third party to edit for you, but it's not a guarantee that you will receive sponsorship by an agent or publisher later.

Check out the Share Your Work forums here or look into Critique Partners before you decide to go that route.

Oh, and be sure to stop by the Newbie Forum to introduce yourself and you'll meet all types of bizarre wonderful folks!

theo said:

I have been approached by a publishing firm but I seem to have to pay

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Run away! Run away! Whoever these people are, they are crooks and scam artists, not real publishers. NEVER pay a publisher or an agent up-front money. And beware of any such who "recommends" or demands you pay for an "editorial" service. All of that is a huge racket. Check out the "Bewares" forum here, and you'll get plenty of good info.

caw

Repeat after me: MONEY ALWAYS FLOWS TOWARD THE WRITER.

Welcome.

First things first, polish, edit, and repeat.

When you have taken it as far as you can, post some pages here in the Share your work forum and get a critique, people here can teach you all kinds of things.

After you've applied useful suggestions then you can start submitting. Look for agents who represent similar authors and market, or submit to publishers who publish the same kinds of things. Always follow the guidelines and never pay as others have said.

Good luck!

I also might suggest you try and extend your story a bit. Fifty thousand words is a bit short for a novel. My novel that I'm querying around now is roughly 73,000 words, and that's on the short side. Seventy-thousand should be your goal. It may seem hard, but trust me; go back and re-read, and you'll see parts that could use a bit more detail, characters that could use a bit more development.

Once you're done, it's time to get started.

Let me reiterate: DO. NOT. PAY. AGENTS OR PUBLISHERS. DO NOT PAY THESE PEOPLE. They work (in essence) for you, at the very least the agent/writer and publisher/writer relationship is a symbiotic one, where the parties are dependent on each other. That translates as "I don't pay you; you pay me."

I would suggest you invest $25-30 in the latest copy of Novel and Short Story Writer's Marketplace. You'll find it at your local bookstore in the writing/publishing section, or possible at your library in the 800s section. Spend some time looking through the agent's listings; look for agents that sell the stuff you write. Adhere to their directions TO THE LETTER.

Get a query written; a one-page letter pitching your novel. Post your query to the Share Your Work forum. It will be ripped apart and spit back out, just like mine was, but when all is said and done you'll have one that works.

Mail off your query and wait.

That's a rough guide to getting started. For a more detailed description of the process, head to your library and pick up some back issues of Writer's Digest.

You also might want to consider a few books on writing. There's Stephen King's On Writing, Ray Bradbury's Zen in the Art of Writing, and about a thousand others.

Good luck getting your novel published and welcome to Aw. You will be welcome and loved here.

I wouldn't worry about the controversial, but definitely work on improving your grammar and punctuation. If publishers have two equally good plots in front of them, but one is poorly delivered and littered with errors, they're going to chuck the one with errors.

If I were you, I'd just submit it raw, just like it is--if I were you.

GordonJerome said:

If I were you, I'd just submit it raw, just like it is--if I were you.

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What kind of advice is that? Some kind of sarcasm?

Gordon, that advice is neither sound nor helpful to the OP.

GordonJerome said:

If I were you, I'd just submit it raw, just like it is--if I were you.

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Now, now, let's play nice in the litterbox...er sandbox.

The only way any writer is going to succeed is by writing a book people want to read. You get people interested in reading it by having a good story and writing it with skill.

Theo, as with all things, so-called 'luck' does play a role. But as most of us who pay attention to the world around us know, luck favours those who are prepared. In other words, being lucky enough to have a reputable agent look over your work won't help you one tiny bit if said work isn't as good as you can make it.

Absolute Write can help you make it as good as you can make it. There are many, many people here who are talented as all get out and are willing to lend a hand to those who ask. So hang around, check out the various forums and ask as many questions as you like.

Welcome to Absolute Write.

theo said:

Do I need it proof read and edited before submitting to a publisher or will publishers give that service?
I have been approached by a publishing firm but I seem to have to pay, not keen at present.
Any help gratefully recieved

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Proofreading is a MUST. It's like checking the incision area for tools and sponges before sewing up the patient. I would highly recommend giving it a once-over on your own, and also giving it to a couple of highly trusted beta readers (who don't necessarily have to be writers, but readers who will give you honest feedback).

I'd be happy to help you with proofreading/editing if you need a beta reader to look it over.

I agree with most of what's been posted here, except for the "submit it as is" advice. On top of that, I'm not sure why GJ didn't also suggest he submit the book to PublishAmerica or something just as bad.

I also had no idea that Welsh Elvis novels were popular!

But Theo, please, get to the library and/or bookstore and start boning up on books about novel writing. While there's a wealth of info on AW and other online sources (which can be suspect), you can learn a lot about writing novels from books. Then, you need the book Self Editing for Fiction Writers to learn how to make it even better.

You've got a good place to start; it sounds like you at least have a rough draft of a novel. Now it's time for revisions.

How long is it?

allen

Theo:

First, any worthwhile publisher will edit and proofread your book, and will do it at their own expense.

Second. 50,000 words is on the short side. (Exception: You are a genius and they are the perfect 50,000 words.) The way to expand a work is to add more plot.

Third. If anyone -- publisher, agent, anyone -- ask for money, that person is a scammer.

Paying for a "professional edit" is seldom a good idea. Edited slush is still slush, and no editor can make an unpublishable work into a publishable one.

You will need to bring your grammar and punctuation up to professional quality. Now's the time.

What to do next: Let your novel age in your desk drawer for a month or three. Then read through it in hard copy and standard manuscript format with a red pencil in your hand and a pad of Post-Its beside you. Write directly on the manuscript. Flag places where you need to make changes.

In the meantime, it's okay to read one how-to book about writing novels. The rest of the time you should be a) reading novels, and b) starting work on your next book.

When you do get it as good as it can be, you might want to find out who agented these novels and submit to them:

Aberystwyth Mon Amor; The Unbearable Lightness of Being in Aberystwyth; and Last Tango in Aberystwyth. (all by Malcolm Price)

Missing posts were moved to Of Welsh Novels... in TIO.

Theo, there's good advice in this thread for you to start with, and a forum of good advice to pick from. Read, participate and have fun, you can learn a lot around here.

Don't be afraid to post bits of your work in the Share Your Work areas. It's perfectly safe, and the people there are dead helpful.

Reading Uncle Jim's thread is a wise suggestion, and you can learn a lot from it. And if nothing else, you can have fun, and that's pretty useful all by itself.

The portion of my post that was ported that is relevant and my response to Theo's question.

And to you Theo, go and read Uncle Jim's writing thread. Best. Advice. Ever. That thread has it all. Second, always make your work the best that it can be. Editors and agents receive entirely too many manuscripts to be able to take any that are not polished. Third, just in case you may have missed it on any of the hundred posts before me, Never Pay to Publish.

Best of luck to you. I'm still working to complete my first novel, so you've got me beat there. While it might be a little on the short side now, after you've polished it, it may have grown quite a bit.

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theo said:

Things I worry about.
My grammar and punctuation is not brilliant.

I think the subject matter could prove a little bit controversial in some eyes.

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I have problems in that area too. Get a couple of books on grammar to understand the fundamentals.

I would say use the Grammar for Grasshoppers forum on this site and ask your questions freely or/and look at what others have said.

Welcome, theo, and follow the advice here (except for the send it in just as it is--that was bizarre). Please, feel free to ask questions about anything you need help on. I have asked some of the dumbest questions around and managed to find help without being slapped around and if I can learn something, you know it's gotta be a good forum.

The advice so far -

except for Jim MacDonald's which is sterling and solid gold and applies anywhere - is American based. You are in Wales.

To find about publishers and publishing in the UK you need to pop down to your local library and see if they have a copy of 'The Writer's Handbook 2007'. (It used to be published by MacMillan and put together with the support of the National writers' assoc PEN but I haven't bought a copy for four years.)
There is also the 'Artists' and Writers' Yearbook 2007' published by A. and C. Black.
Both books list publishers and agents, giving details of what they publish, names of editors and addresses and websites. Start looking at the website first. You don't need an agent in the UK to approach publishers as you do in America.

Your library might also have copies of the writers' magazines, 'Writer's News and 'Writing Magazine' which have lots of information about publishers and editors and writing in general in the UK and Commonwealth. There's a website with a forum where you can ask questions too. I think it's www.writersnews.co.uk

Meanwhile follow Uncle Jim's advice and start writing your next novel
Happy Writing!

maestrowork said:

Repeat after me: MONEY ALWAYS FLOWS TOWARD THE WRITER.

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This is very true. The exception is I am vrey bda at eiditing. So bda I dno't wnat my publshiers to c mi wroks wihtout tehm bieing editde.

So I do like to hire an editor out of my own pocket to edit my manuscripts, before they go to the publishers and now after I get the galleys. Yes, I loose a bit of cash, but since I am such a weak editor I figure it's the least I can do.