How can i get published?

You're probably going to hate this answer, but the first step to publication is to write a book that someone wants to publish. If you've really sent hundreds of letters, then it may be time to either revise and polish your current manuscript or shelve it and write another book.

Once in a while, it's a matter of timing (i.e., having the right story at the right time for the right agent/publisher). Study the market as closely as possible and always be on the lookout for new, reputable agents. Read agent blogs and Web sites for clues as to what they seek.

There are lots of author stories online regarding the road to publishing. Some people weren't published for five years or more, or didn't get any bites until their ninth or tenth novel. So, sometimes we unpublished writers have to go back to the drawing board.

If you haven't had anyone critique your novels, or a sample of them, then I suggest you obtain some feedback just in case your writing needs some attention. Otherwise, keep your eye on the market and keep submitting if you can. It's a tough road, I feel your pain!

Good luck.

Welcome, lily777! Glad you stopped by.


Well, if you've sent out multiple queries without any requests for a partial or full, you might need some work on the query itself. Query writing is a learned skill and has NOTHING to do with how well you can write narrative and dialogue!

What you might consider is posting the query for one of the books over on our Query Letter Critique forum and see if we can help you get it into shape. The password is vista and you need to enable cookies on your computer to enter.

Hope to see you over there!

Also food for thought - if you sent hundred of queries for your novels then you probably did not do the research to find the right agents who might actually want to rep your work. Agents have preferences and areas of expertise. Sending a mystery to an agent who only reps high end literary work is a waste of everyone's time, for example.

It's not fun to hear but you need to put almost as much work into the process as you do into the writing, esp in the beginning.

The other advice given here is on spot.

annie
Luanne Jones
Heathen Girls (MIRA available now)

I posted my query letter on there too. I'm HORRIBLE at query letters and I've sent this one out a few times with mixed results. (Cathy, you've already seen it, but if you or anyone else would like to rip it to shreds for me, I'd be most obliged) I just want to see if it's my story idea or my letter that's sucking on a dill pickle.