new publishing work

scifi · Apr 5, 2014

HI guys, I wonder if you can help me at all. I have finally finished reviewing my novel and it is time to get it checked and published.
Unfortunately I am not a native speaker, so I need somebody to go through it and have a good look at it before it gets published.
Now, this is the first novel I write so I am not entirely sure how to go about it. Needless to say, I had a good look online and found some companies that do a bit of everything
like this one http://www.authorhouse.co.uk/Servicestore/ServiceDetail.aspx?ServiceId=BS-1291 - hope it is OK to post links - but they are quite expensive. Anyway, I though I'd ask what
you guys think and what's the best way to go. Essentially what I nned is some kind of proof reader that will go through the novel and have a look at grammar and all the rest before the story gets published. Needless to say, if you have a good resources you can point me to, that'll be great
thanks a lot

Old Hack · Apr 6, 2014

AuthorHouse is a vanity publisher. They'll charge you a lot of money to do things you can do for yourself for free. Avoid them!

There are a few choices ahead of you.

You can look for trade publication, which will almost certainly get your book into bookshops; your publisher will pay you, will edit, design, print and distribute your books for you at no charge to you at all (if they ask for money for anything they're a vanity publisher, not a trade publisher), and your sales are likely to be counted in the thousands.

You can self publish, in which case you'll probably do best focusing on a digital edition, rather than a print edition. Your book is unlikely to get into bookshops, you'll have to find editors and designers and pay them, your sales are likely to be much lower than with trade publication: but you'll earn more per copy sold, so that might not be a problem. Some people self publish without spending any money at all on their book; others spend thousands. Most people spend a bit, for editing and cover design, and consider it money well spent.

Or you can vanity publish, with a company like AuthorHouse. It'll be expensive, the services you pay for might well give you poor value for money (I've reviewed many books which have been published through such companies: in almost all of them, the editing was dire, the production quality was poor, the jacket design was abysmal). You are unlikely to sell many copies, as your book won't get in front of your readers.

I think that's a reasonable outline, but I bet other AW members will have more to add. I'll move this from Ask The Editor to BWQ as I think it's probably a better fit there.

Oldbrasscat · Apr 6, 2014

I'm going to assume, from your name, that you write scifi. You can find independent editors to do an edit on your novel before you send it out. Lilith Saintcrow is the only name in the general category of spec fic that I can come up with off the top of my head that's doing editing. http://www.lilithsaintcrow.com/journal/product-category/editing-2/ A bit of research would turn up others.

Or, you can post in the beta readers forum and see if you can entice someone to help you out for an exchange of labour.

Before you send money to anyone, check them out here and on Predators and Editors, to make sure they're not just out there to take advantage of new authors.

Jay365 · Apr 6, 2014

Some good advice above.

I can tell from your post that you are not a native speaker, as you pointed out, so I would suggest you first get your novel read and corrected by an editor, and then a proofreader, before you even think about publishing.

Old Hack · Apr 6, 2014

Jay365 said:
Some good advice above.

I can tell from your post that you are not a native speaker, as you pointed out, so I would suggest you first get your novel read and corrected by an editor, and then a proofreader, before you even think about publishing.

I think this is bad advice (and with all due respect to Jay365, note it comes from someone who offers freelance editing services to aspiring writers).

Do your research. Decide how you want to publish. At that point, you'll be able to work out if it's worth paying to have anyone edit your work for you.

If you're going to aim for a contract with a trade publisher, it's not necessary. Just revise and polish your work to the best of your ability, write a good query, and away you go. If the book's good enough a publisher will almost certainly sign it up, and will then edit it at no cost to you.

If you want to self publish then you should find a good editor to work with: but note that editors do NOT correct your work for you; and you can't proofread a book until you have proof copies of it, which happens quite late in the publishing process--so it's impossible to have your work proofread "before you even think about publishing".

Very roughly speaking, editors look at the big problems in your work: they identify issues with plot and structure, dialogue, characterisation, story, and so on. A good editor will give you notes identifying all the issues she's spotted, and suggesting how you could resolve those problems; but then you, the writer, make the changes required to improve the book, as you think best. You're under no obligation to make any of the editor's suggested changes if you disagree with them.

After editing comes copy editing, and it's at this stage that a book might be "corrected". A good copy editor corrects smaller mistakes: spelling errors, punctuation issues, and so on.

Once your book has been copy edited it will be typeset or formatted (for print and digital editions respectively) and then you'll get proofs, which are proofread to find any remaining errors.

That's a bit rough-and-ready, and it's very truncated: but it's how editing is done at all the publishers I've worked at in all my years in the business. I hope it's a help.

Sage · Apr 6, 2014

No matter what route you want to take (I suggest avoiding the vanity publisher route, though), you'll want to get your novel in the best shape you can. A fabulous story, well-told will get you published conventionally, but in the querying process, you'll be competing against other fabulous stories, well-told. And if self-publishing, you'll be competing for readers, not agents or publishers. Because of this, it's important for you to learn grammar and spelling rules. You won't learn them by paying for an editor to do the work for you, I'm afraid. Say you decide to shell out that money, then get the book published. What about your next one? Are you going to pay for each one?

No matter what route, you'll also probably want to find some beta readers. These are writers who will read your book for free, or possibly in return for you reading theirs. They probably won't go line-by-line and point out your grammar problems, and they'll prefer that your book is as free of those to begin with, because it helps with readability. What they will offer is the same sort of help as the editors OH mentioned: They'll look for big problems and occasionally focus on the specific. If you have few grammar issues or typos, they'll be more likely to point out the ones you have, but if you have too many, they'll start skipping them for the bigger problems. You can find betas here on AW, but you're more likely to catch the interest of one if you a) have been noticed contributing to the site a lot and b) have a pitch that's error-free.

There are a lot of books that can help you with grammar. Strunk and White is one of the most famous among authors. You might also want to haunt Share Your Work (password: vista). Some critters will point out grammar stuff, and that will help you find it in your own work, not to mention how the other critiques can help you. And read a lot of books in English because that will help familiarize yourself with grammar rules (and good storytelling) in a natural way.

Hope this helps.

ETA: Strunk and White is actually called "The Elements of Style."

scifi · Apr 6, 2014

Thanks for the great advices guys, much appreciated.
@Old Hack Of the three options given, I think that the trade publication feels the best.
How likely do you think it is that I can get something published through a trade publisher? I mean, they must get hundreds of submissions every month, so I presume that unless my work "fills a gap" they might not consider it. Anyway, I think it is worth a shot. I have a couple of questions though:
1)Since novel is scifi-ish I suppose I need to look for scifi publishers, correct? Is it just a matter of looking on the internet and find a list of them, or is there any directory or portal for UK based publishers as far as you guys know? Oldbrasscat mentioned preditors and editors, which is a great website - just had a look at it - but I was wondering if there is a UK equivalent
2)Submissions: is there any specific way to submit the work (like, submitting a synopsis, a couple of chapter and so on) or does that depend on the specific publisher?
3)I am still deciding whether to get this novel proofread before I send it to a publisher. Old Hack you said it is not necessary, and fair enough if this is the consensus, but wouldn't publishers be put off by errors, problem with the structure, bad grammar and so on? If I decide to get it checked out, what would be the best way to find somebody to do it? Oldbrasscat kindly provided an example but I would like it to be UK based, what sort of search terms should I use on google?
thanks

Sage · Apr 6, 2014

The easiest way to get a publisher to notice your book is to get an agent first. But be aware that agents also have a heavy slush pile to go through. Each agent or publisher will have some submission guidelines. If they have a website, and most do, that's the best place to get those guidelines. Follow them.

Publishers that accept sci-fi are easy to find. Look at who publishes the sci-fi books you read (and you should be reading them, right?) and there you go. Publishers that accept sci-fi from unagented authors, however, is a harder question. You'll have to go to their websites and see if they do. You'll find places to search for which agents accept sci-fi, most notably on AgentQuery and Query Tracker, and here on AW, there's a thread in the SFF section about who accepts SFF, though I don't know if they specify which. Usually if they accept one, they'll accept both, but not always, and you should be researching beyond a list of SF-accepting agents/publishers anyway.

scifi · Apr 6, 2014

Thanks Sage. Ok so it's getting complicated

. The publishers that published the scifi books I read are US based, because pretty much all the books I have read are from US authors, so I will have to have a look on google for scifi publishers based in UK. I am totally new to the concept of an agent. How do I get one? I mean I had a look at your links (by the way, are you aware of any similar UK based resource?) so is it just a matter of find a name and send over the novel or do they also have submissions guidelines?
thanks

Sage · Apr 6, 2014

Is there a reason why you're looking specifically for UK agents/publishers? I know there are UK-based agents, because I know they want cover letters, not query letters, but I don't know the resources to find them.

Deleted member 42 · Apr 6, 2014

I'm moving this thread to the General Publishing Discussion area.

scifi you're getting lots of good advice here, from some really knowledgeable people.

You might also spend some time reading these FAQs and following the links in them.

scifi · Apr 6, 2014

well, I am thinking about a UK based agent because I live in the UL so it would be easier if we both are in the same country I think.
@Medievalist yes thanks for the link, I will definitely read them with interest
thanks

Sage · Apr 6, 2014

I have a friend in South Africa whose agent and publisher are both in the U.S. Since so much is done over the internet, there's very little requirement that an agent or publisher be nearby. I'm sure there are lots of good agents and publishers in the UK, but I feel like there are probably more in the U.S.

Old Hack · Apr 6, 2014

scifi said:
Thanks for the great advices guys, much appreciated.
@Old Hack Of the three options given, I think that the trade publication feels the best.
How likely do you think it is that I can get something published through a trade publisher? I mean, they must get hundreds of submissions every month, so I presume that unless my work "fills a gap" they might not consider it. Anyway, I think it is worth a shot.

It's very difficult to get a trade publisher interested in your work. But plenty of writers do it every week, so it's not impossible.

So long as your book is brilliant, and is as clean as you can get it, you've got a good chance.

I have a couple of questions though:
1)Since novel is scifi-ish I suppose I need to look for scifi publishers, correct? Is it just a matter of looking on the internet and find a list of them, or is there any directory or portal for UK based publishers as far as you guys know? Oldbrasscat mentioned preditors and editors, which is a great website - just had a look at it - but I was wondering if there is a UK equivalent

It's usual to find an agent, and let that agent find you a deal.

Smaller publishers will look at unagented submissions, but larger ones won't.

Your best bet is to find books like yours, and find out who represents the authors concerned.

2)Submissions: is there any specific way to submit the work (like, submitting a synopsis, a couple of chapter and so on) or does that depend on the specific publisher?

Check the agencies' guidelines (which are usually on their websites). They'll tell you all you need to know. Also, read up on manuscript formatting and query writing. There are plenty of threads here which will help you.

3)I am still deciding whether to get this novel proofread before I send it to a publisher. Old Hack you said it is not necessary, and fair enough if this is the consensus, but wouldn't publishers be put off by errors, problem with the structure, bad grammar and so on?

If you're serious about your writing career you need to get your terminology straight. Proofreading isn't done until you have proofs of your book. What you're talking about is revising your book and, perhaps, having it edited by someone else.

You could pay someone else to edit your work for you but again, if you want to write seriously, you're going to need to be
able to polish your own work. You need to be able to spot most of the mistakes in it, and sort them out for yourself.

That means you need to learn grammar, punctuation, spelling, and so on, so well that you don't even think about them as you're writing: you just do it right, automatically.

If I decide to get it checked out, what would be the best way to find somebody to do it? Oldbrasscat kindly provided an example but I would like it to be UK based, what sort of search terms should I use on google?
thanks

There are lots of editors around who I wouldn't even consider using. However, there are a few editorial agencies I've encountered which do offer good advice, and at reasonable rates.

I am not affiliated with any of these, but if you really want to have your work looked at by a professional editor, you could consider Cornerstones, The Literary Consultancy, or The Writers' Workshop. I've heard good reports about all of them. However, don't send your work off to them until you've got it as good as you can get it, because otherwise you're paying them to make changes you could do for yourself, and missing out on the other things they might spot.

scifi · Apr 6, 2014

Fantastic Old Hack, thank you very much for all that. The novel is almost completely polished (I re-read it about a dozen times) so I should be soon in the position to get it checked (I think I will do it because it is my first novel I write). I am already working on a sequel, maybe I won't need to get that checked, will see how it goes.
ANd yes you are right, I wasn't talking about proofreading but revisions. I will also start looking into finding an agent. I seem to understand there isn't really a good place to look for it, so I will start with a normal google search.
thanks again for the help and support!

Old Hack · Apr 6, 2014

scifi said:
I will also start looking into finding an agent. I seem to understand there isn't really a good place to look for it, so I will start with a normal google search.
thanks again for the help and support!

Start by writing a list of books which are similar to yours.

Find out which agents represent those authors.

That's the beginning of your list.

Jay365 · Apr 7, 2014

Old Hack said:
I think this is bad advice (and with all due respect to Jay365, note it comes from someone who offers freelance editing services to aspiring writers).

What I meant to say was that sometimes writers get too close to their work, after several edits and rewrites. So in some cases, it may be a good idea to get someone else to read it before you submit it to publishers. JMHO.

Sorry for that. I'll get my coat.

scifi · Apr 8, 2014

thanks ever so much for the useful advice guys, really appreciate it!

new publishing work

scifi

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman

Oldbrasscat

Making stuff up...or maybe sleeping

Jay365

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman

Sage

Supreme Guessinator

scifi

Sage

Supreme Guessinator

scifi

Sage

Supreme Guessinator

Deleted member 42

scifi

Sage

Supreme Guessinator

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman

scifi

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman

Jay365

scifi