Annaleigh Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 I've written a book.. And its about 200 A4 pages long. I Submitted it as my GCSE and I Got A++ And my teacher recommended i tried publishes,, I Dont ever show my work to my family as i think they say wow just because your family, but my teacher showed it my mum and She was gobsmacked. No one believed i wrote it because its good.. I Was wondering. How Do i start at Trying to get published? I dont really want to be cashing out a lot xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mantaspook Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 Hi Annaleigh, I'd recommend a three part plan. 1. Improve your writing skills. By joining a writers' group such as this one, or Absolute Write listening to the critiques offered and using them to develop your writing style. There are also several local writers that offer one day or longer courses, contact SF users 'Selliot' or 'DanielBlythe', to name just two. The professional advice they would give should give you an insight into what you have to do. I understand from your previous posts you are 16 years old, are you considering studying English at A level or beyond? 2. Polish your manuscript until it is perfect. Your manuscript should be as polished as it can be, spelling mistakes & grammatical errors are unacceptable, white A4 paper, use 'Times New Roman' or 'Courier' font, double spaced. Your name & contact details should be on the first sheet, all pages should be numbered. Agents and publishers don't like sloppy work; they receive an awful lot of it and it is often referred to by the derogatory term 'the slush pile' - for your work to stand out and to even be considered for publishing your work has to be professionally presented, it almost goes without saying that you've also got to grab the reader's attention and create a captivating story that is worth reading. I'd recommend you have a look at Creative writing for Dummies, despite the title, it offers some good advice and explains what you need to do in more detail. 3. Identify and approach agents & publishers. Do some research and identify a publisher that may be interested in your work, it is no good sending your romantic novel to a firm that concentrates on school text books. Get hold of a copy of 'Writers Market UK' or the 'Writers & Artists' yearbook, it should give you some good pointers on which publisher is best to approach for your particular genre of story. But Beware of publishers that ask you for money, ("Vanity publishing") - see Peacock Lady's blog 'How Publishing Really Works' for further details, it's an excellent site which gives you an insiders view of the publishing industry. One of the primary objectives of any writer should be to express themselves clearly - have a good hard look at your initial post below and look at all the mistakes - if your book is of the same standard it may need a lot of work before it will be fit to publish. I've written a book.. And its about 200 A4 pages long. I Submitted it as my GCSE and I Got A++ And my teacher recommended i tried publishes,, I Dont ever show my work to my family as i think they say wow just because your family, but my teacher showed it my mum and She was gobsmacked. No one believed i wrote it because its good.. I Was wondering. How Do i start at Trying to get published? I dont really want to be cashing out a lot xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karis Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 Reading back through your posts, it seems that unless you write very differently to how you do on the Sheffield Forums, polishing your English is your main concern. Attention to detail, spelling and grammar are key components to a writer's trade. Also, you need to show your manuscript to people who are NOT your friends / family. Why? Because they'll more often than not give you the X Factor treatment, where they'll big you up regardless of whether your work actually IS any good or not. They almost certainly won't read your work and give you an accurate critique of its merits (judging it on presentation, style and grammar) so you won't really know whether your work is any good. Publishers these days have no time for people who don't have a strong grasp of English; they want writers with a strong voice who can deliver an easy to read manuscript. Submit work filled with typos and grammatical mistakes and your work will go in the NO pile every time. That said. It's ALL resolvable with a bit of hard work and determination Good luck, and keep writing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annaleigh Posted August 19, 2009 Author Share Posted August 19, 2009 I do write differently on paper than on the computer (Y) xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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