Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 3: Preparing your book for publication
• Method 2 of 3: Method One: Publish Your Book with a Literary Agent
• Method 3 of 3: Method Two: Publish Your Book Directly Through a Publisher
• Tips
• Warnings

Publishing a book can be more difficult than writing one. To publish your book, you need to make sure it is fully finalized before giving it to agents or publishers. Publishing a book takes a lot of research, perseverance, and patience, but it's worth it to see your book in print. If you want to know how you can publish a book, then just follow the next steps.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Preparing your book for publication

1. 1 Determine if you need to prepare a manuscript or just an outline. Science fiction writers must prepare the entire manuscript, and documentary writers must write a detailed outline of the book. Knowing what is required of you will save yourself time and look more professional by submitting your book.
   • Many science fiction writers try to get their books published before they finish the entire manuscript - all to no avail. If you are a writer working with a literary agent, then a few chapters or even just a plan can get you a contract, but for most people starting out in fiction, the book must be 100% written before moving on to the publishing stage.
   • If you are a nonfiction writer, then first you need to prepare an outline for your book. If you are writing a book about fitness or cooking, then you need to focus on the plan. If you are working on literary prose, then you need to work on chapters for example, or even, in some cases, prepare an entire manuscript.
   • If you decide that you only need a plan for your book, then skip to step 6 and decide if you will be looking for a literary agent or if you will go directly to the publishing house.
   • If you are writing an academic textbook then skip to the last section to learn how to publish your textbook by contacting the publishing house directly.
2. 2 Edit your book. Editing a book can be more difficult than just writing it. Once you've written most of the book, whether it's a historical novel or a thriller, you'll need to start editing it to find the best shape before you send it to your agent or publisher. Here are a few things to consider:
   • Make sure your book is as engaging as possible. And while not all books are spy novels or other books that you read without respite, you need to make sure that readers are carried away from the beginning, and that they always want to read more and more pages.
   • Get rid of the overabundance of words and all that is superfluous. Many agents say they rarely accept a book by a debut writer with more than 100,000 words.
   • Make sure your idea persists. Whether you are writing romance or fiction, you must achieve your goal and get your message across at the end of the book.
   • Make sure your thoughts are as clear as possible. Your ideas may be crystal clear and understandable to you, but they can confuse the average reader. Of course, your book may target a specific audience, but those readers (be they university students or nurses) should calmly follow your thoughts.
3. 3 Get feedback on your book. Once you decide that you have really completed everything, it will be very important to get feedback on your book to know if it is really ready for publication. It may seem perfect to you, but there is almost always room for improvement.It is better to get feedback from a writer friend or professional you can trust than to be turned down by an agent or publisher. If you ask for feedback too early while writing a book, you may feel overwhelmed, so make sure your book is actually complete before asking for help. Here are some ways you can get feedback on your book:
   • Ask a writer friend for advice. A friend who knows how to write already has some idea of ​​what will and won't work in a book.
   • Ask a voracious reader for advice. Anyone who reads a lot will be able to tell if he read your book in one breath, or if he got bored after the first chapter.
   • Ask someone who understands your topic. If you are writing nonfiction in areas such as business, science, or food preparation, then ask someone who is an expert in that area to check all the data.
   • Submit your material to a writing workshop. It doesn't matter if this workshop is held among your friends in an informal setting, or you are going to a writing conference, you need to send a chapter of your book to this workshop in order to get reactions from different points of view at once.
   • If you are taking a creative writing course, then you will have a lot of chances to get feedback, either from your classmates or someone else in your faculty.
   • Find a reputable editor and ask them to rate your manuscript. It can be very expensive, but when you ask the right person, you will know if your book is ready.
   • Remember, reactions need to be treated with a bit of a grain of salt. Not everyone will fall in love with your book, and that's okay. It is impossible to get constructive criticism from people you trust, but you will find that not every opinion is positive. Getting the right feedback means you know who to ask.
4. 4 If necessary, then edit your book further. Edit it based on the opinions you received. You will not regret it. It will take you a while to process the reactions you get and start working again.
   • While the editing should work in the right direction, you still need to ask for more feedback to make sure your work only gets better.
   • When you edit your manuscript again, put it aside for a couple of weeks or even a month. Then read it with a fresh eye to see if this is the best option.
   • Finally, double-check your book. Once the bulk has been written, make sure your manuscript is free of grammar and punctuation errors. With these mistakes, your work will look completely unprofessional, and your readers will not be able to appreciate your hard work.
5. 5 Prepare your manuscript. Once you feel like your work is complete, you need to format it to fit the requirements of the agents and publishers you are looking for. There are some practical rules you should follow, but you also need to check the publishers' websites or agent manuals to make sure you are doing it right. Here are a few things you can do:
   • Always double-space your manuscript.
   • Leave margins of 2.5 cm to the left and right of the pages.
   • No fancy fonts. Times New Roman is the most appropriate in this case.
   • Number the pages. Number the pages of your manuscript in the upper right corner, also write your last name and book title before the page number.
     • For example: "Ivanov / WHITE SKY / 1"
   • Make a cover page. The title page should include the following:
     • Your name, your email, phone number and address. All of this should be written on the left side of the page.
     • The title of your novel should be written in capital letters, along with your last name.For example: "WHITE SKY" on one line, and "Ivan Ivanov's novel" right there under it.
     • The word count should be centered at the bottom of the page. You can round it down to around 5000 words. You can write "about 75,000" words.
6. 6 Decide if you want to hire a literary agent or go directly to the publisher. And although it is not easy to sign a contract and work with a literary agent, it is even more difficult to go directly to a publishing house and try to publish a book yourself.
   • The benefit of working directly with a publisher is that you don't have to pay an agent to act as an intermediary. But publishing houses trust agents who review works, so if you don't have an agent, you are unlikely to be interested in your work.
   • You can also try to contact the literary agents first, and then, if all else fails, contact the publishing house. However, if your work is rejected by many agents, then most likely it will also be rejected by the publisher.

Method 2 of 3: Method One: Publish Your Book with a Literary Agent

1. 1 Method one. Once you are ready to carry your book to agents, you will need to research this market. Find other books in your genre, see how well they are selling, and who is famous in your field. If your book doesn't quite fit just one genre, then look for other books that your work might be like.
   • Once you have studied the market, you can accurately describe your book. Is it science fiction, historical romance, or something else? Or is it science fiction and historical romance together? A book for adults or more for young people? Knowing which book you have will make it easier for you to find the right agent.
2. 2 Find out all about possible literary agents. Now that you know what kind of agent you need, you should find the best one. The ideal agent will study your material, be enthusiastic about your work, work with you to amend your book and sell it to a publisher. Make sure your agent sells books in your genre, otherwise you will just waste time. Here's how to find a good agent:
   • Read the book on working with literary agents. This book will tell you about over a thousand literary agents, and also tell you what genres they specialize in, how many clients they have per year, and what sales they make.
   • Explore the sites of different agents. When you find an agent you like, check his or her website for more information about their policies, the genres they work with, and what kind of clients they represent.
   • Make sure the agent accepts self-submitted manuscripts. If you do not have any connections and recommendations, then you will have to submit your work only in this way.
   • Beware of scammers posing as agents. No self-respecting agent will ask for money if he can make money from your book himself.
3. 3 Write a request letter. Once you find the agent of your dreams - or better yet, several such agents - then you will need to prepare a request letter. This letter is your chance to introduce yourself to the agent, give the agent an opportunity to become interested in your book, and briefly describe your work. To get an answer from an agent, you may have to wait, so it is better to write to several agents at once (if it is possible to send such requests at the same time), and then sit and wait. The request letter should be structured as follows:
   • Paragraph one: presentation of your book and your interest in this agent. Here's what should be in the first paragraph:
     • Start with a sentence or two that will give the agent an idea of ​​your book. Everything should be clear, original and interesting.
     • Then tell the agent about the genre of your book. It can be suitable for several genres at the same time. In the first paragraph, you also need to indicate the number of words in the book.
     • Tell the agent why you chose him. Does he represent many books in your genre, or does he represent several authors whose work is similar to yours? Have you met this agent before? If so, talk about it right away.
   • Paragraph two: a description of your book. Here's what this description should have:
     • Describe what's going on in your book and what topics are covered. Keep this description as precise and short as possible.
     • Tell us about the main characters, their lines of behavior, and why your book is so important.
     • You have one, maximum two paragraphs for this.
   • Paragraph three: little information about you. Tell the agent if you have won any prizes and how this book relates to your life.
   • Paragraph four: Tell the agent that the entire manuscript or individual chapters of the book are available upon request, and leave your contact details. Thank the agent for the time spent on your work.
   • Follow the directions completely. If the agent also asks for a short description or a separate chapter, then send them too.
4. 4 If you received an offer from an agent, then sign the contract - if you are sure of it. If the agent likes your letter of inquiry, he or she will ask you to send in some chapters of your book, or even the entire manuscript. If, after reading, the agent falls in love with your work, then you will receive what you dreamed of: an offer to become your representative! But before you sign papers with an agent, you need to make sure that he is really who you need.
   • Talk to the agent on the phone. If you can, arrange a personal meeting. Try to understand what his character is, and how interested he is in your work.
   • Trust your intuition. If something tells you that the agent is very busy, wants to end the phone conversation as soon as possible, or is not very enthusiastic about your book, then do not sign anything with him. Better to keep looking for your agent than to give your book into the wrong hands.
   • Ask if you can talk to your agent's clients. A good agent will be happy to give you the names of several of their clients so that you can talk to them and better understand if he is the right person for you or not.
   • Double check everything you figured out. Make sure the agent is a successful bookseller and has a good customer base before you start working with him.
   • Read your contract carefully. If you see that this is a standard contract, and that the agent receives about 15% of your domestic sales and 20% of your overseas sales, and you feel comfortable, then sign this contract, mail it and celebrate the occasion.
5. 5 Edit the book with an agent. Even if your agent likes your book terribly, you still need to edit it one, two, or maybe three times before it can be sent for sale. You will need to work on the words, make your narrator more attractive, and in general, answer any questions your agent has.
   • Remember that this is still your book and that you do not need to change it completely depending on the agent's request. Change only what you agree to change.
6. 6 Submit your book for sale. As soon as your agent is happy with your manuscript, and you prepare the book from publication, she will take it to the publishers. This is the most nervous moment of the publication, because nothing depends on you personally. Your agent will send your book to several reputable publishers, and if you're lucky, you'll get an offer from one of the publishing houses!
   • Sign a contract between you, your agent and the publishing house.
7. 7 Work with the editor. Now that your book has been sold, you will sign a contract with the publishing house, and continue working on the revision of the book with their editor.Work will continue for as long as necessary, and then other issues of publication will be decided, such as where and when the book will be released, and what kind of cover it will have.
   • But you can't afford to just sit around and wait for a posting date. You still have a lot of work to do!
8. 8 Advertise your book. Once you know and accept that your book is going to be published, you need to go out of your way to advertise your book, through your publisher, website, social media, informal reading, and word of mouth. Do your best to ensure that your book's sales grow as soon as it hits the market.
   • Never stop promoting your book - especially after it's published. You may enjoy a little fame, but remember that advertising is just as important as writing the book itself!

Method 3 of 3: Method Two: Publish Your Book Directly Through a Publisher

1. 1 Find out all about publishers. Check websites and different publishing houses to see if they accept letters of inquiry or only petitions from agents. Many publishing houses only accept work brought in through an agent.
   • Find a publisher who not only accepts agentless inquiries, but who specializes in books like yours.
2. 2 Write a request letter to the correct publisher. The method of writing a request letter for a publishing house will be the same as for an agent. You need to introduce your book, yourself and tell briefly about your work.
   • If the publishing house likes your letter, you will be asked to send part or all of the manuscript in its entirety.
3. 3 If your book is accepted, then sign a contract with a reputable publishing house. If the publishing house is impressed with your work, then you will be made an offer. Study your contract carefully and sign it if everything suits you.
4. 4 Review your work with the editor. Work with an editor to double-check your book so it's ready for publication.
5. 5 Advertise your book. As you wait for your book to be released, advertise it to everyone you know — and don’t. Once your book is published, keep promoting it. You may like the process of publishing it, but remember to advertise it constantly.
   • Talk about your book in blogs, interviews, read excerpts from your book.
   • Create a dedicated social media page and a separate website to advertise your book.

Tips

• Since you are a novice writer, you will often get rejected. But never give up. Many well-known writers received constant rejections before being accepted somewhere. Few writers are successful in publishing with their first book. A true writer will continue to work, whether his book has been published or not.
• Always work with trusted professional publishers. If a literary agent asks for money to read your book, that is no longer professional.
• Try to print an excerpt from your book before taking it to an agent or publisher. Doing so will help you build credibility as a writer and show that people are interested in your book.
• Also, be wary of any publishing company that asks you to pay. These publishers are simply useless.
• If you want to get to know literary agents, then take part in a literary conference where you can meet and talk to agents to whom you can show your book. Just do it at the right time.
• If you are unlucky with agents or publishers, then consider publishing the book yourself.

Warnings

• There are many bad literary agents and publishers out there. Do good market research before you start working with someone. Do not contact an agent who asks for money for the first reading of your book!