Three Answers to the Question, “So, How Do I Get Published?”

At the end of my creative writing workshops, sometimes with only fifteen minutes left of the final class, someone inevitably asks, “So, how do we get our work published?” People also ask this question when they find out that I am the big-time smedium-time author of the breakaway, international bestseller moderately successful book See Me After Class: Advice for Teachers by Teachers. Depending on the situation, I give one of three answers to this question:

If I’m feeling world-weary and sarcastic and/or it doesn’t seem like the person really wants a real answer anyway: Prepare for lots of rejection.

Note: For best results, I follow this with a sad-little laugh and well-timed sigh.

If the question is from a genuine hopeful author, but time is short and/or the person seems to want a short answer: My favorite book on this subject is The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published, by Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry. The authors are a wife/husband, agent/author team and the book is readable and funny and will save you lots of trial and error.

Note: The way potential authors react to this type of  tip is telling. If they say thanks and make a note of the book’s title, that’s a pretty good sign. If they read the book – or, really, any book – on the publishing process, and then follow up with a few specific questions, that’s a great sign. If they say they are too busy to read a whole book, that’s a bad sign for their future as an author. It’s also a sign that they are going to want to explain to me how easy it’s going to be for them to write their book once they get started because their life is so interesting people keep telling them they should write a book! Then they are going to ask me how  much I got paid for my book. Then they are going to ask if I can introduce them to whoever published my book so those people can publish their book. Then… I don’t know what comes next, because I have already made an excuse to leave the conversation, probably using my cool, world-weary “prepare for lots of rejection” line.

If the question is genuine AND there is enough time to explain the basics of the publishing process: 



There are a few main steps to getting a book published.

If you’re working on a novel, you have to write the novel and make it as good as it can be. Then you write a query – which is usually a one-page email, to try to find an agent who will sell your work to publishers. If the agent is interested in the query, they will ask for all or part of your manuscript. If they like those enough, they will sign you up as one of their authors. You don’t pay the agent – they get a percentage, usually . Once you sign up with an agent, the agent will submit your work to editors at a publishing house. Then, hopefully, the publishers will buy your book and pay you an advance, then work with you to make the manuscript as good as it can be, then publish it and make it into a book. In almost every case, you’ll be have to do most of the work to get people interested in buying the book. If the book sells enough copies to earn back your advance, you’ll start getting royalties, which usually come out to about a dollar per book sold.

If you’re working on a non-fiction book, almost everything is the same as above, except you don’t have to write the whole book. You have to write a proposal, which includes three chapters and some other things, such as a description of your competition and expected audience and a bio that explains why you’re the right person to write this book and why you think you can sell it. Then you send queries to agents. If they like the query, they will ask for the proposal instead of the completed manuscript. If they like that, they may be able to sign you and even sell your book based on the proposal. But in the mean time, keep working on your book.

For details and additional information, my favorite book on this subject is The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published, by Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry. The authors are a wife/husband, agent/author team and the book is readable and funny and will save you lots of trial and error. The book is a comprehensive guide through every step of the publishing process. You can use it as a reference book or read it straight through, and it will save you lots of trial and error. It’s especially good for non-fiction because the authors include their own book proposal in its entirety and you can use it as a model. For fiction authors, I also really like the book The Art of War for Writers, by James Scott Bell. Bell’s book is organized into readable, bathroom-read-length chapters that provide a mix of encouragement, writing advice, and publishing advice. For guidance on the writing process, I’m not alone in recommending Stephen King’s On Writing, which is half memoir, half solid advice for writers. And if you need a pick-me-up in the face of inevitable rejection, check out Catherine Wald’s collection, The Resilient Writer, which is an anthology of rejection stories from 23 now-successful authors.

While all of the books mentioned above are worth reading, you’ll also find quite a bit of overlap in the advice they offer. That’s because the overarching advice authors need to hear is actually simple; we just need to hear it from a lot of different sources because writing a book is a long process.

Here is my distillation of the writing advice I’ve found in all these books and from my own experience. Learn as much as you can about the publishing process and industry. Set aside time to get your book written and get it on paper at the quickest, steadiest pace as you possibly can. Get feedback from sources you trust, and expect to do lots and lots of revisions. If you need a number, expect to do about 30 revisions. Some revisions will consist of small edits because you’re sure you’re almost done. Others will be complete overhauls of the organization and story after you realize you’ve been doing the whole thing wrong. Then, send the most professional materials you can create to the best fitting agents you can find.

And prepare for lots of rejection.

(c) Roxanna Elden

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