Everyone\u2014and I mean everyone\u2014is working on a book. For some, it\u2019s just a spark of an idea that hasn\u2019t quite made it to paper; for others, it\u2019s thousands of words socked away in a drawer or saved on an old laptop. Either way, the same question is bound to come up eventually: What does it take to get this thing published?<\/p>\n
After years of reading submissions for a literary agency and a Big Six publisher (including everything from amazing books that bombed to titles I hated but everyone else in the world loved), I can safely say: There is no easy way to get published and become a successful author. It\u2019s a weird, long haul, but\u2014thankfully!\u2014there are a few things you can do to help you on your journey. Here\u2019s the advice that I give every aspiring author.<\/p>\n
More specifically, read in your genre. You need to know what good books look like, so you can take note of what makes them so successful and incorporate those things into your writing. But don\u2019t limit yourself to the best-sellers\u2014reading mediocre and even bad books can be just as helpful by showing you where authors miss the mark and what common missteps to avoid.<\/p>\n
Also, all genres\u2014from romance to self-help to literary fiction\u2014have certain conventions that you should be aware of as an author. By reading published books in your genre, you\u2019ll be able to make some useful comparisons: Is your YA character too young? Your New Adult novel too chaste? Your literary fiction too low on 20-something male angst?<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re not somewhat on par with the standards of your genre (e.g., if your 25-five year old protagonist reads like a 12-year-old or your plot twists are clones of the only book you\u2019ve read), it doesn\u2019t matter how good your writing is\u2014publishers will notice and reject you immediately. Editors buy books because they love them, but they also need to be able to sell them to readers\u2014and if the saucy chambermaid in your romance novel dies of consumption instead of marrying the Duke, we\u2019ve all got a problem.<\/p>\n
2.Write the Whole Book<\/strong><\/p>\n Don\u2019t hope to sell a publisher on an idea alone\u2014agents won\u2019t pick up new clients without a complete manuscript, and most publishing houses don\u2019t take un-agented submissions. (And honestly, if an editor agrees to take your book without an agent, then you have to worry about the possibility of a predatory contract\u2014so I always advise authors to go through an agent to have an expert on their side.) At the low end, books for teens and adults usually range between 80,000 and 100,000 words, although some make it up to a couple hundred thousand (I\u2019m looking at you, Harry Potter).<\/p>\n The only exception to the \u201cwrite it first\u201d rule is non-fiction\u2014with this genre, you can query an agent with just an outline and some sample chapters. (Memoirs don\u2019t count as non-fiction in this regard\u2014sorry.)<\/p>\n That said, non-fiction authors aren\u2019t usually picked up solely for their writing, but also because of their existing personal platform and connections. As in, it doesn\u2019t matter how much great advice you have for women in business if you don\u2019t have Sheryl Sandberg\u2019s platform to sell it from. And big sweeping histories are usually written by journalists and professors\u2014people who\u2019ve spent years proving their expertise and writing chops. So if you plan on going that route, be aware that building that kind of audience can take even longer than writing an entire novel.<\/p>\n 3. Accept that Publishing is Slow<\/strong><\/p>\n Typically, editors buy books a year or more before they\u2019re actually published. So, if you sold your book tomorrow, you could have a finished copy in your hands in 18 months\u2014if you\u2019re lucky. Publishers have to allow for multiple rewrites and ample time to line up publicity, sales, and marketing. In short, it could take a long time for your book to see the light of the bookstore.<\/p>\n Now, if you\u2019re writing a second or third book, you could have a shorter window\u2014in certain genres, your publisher might want to put out a few books in quick succession or could have agreed to a number of titles in a series while you\u2019re still writing them, shortening the window between manuscript submission and publication. Or, if a current event suddenly makes demand for your book skyrocket\u2014if you\u2019re an astrobiologist, say, and SETI finds proof of alien life\u2014your on-sale date will probably get pushed up pretty fast. Otherwise, you have to embrace the pace of the publishing world: Things happen. Eventually.<\/p>\n 4. Don’t Chase Trends<\/strong><\/p>\n With that lengthy time frame in mind, realize that even if your book idea was completely unique when you first started writing, by the time you actually get it on the shelves, your dystopian love triangle or vampire love triangle or zombie love triangle is going to be way, way out of date. (Have I mentioned publishing is slow?) This isn\u2019t to say a great story won\u2019t blow up anyway, but there are only so many sexy mermaid novels an agent or editor\u2014or the public, for that matter\u2014can read without their eyes glazing over.<\/p>\n If you really have a passion for something popular and have a unique story to tell, go for it. But be wary of writing a cookie cutter, fill-in-the-blank fad novel for the sole purpose of writing something trendy. By the time you get it out into the world, it will be so overdone that no one will want to read it\u2014and you\u2019ll have spent a year of your life writing something you don\u2019t really like.<\/p>\n 5. Don’t Do it For the Money<\/strong><\/p>\n I can\u2019t tell you how many times, after a few drinks at happy hour, I\u2019ve heard someone say, \u201cI\u2019m just going to write a YA novel and make a ton of cash.\u201d That\u2019s my cue to whip out a pen, a napkin, and my basic math skills and crush some dreams. (This may also be why no one wants to go out to drinks with me.)<\/p>\n With a traditional publishing deal, you\u2019ll get an advance against royalties when you sell your book to a publisher. Book advances can vary widely depending on the publisher, your genre, the breadth of your existing network and audience, and a number of other factors. You can get as little as $2,000 or as much as $2 million (guess which is more likely), but either way, you\u2019ll pay 15% of that to your agent, and the remainder will be paid in thirds or quarters over the next couple years. So even a $200,000 advance won\u2019t end up being the windfall that you imagined.<\/p>\n After the advance, you\u2019ll earn a royalty on every copy sold, but you first need to \u201cearn out\u201d the advance\u2014so if you got a $2,000 advance and you earn a dollar in royalties for every copy sold, you won\u2019t see another check until you\u2019ve sold 2,000 copies. Like advances, royalty rates can vary widely, and many authors never see another dollar after their advance.<\/p>\n If you decide to self-publish, it\u2019s possible to get a better royalty rate than you\u2019d get from most traditional publishers, but you\u2019ll forgo an advance and have to focus on a lot more than just writing: You\u2019ll have to handle your own copy editing, cover creation, marketing, publicity, and sales. While Amanda Hocking, Hugh Howey, and of course E L James have shown it\u2019s possible to move a ton of copies on your own, that level of success is by no means the norm. In fact, half of all self-published authors made less than $500 in 2011\u2014so you\u2019ll have to decide if the opportunity cost is worth it.<\/p>\n This is all to say: Publishing is the slowest possible get-rich-quick scheme (in which you probably won\u2019t get rich). Breaking into big money publishing is like becoming an A-list actor\u2014being talented definitely helps, but luck plays a big role and the odds aren\u2019t in your favor.<\/p>\n But, if you love to write, and if you\u2019re willing to put in the time and energy to do it well, go for it. A good story about great characters, told well, will sell every time.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of any publishing house.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n