FAQ - How Do You Get Published?

There are a lot of folks out there who've written or are writing novels and wonder how to get published. Now and then I hear from some of them. I set up a FAQ page over on my DAY OF SMALL THINGS blog/site but I think I'll go on and tackle this question here as well. (For a fuller discussion, follow the link above to the FAQ.)

Only yesterday I received an email, part of which went as follows:  

 . . . This is my first novel, and I really want this book published.  I have had my novel line edited . . . and I am in the process of some rewrites.  

Do you have any suggestions on how to get the dang thing published?  It seems like it is next to impossible to break into the literary world if you have never been published or do not have the right connections.

Is the publishing company that published your book a self publishing company?

I would appreciate any guidance that you could provide.

Okay, how to get this dang thing published.

(I'm talking about novels, here - the rules are different for non-fiction, poetry, and children's fiction.)Well, if your goal is to be published by a big, mainstream publisher, then you're going to need an agent.  And you don't 'hire' an agent -- instead you send out queries (email or snail mail) telling them about your novel and hoping that you've piqued their interest sufficiently to want to read more and, eventually, offer to represent you. The really big publishers do not accept unagented submissions. (There are smaller legitimate publishing houses that will deal directly with the author.)

Impossible to break into the literary world if you have never been published or do not have the right connections? 

I am proof that it's possible -- I had NO connections and the only publication to my credit was the book on quilting that a friend and I had co-authored. (This sort of publication credit means less than nothing to agents and publishers of novels.)

I sent out over sixty query letters in the space of three months before fining an agent who wanted to represent me. It's not a quick and easy process for most.

Is the publishing company that published your book a self publishing company?

No. A self-publishing company is one in which the writer pays to have his work printed. 

Self-publishing works well for people who have written a work that is probably going to have a limited audience.  Wonderful for a family history or a novel of regional interest. A major downside of self-publishing is that you don't get nation-wide distribution. There are other downsides but there are those who are passionate advocates of self-publishing.

 Guidance --

There's lots of that on line -- and my experience is so limited that I'm not the best person to ask.  And no, I can't take a look at manuscripts -- there's just not time, between trying to write my own books and teach the classes I teach and everything else in my life. 

I'm not trying to be unkind-- I'm honored that some folks have sought my advice. But to the best of my knowledge, there is no magic secret, no clever shortcut to publication. It's a lot of work.