hello i am new and wondering if someone could point me in the direction of a publisher. I have written some things i will be posting to get opinions on it and want to know where i go after that? can someone help me out?
If you post something on a website or a blog, it's considered published, and most publishers/editors aren't going to accept it since the first publication rights have been used up. Before you look for publishers, you may want to look into what an agent can do. They aren't necessary, but they have contacts in the publishing industry, and a lot of the big publishers don't accept unsolicited manuscripts or queries.
On top of what Thirdwind said (which is entirely accurate and should be heeded), you also need to spend some time doing your research. Many publishers only take certain types of manuscripts, so you need to determine your genre, and figure out what publishers would be interested in your particular style. It is not hard to do; if you simply Google "Dark Fantasy Publishers" (or whatever genre you write in), the names of several houses will come up. It is more difficult to find publishers who accept unsolicited material. For a first time author, I believe finding an agent is a really good thing to do. They know what publishers are interested in what genres, they already know the field, and they will market your work for you. I say, do your homework and get yourself as informed as possible. And then, good luck to you!
There are a number of resources for finding publishers and agents. However, if you're in the "post something to see if anyone thinks my writing is any good" phase, you have quite a lot of territory to cross before you are ready to choose a publisher or agent. But don't let that discourage you at all. The journey ahead may be long, but it's also very rewarding, and full of fun. The first stage is learning to critique writing objectively enough to know, without relying on others, how your writing is progressing. You have much learning ahead of you. I don't presume to know how good your writing is right now. But if you aren't still learning, it's time to hang up your writing hat and walk away. When you know your writing has become good enough to compete with good published writing, and you have a completed manuscript, that is soon enough to begin your search. And you will collect rejections. They will drive you to look even more deeply at your writing and make further improvements.
I agree with everything the others have said, I'll add; you sound as if you are talking about short stories, if that be the case then the magazine market may be the best place to look, there are also on line mags. If you are talking about a novel, here in the UK we have the 'The Writers and Artists, Yearbook' that has lists of agents and publishers and a lot of sound advice - It costs around £18, but libraries usually stock it in their reference section. I don't know about the US. Good luck and I notice that this is your first post - Welcome to the forums.
Good point, Trilby. I am Canadian, and here we have a book that is nearly as thick as my head entitled: "Writer's Market - Where & How to Sell What You Write." It is updated and published annually, and quite literally lists off everything you could ever want to know about where to publish your work (Canadian and US markets), who to contact, and how to go about doing it. It is an excellent reference, and can be found in the library or is available to buy at most larger book retailers.
I hate to be harsh, but the way this question is worded indicates such an unfamiliarity with the business of publishing that you are not yet at the point to actually sell your work. Read what people have to say about getting published on various websites, follow agents on twitter, attend writing conferences if you can, read some magazines about writing, and maybe even read some books about publishing and writing. The answer is also dependent on what you are looking to sell, as others have noted. The route to publishing a novel is different from publishing a short story or a magazine article. For a novel, you need to determine whether you want to self-publish or have your book published by a large or a small publisher. If the answer is a large publisher, you must have an agent (unless maybe you've written a how-to manual), and for a small publisher, you probably need an agent, although it is possible to get published by a small publisher without one. In order to get an agent, you need to query, which is a research laden, time intensive endeavor in and of itself.
You sound sweet, but I think if you know nothing about the industry yet and in all honesty, it sounds like you want to post your work to ask if it's any good, then you're probably far far away yet from needing an agent/publisher. The others have already given good advice. There're some rules on this forum for posting your own work for critique, so check out the FAQ I think. Stay on this forum long enough, you'll get all the basic answers you're looking for anyway. Look forward to seeing your work
well i mostly do fan fiction but i am branching out a bit with starts for original stories. mom and dad want me to get published when im ready is all and i want to know a good place to start.
here, look here if you are looking for an example of works i have done but not for money reasons. i know i havent updated much but i am working on it. http://www.fanfiction.net/~alufangirl1993
I checked out that link. Something that popped out right away were some pretty glaring spelling and grammar issues. You repeatedly used "where" when you meant "were." That's probably where you'll want to start before seeking out any sort of publication. I don't say this to be cynical but getting published is not an easy thing to accomplish. That being said, keep improving your craft, best of luck and welcome to the site
ditto paul's post... your writing is definitely not up to publishing standards, sorry to say... so don't think about where to get published till you've got something publishable to offer... when you are ready, www.duotrope.com is the best place to start looking for appropriate venues for what you have to offer... they charge a small fee, but it's worth it...
Hi, whatever you do, don't stop writing - you will improve. I would humbly suggest that you start by writing all posts as correctly as possible. It will help you improve more quickly if you use capital letters, and punctuation, correctly, every time you write. Good luck, look forward to working with you.
