So lets say I have a book thats all finished and ready to get published. Do I just send it to a publisher? Or will it get ignored or worse....filed under 'bin'? Will it matter if I don't have a CV, portfolio, agent, writing degree, critical reviews? etc?
If you send it unsolicited to a publishing house, you'll end up in what is known as the "slush pile." It's possible that you will be "discovered" from there, but not likely given the sheer volume of submissions they receive. You stand a much better chance by finding an agent first who will be able to match your manuscript to the right publisher and negotiate a better deal. Your CV doesn't matter at all (unless it features something that will make you more marketable, which, unless you're a celebrity already, it probably won't), nor does a writing-related degree. And no unpublished writer will have had their work critically reviewed, so there's nothing to worry about there competition-wise.
...no, you can't just 'send it'... if you do, it'll most likely just get dumped unopened... ...first of all, it's best to have an agent do the sending to publishers, so you should try to get an agent to 'rep' the book, which will almost always get you a better deal than you could get on your own... ...and to get an agent [or a publisher, should you not want to take the agent path], you first have to send a 'query letter' asking if they want to see the ms... there's lots of threads here on queries, so look them over before asking about it, ok?... ...it may, no matter what you do... that's just a fact of life in the writer's world... ...with a lot of publishers, it will matter if you don't have an agent... none of the other stuff is needed, as the book must sell itself... ...you can have a slew of degrees, etc., and if the work isn't marketable, they won't help a bit... or, you can be a nobody with no experience and if the work is highly marketable, you can end up with a million-dollar contract... ...getting your book accepted by an agent/publisher takes a lot of work and an excellent query letter... if you want help with any of this, or more detailed info on the subject, including tips from the pros on how to write good queries, you can drop me a line anytime... love and hugs, maia
With regards to education, let me put it this way. They might be more likely to look at your work (in some cases, though usually only with non-fiction) if you have education that is relevant, but if they cared about education with fiction, high school students would not get published, but they do.
Thanks for the helpful responses. I feel better already. I was worried because I have no background in writing...blogs, articles, etc nor do I have any writing related qualifications. I'm just working on 'the book'. Which as most on here will no is a lonely, slow, painful process (as well as the good stuff too of course!). I have faith in my book and think I will get somewhere. I also think I have the ability to get myself noticed without an agent but I would prefer an agent anyway as it gives a bit of weight to the claims of being an excellent read if someone else has faith in you.
