Is anyone here a published author?

[Aurora63]

Of any type? Books, articles, etc?

Curious as to how you got published.

Thanks!

 

[VampHeartless]

There really are a variety of ways, and it also depends on what your trying to get published. Your best bet is to actually buy a book on how to get published. They're pretty easy to find in your local Borders.

Novels, and nonfiction you tend to write querie letters to agents, and get about fifty rejection notices back in the mail. NEVER send your manuscript unless someone asks for it. Editors don't read them, and they usually end up in the trash. Magazine's usually ask for different things, anything from a query letter to a sample, to a summary. If you buy "The 2005's Writers Guide", it has all the magazines looking for writers and how to submit to them. There are some pretty good markets for young writers to break into.

Also, it helps to read a lot of the "market" trades, attend a few conferences, etc. Writing is a job like every other one...it's all about the networking and social graces. I hate that getting published is usually more work than the actual writing itself.

 

[Skywalker]

It sounds like first hand experience you have, Vamp? Are you a writer?

 

[Meriweather]

DH has had numerous articles published.....just found out another is going to be.
But.....they are technical and he does them through work....but he does get paid extra for them

 

[EsmeraldaX]

www.literarymarketplace.com

That's a very, VERY good place to start.

 

[VampHeartless]

Originally posted by Skywalker
It sounds like first hand experience you have, Vamp? Are you a writer?

Yes, of course!! It's one of the few legimate talents I have that everyone recognizes me for...

My website: Vamp's World

 

[CourtasanSatine]

does fanfiction websites count?

 

[ChefBilly]

I've been published in scores of newspapers and magazines since about 1990.
I've slowed down a bit - doing more editing than writing these days - but I have the off-lede in the travel section today.

 

[Kendra17]

Dh is published. Lots of articles, political commentary (surprise surprise!), and literary reviews, and several books.

He thinks the writer's market is very good (shoot, I only think that's what it's called, I don't really know for sure), but he has clients now that come to him, so he doesn't really look at that anymore.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

I once had a "Question for Martha" printed in Martha Stewart Living....I asked her how to make traditional Southern Sweet Iced Tea...wanted to see what kind of fancy, silly things she would do to it (she actually had it right! no herbs, fruits or anything extra).

Does that count? LOL......

 

[EsmeraldaX]

I work for a publisher.

My best advice again, is to check out www.literarymarketplace.com

It is an excellent site to start out with. It lists all US and many non US publishers and it will tell you , usually if they will accept unsolicited manuscripts.

Most of the "big" ones do not accept manuscripts unless they come direct from a literary agent. If you really think that you want to get into writing book, an agent is the best route to go. A good agent will usually not expect a lot of money up front because they think you have potential.

There are also web sites where you can self publish and companies where you can self publish. And of course, some of the smaller publishers accept unsolicited manuscripts. Keep in mind that these publishers have smaller front lists each season so they print fewer books. Therefore you might not have as much luck with the smaller ones simply because they get more volume of manuscripts.

If you do get an agent, DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT get discouraged if you are turned down the first 800 times you submit something. Big publishers generally print about 30- 40 new books a season between all genres (i.e. 6 new kids books, 7 new adult hard covers etc.) and these will include new ones from their established authors who are under contract. What you are writing just not fit into their print schedule or they may already have something similar to what you are writing set to print (i.e. If you write kids ABC books and they already have a new one for this year).

If you do kids picture books, as a rule it is easier to get published if you let the publisher select the artist from their list of contacts. Unless you do the writing and art both yourself.

Again, that website is a REALLY good place to start.

 

[poohtown]

i am, but I think it was a lot of luck. I've been writing for myself for years but never show anyone. One day my husband found one of my stories and said I should submit it. I researched (out of curiousity) different publishers through the Writers Market at our local library. I found a small publisher that took new writers and it seemed the story I wrote went great with their book list. Lo and behold they bought it. Got a little cocky after that thinking I must be really good since it was the first place I tried. Shot for some bigger publishers, with different story, but only got rejected. Stopped trying after that (I never looked at it as a job). Just recently I started thinking about it again.

What kind of stories do you write?

 

[Miss Jane]

I have published poetry and nonfiction (essays and articles) over the years. Last year I signed up for a couple of on-line writing classes through www.ed2go.com. I did this to increase my confidence and know-how after taking a long break from writing and publishing (about 15 years).

Ed2go offers a number of inexpensive classes in various kinds of writing and publishing. One of the ones I took was "The Craft of Magazine Writing" and this class included information about getting published. It's a great place to ask questions and work at your own pace. As a result of what I learned in this class and another, I have published two essays so far this year. Currently I have a number of things out to various markets and am waiting to hear. I also received a couple of rejections accompanied by encouraging notes from editors -- these I take as a sign that I'm heading in the right direction.

I bought a copy of Writers Market, which is published yearly. You can find this in your local library. As someone else suggested, there are many books available on how to go about getting published both in book stores and libraries. I subscribe to Poets and Writers as well as to Writer's Digest.

Put the name of your favorite magazines into your computer and on their sites you'll often find 'writer's guidelines' to tell you what kind of material the magazine buys and what their requirements are.

Many online sources of information exist as well -- for example the following site lists "25 best places to publish on line."

http://www.writersdigest.com/articles/25_best_online.asp

Don't get discouraged. Start exploring and you'll find that one thing leads to another. Working to get things published is a whole other part of the writing process. Keep at it and you will eventually succeed.

Best wishes,

Jane

 

[goofygirl]

I have had a few Letters to the Editor published, I had a Guest Editorial article published, I had did a book review and that was published. All had to do with the heathcare field which I work in, there's many health career journals that always ask for material for submission.

Throughout school I wrote for my college newspaper so that experience helped as far as skillful writing. Like someone else said, Writer's Digest is very good in giving you direction about where to submit your work.


Even if you can't make a living at it, seeing your name and work in print is a great thing.

 

[CrazyDreamer]

Someday I'll be a published novelist... I swear it!

 

[winniedapooh]

Yep, a few journal articles and 2 chapters in a text that I co-authored. They were reports on research that I did. Nothing fun or exciting like a novel.

 

[Angelrose]

I had a poem published in an anthology of poems once. I entered this poetry contest. I didn't win, but they published my poem in their book. It was a fun experience. The book only cost me $50.

 

[sk8belle]

The only way my varsity swim team ever got publicity when I was in HS was when I wrote articles and submitted them to the local paper. Since then, I haven't done much except for one article I wrote about two friends who skated/rollerbladed the length of the C&O Canal here in the DC area. The article appeared in an international skating magazine.

If you want a place to get feedback and informally learn more about writing, try LiveJournal. It's www.livejournal.com. You can put up your own journal, get feedback and join forums geared to help you improve.

Good luck!

sk8belle

 

[Doctor P]

I've written two books, and have published more than three dozen articles in a variety of journals and magazines.