Jean Johnson

[Jean]

To get things started, I'll repost an email reply I gave to someone a little while back:

Jean

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Q. How do I get my writing noticed by an agent (or publisher)? ~Lady Challa
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Scripto, Ergo Sum
Or, a four-leaved clover saltirewise slipped vert.

[Jean]

Here's my advice on what to do in order to get yourself noticed for publication: Please note this will ONLY be advice on how to get noticed; I cannot guarantee these things will get you published. 98% of all writers who get noticed by the publishing industry and end up published do so the hard way. Do not count on being in that 2%, because the odds are stacked heavily against you...and if you wait around doing nothing, it's wasting time.

First, have a good story to tell. The most technically perfect writer in the world can't hold his or her audience if their story is boring. Test out your story ideas on friends. If you're working within a specific genre, say vampire stories, find places online where those stories are archived, places with forum boards for commenting, and find like-minded readers who can give you feedback on whether or not your story is good, where it's weak, the parts that do and don't make sense, and so forth.

You will also want to post a short story--not your "great novel", but something smaller and easier, a different story--in this genre archive, whether it's vampires or western or romance, whatever the category. Ask around the forum boards for a beta-editor to help you with mastering the technical side of writing. This is very important, too, because agents and editors who wade through the slush piles are going to reject manuscripts with lots of errors in them. If you truly want to get published, if you truly want to be a professional writer, you have to act professional, and that means a LOT of work.

I highly recommend posting short stories on archives in the genres you're interested in, because the feedback you'll get from readers is invaluable. However...

I cannot stress this part enough, so I'm going to put it in bold letters: When you get feedback on your ideas, ignore the ones that are nothing but squees of how wonderful it is, and ignore the ones that are nothing but total flames of how horrible it is. PAY ATTENTION TO THE COMMENTS THAT HAVE BOTH. These are the comments that are truly constructive, because they will tell you where your writing is strong and where it is weak, and you will need to focus on strengthening the weak areas.

Be advised that your work WILL have flaws in it. (God knows mine still does..). This is not a quick process; it took me 20 years of working on my writing to get noticed, putting in a lot of time and attention so that I mastered most of the art of telling a good story. I also have several beta-editors working on my manuscripts before they even get near my publishing house editor. I do suggest, once you have found the right genre archives online, you start looking for beta-editors, people who can read your stories in advance and give you constructive commentary on what's good and what needs to be fixed.

All of this is hard work and takes time. Once you have gone through this for a bit and you have a good idea, have written it up into an enjoyable story, then the really hard part begins. Go to the library and check the Reference section for The Writer's Digest. The most current copy will have lists of agents who screen for books and publishers who print them in your particular genre. They will also have submissions guidelines. FOLLOW THEM EXACTLY. You can send a query letter if you have any questions (always always ALWAYS be polite, as these people do talk to each other, and your reputation will follow you forever whenever you deal with someone in the publishing world)...but Writer's Digest usually has them listed, and the submissions guidelines are fairly standard.

And then, submit your story as outlined. Submit it to agents, submit it to editors--make sure to follow the guidelines on whether multiple submissions or single submissions only are requested; if an editor finds out you sent your manuscript to three other people when his policy is one submission at a time, he'll chuck your story in the bin!--and above all else (yes, bold type again), HAVE PATIENCE.

98% of getting published takes years. Jessica Steele, who has probably 100 or so books published by Harlequin Romance by now, submitted her first story idea 50 times before it was finally accepted. It can take anywhere from weeks to months between submitting a story and hearing back from an editor.

To fill the time in between sending off a manuscript synopsis and its query letter and hearing back from an editor...work on your next story. Keep working, keep practicing, keep polishing, keep listening to your critiques and feedbacks.

I know a lot of people don't want to hear how much work it is, but it is.

...One other caveat: don't expect to get rich. Stephen King and JK Rowling are not just the exceptions to how LITTLE us published authors get paid, but they are the giant freakin' mutant 60-foot-tall tentacled Cockroaches From Heck with laser-beam-eyes exceptions to the rule of how little most authors get paid.

But if you love telling stories and love writing, it can be a very satisfying thing to do.

I hope this helps.
Jean
_________________
Scripto, Ergo Sum
Or, a four-leaved clover saltirewise slipped vert.