Snuffler: Getting a novel published can be very difficult, but very rewarding. Having an agent helps, but if you are on your first book, getting an agent can be just as hard.
The first thing is to finish the book. In all seriousness, yes, many publishers will ask for the outline and first three chapters, but if you're a new author, you pretty much have to be able to deliver the rest of the book immediately. No publisher wants to offer a contract to somebody who can't finish what they start. So before you query, finish the manuscript.
At this point, you have to start plugging away at it. Get a list of publishers from a Writer's Market, and query them one by one - do NOT simultaneously submit (an agent can get away with that - you can't). Patience is important here - this is a process that can take months, even outside of the fantasy genre. Don't be afraid to call the publisher up and ask questions - that will make you stand out from the rest of the crowd. At the same time, be professional - you'll get the sale from the quality of your work, not a phone call.
Once you've got the sale, there's the contract negotiations. This is where you need an agent. An agent's job is to keep you, the author, from getting screwed over by the publisher. This is also the one sure-fire way to get an agent - if you call up the agency and tell them that you've just been offered a contract, and you need somebody to negotiate it, you've got the in you're looking for.
Once the contract is negotiated, there is another editing pass. Once this is done, the book is typeset. At this point in time, the only changes you can make are tweaking commas. Then, the book goes to the printer and gets published.
Some words of warning, though - the money should always flow to the author. As an author, the only thing you should be paying for is postage and the occasional photocopying fee from your agent. If a publisher offers you a contract where you have to pay them for editing and publication, turn them down. I opened up a small publishing company of my own on the side, and my basic cost for getting a book published and available is less than $200 - and that's not a price any vanity press will ever offer you.
The same thing goes for an agent - a good agent makes their money by taking a cut of your royalties - if they're charging a reading fee, then they aren't making their money by representing you. So, reading fee = run for your life...
(And for the record, my company publishes non-fiction history books.)
Best regards,
Robert Marks
The first thing is to finish the book. In all seriousness, yes, many publishers will ask for the outline and first three chapters, but if you're a new author, you pretty much have to be able to deliver the rest of the book immediately. No publisher wants to offer a contract to somebody who can't finish what they start. So before you query, finish the manuscript.
At this point, you have to start plugging away at it. Get a list of publishers from a Writer's Market, and query them one by one - do NOT simultaneously submit (an agent can get away with that - you can't). Patience is important here - this is a process that can take months, even outside of the fantasy genre. Don't be afraid to call the publisher up and ask questions - that will make you stand out from the rest of the crowd. At the same time, be professional - you'll get the sale from the quality of your work, not a phone call.
Once you've got the sale, there's the contract negotiations. This is where you need an agent. An agent's job is to keep you, the author, from getting screwed over by the publisher. This is also the one sure-fire way to get an agent - if you call up the agency and tell them that you've just been offered a contract, and you need somebody to negotiate it, you've got the in you're looking for.
Once the contract is negotiated, there is another editing pass. Once this is done, the book is typeset. At this point in time, the only changes you can make are tweaking commas. Then, the book goes to the printer and gets published.
Some words of warning, though - the money should always flow to the author. As an author, the only thing you should be paying for is postage and the occasional photocopying fee from your agent. If a publisher offers you a contract where you have to pay them for editing and publication, turn them down. I opened up a small publishing company of my own on the side, and my basic cost for getting a book published and available is less than $200 - and that's not a price any vanity press will ever offer you.
The same thing goes for an agent - a good agent makes their money by taking a cut of your royalties - if they're charging a reading fee, then they aren't making their money by representing you. So, reading fee = run for your life...
(And for the record, my company publishes non-fiction history books.)
Best regards,
Robert Marks
. I'll look it up on my PC at home when I'm on my lunch break.