How to Write a Book and Be Published

Facts about Publishers

Being published is a nightmare to many starters. It a torturous journey in a labyrinth of bureaucracies intentionally created by powerful men and women who have immense power over creative, talented and gifted writers.

In many developing and third world countries, publishers are sure to publish a manuscript of a professor (however irrelevant and unappealing the work) and never have a second look to a manuscript of an armature unknown to them.

The point is, talent is not key. It is how far you have climbed the academic ladder that matters. In most cases, preference is given to textbooks meant for classrooms for they have a ready and an expectant market out there.

Almost every subsequent potential publisher for obvious and disturbingly unclear reasons will always turn your manuscript down dozens of times, however appealing and promising your synopsis seems. Your hopes will be tarnished and you might want to give up but never give in. One way or another, your hard work will be rewarded abundantly.

Writing Your Manuscript

A great book is determined by two key factors: a concise, tangible, and meaningful set of themes and well build characters. As such, before you start typing your very first sentence, remember the themes and character development are all you need for your manuscript to see the light of the day.

• Have a concise idea, which has a basis in involuntary inspiration or an extraordinary experience. It could be an unfortunate great loss, a life-threatening adventure, a pleasant treat, or a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
• Decide on the setting: the time and the geographical location. Is it present time or a near past? Is it an urban setting or a rural setting?
• Identify your target-audience. Is it male or female? How old are your would-be readers? What are their social statuses, marital status?
• Develop distinct bio-datas or profiles of your minor and major characters. Get to know your characters thoroughly well. What are their likes and dislikes? What are their convictions, fears, dreams, and ambitions in life? What are social, cultural, political, and religious backgrounds?
• Research on your subject or main idea: You must be an expert in your subject otherwise; your audience is more likely not to get anything tangible, informative, and persuasive.
• If your subject has been tackled previously, give it another angle. Make it refreshing, more appealing and with robust girth. Give the readers an exceptionally amazing reason to want to re-read something afresh and anew.
• Sharpen your language mastery. Write grammatically correct, coherent, and precise sentences. Bad grammar is a fatal sin in any writing venture. Your language-usage should also be appropriate for your target-audience. A language level meant for kids will definitely not match that meant for educated adults or an illiterate audience to that respect.
• Let it come out naturally. Do not force...when emotionally, this might be the best time to write your heart out. Ask yourself: do your writings lift your soul, are they fulfilling, or do they ignite a smile on your face? If the answer is yes, you will be halfway there.

Submitting your Manuscript to Publishers

Before you submit your manuscript for publication, you might need to seek the services of a professional editor for proofreading purposes.

A manuscript with grammatical errors, poor style, and regular inconsistencies as far as paragraph development and coherence is concerned will never be accepted for publishing. A good writer is not only gifted and creative but also an expert in style and grammar of the language he or she chooses to write in.

You also should consider drafting a detailed resume and a cover letter highlighting your academic credentials, achievements, and previous publications (if any). A sound C.V might improve your chances of finally being published.

More so, it is a wise decision to write a great synopsis of your manuscript. Many publishers prefer a synopsis submission to a complete manuscript and the latter is usually requested once a node is given to your synopsis.

State your potential target-audience and if possible, their gender, geographical location and social status. This is meant to predict how huge your would-be audience might be for numbers count as far as your publisher’s objectives are concerned.

Once you have prepared a list of your target-audience, an exceptional synopsis and a comprehensive resume; you can choose to either submit your manuscript via postage or Electronic Mail. However, visit site of respective publishers and go through their manuscript submission guidelines before you settle on a mode of submission. Some publishers do not accept unsolicited submissions and prefer ones posted via a Post Office Address available in their contact lists.

Choosing your Potential Publishers

Traditional Publishers are fast receding to oblivion yet they are still the most preferred choice of many aspiring writers. Unlike non-vanity publishers, traditional publishers, once they approve your manuscript, will publish your work at no cost on your part at all! The only disadvantage is their low percentage of royalties paid either annually or bi-annually. Additionally, they take time to review your manuscript and are stricter in terms of content-plagiarism, theme, language level and artistry is concerned. Many will part with between 10-15% of royalties in favour of their published authors. If you have no means (financial muscles to be precise), this is the best option for you.

However, if you want your manuscript published at the soonest opportune possible and enjoy a far-much better royalty deal, non-vanity publishers will do for you. They might be costly yet very effective and efficient for those who are fortunate to have it all in life.

Self-publishing is another avenue of getting your manuscript published. There are numerous companies with sites online who will allow you to publish your manuscript, design your own cover-page, and determine the price of your finished book. However, making sales is not that easy. You will have to invest your substantial time online on multiple social media platforms trying to advertise and share links of your books.

Finally, you can go for P.O.D (Print on Demand Publishers) option. Just like other non-vanity publishers, they might ask for a sizeable chunk of your savings. However, they will only publish books upon request or when demanded hence ‘print on demand’. The returns are good though very unpredictable. <https://lifechangingtruths.blogspot.com/2015/03/how-to-write-book-and-be-published.html>