How to Become a Published Author

Writing is a long and arduous journey; writing for mainstream publication even more so.

With that said, it can be a rewarding and highly independent career. You will have no one to answer to except for your literary agent (who is more of an advocate than a "boss") and your editor (who cares primarily about your work selling to the public in a big way).

The first step, of course, is to find a literary agent worth their salt. Get a copy of the 2009 Writer's Market online or at your local bookstore. Writer's Market is an annually updated list of all the major literary agencies accepting new clients for consideration, in addition to agencies who only consider new work on the basis of an existing client recommendation. (If you know a famous author like Stephen King or Dean Koontz, get a personal referral. If not, go with a younger and hungrier agency that is willing to look at unpublished writers' work. There are plenty of good, new agencies out there.)

Select two or three agencies who represent the sort of work you plan on publishing. Submit a sample, proposal, or query in strict accordance with each agency's submission guidelines (these are listed in Writer's Market, in addition to a listing of their most recent sales).

It is recommended to start with only a few agencies. You don't want to be known as "that guy" who sent a query letter to every agent in New York and Los Angeles. Start small and then branch out if you don't receive any acceptances in the first round.

Once an offer is made, take it if the agency feels right to you, and if your agent is passionate about selling your work.

At this point, the agent will show your work to appropriate editors. Hopefully an offer will be made, at which point the agent will notify other editors that an offer is on the table -- this is done in the hopes of creating competition among the publishing houses. If more than one editor wants your book, it will likely go to "auction" -- each house puts in a maximum blind bid, and the house who offers the most by deadline wins. Of course, each house does not know what the other has offered as the maximum, thus the term "blind bid".

Another option your agent has is to take a "pre-empt offer" from one of the editors. This is an amount of money, generally a significant amount, offered in order to buy the book and "pre-empt" other offers -- in other words, to keep the book from going to auction.

Editors will do this when they are really passionate about a project and fear that it could wind up with another publishing house in an auction environment.

Interestingly, in auction situations the highest bidder does not always win. Your agent will present you with the various offers and you make the final decision, with advice from the agent. Sometimes, a publishing house may offer a bit less than the highest bidder, yet will tempt you with other benefits (such as a large marketing commitment, promise of a national book tour, etc.) If you are serious about your career, you will consider more than the amount of your advance. Your agent will help you make a decision like this.

After the work is acquired by an editor, you will receive an advance, generally in two or three parts. Usually it goes like this: a third on signing, a third on delivery of manuscript, and the final third on publication. Sometimes it can also go like this: half on signing, half on approved manuscript delivery or publication.

It generally takes between twelve to twenty-four months for a book to go from manuscript to actual book on the shelves at Barnes & Noble. Several months will be spent going back and forth with your editor, through several rounds of edits. It will also go to a copyeditor, who will correct any grammatical, contextual, or accuracy issues. Depending on the subject matter, it may also go through a "legal read", where a lawyer at the publishing house considers your work for any possible legal problems.

Then many months are spent marketing the work -- getting bookstore buyers to place their initial orders, sending review copies to trade publications who plan on reviewing it, soliciting "blurbs" (positive quotes) from celebrities and well-known writers, and making final tweaks to the cover design. In rare instances, the title might be changed as well if marketing feels the title is not "saleable" enough.

Then, finally, your book will make it into stores and the promotional push will begin in earnest. You will be asked to do radio interviews, possibly television and print interviews as well, and maybe some signings. Remain upbeat and enthusiastic -- take as many opportunities to promote your work as possible. Also, focus your energy effectively: while a book signing may satisfy your need for recognition and praise, it is time consuming and may only sell ten to fifteen copies. Instead, consider that a ten minute interview given by phone to a major radio station can influence hundreds of thousands of people into checking out your book on Amazon or in stores. Therefore, it is recommended that you put a lot of time into mainstream media, and only do signings when it makes commercial sense to do so.

If your publisher secures a "drive-time radio tour" for you, definitely do this as it will sell a lot of copies. A drive-time tour is a stretch of time, usually a few days or a week, when interviews are booked back to back. Most interviews can be done by telephone: use a landline whenever possible as the call quality will be better than with a cell phone.

Major market radio stations may also request an "in-studio" interview where you come into the studio and do the interview in person. These are highly recommended, and a lot of fun, as they tend to be more dynamic than over-the-phone plugs.

Television interviews are also a possibility. TV is fun and easy to do; I recommend you read the chapter in Dirty Little Secrets about handling a television interview. In general, speak slowly, look at the host (not into the camera), smile a lot, and mention the title of your book at least once -- just in case they forget to flash the title in the chyron below. At the same time, you want to be an engaging guest so that producers will be tempted to invite you back; don't simply answer questions with, "Well, it's in my book, read it." Instead, use questions as an opportunity to intrigue viewers with your knowledge. An intriguing guest is the best possible promotion for a book. If people like you and what you have to say on-air, they will check out your book, even without you asking them to do so.

Good luck. It's an exciting journey, but requires patience (especially when you are waiting for your book to come out). Successful authors treat their fans well and promote themselves aggressively, but with grace, too. Don't be afraid to send review copies to people in the media who you think would like your book. Don't be afraid to send out a press release telling the world about the book, but do so in a fresh and original way.