So you want to have your book published ?

If you are an unpublished author and looking to publish your first book the following is a guide to help you get started.

Prior to submitting your book to a publisher, getting some feedback to boost your confidence and as a way of ensuring your piece is up to scratch may be a consideration. If you belong to a writers group it may be a good idea to get a critique from fellow writers. It is always a good idea to hire an editor to help with grammar and other mistakes you may have overlooked, plus consider a literary agent to improve your chances of getting a deal with the better known publishers, but tread with caution and never pay any upfront fees. If you decide to use a literary agent it is perhaps best if you agree to a percentage of what you make after signing a contract with a publisher. In this way the agent is more likely to be committed in providing a quality service. In saying all the above it is not imperative that you use a literary agent, today access to online information is at your disposal and self publishing is steadily becoming a first option, although this is not necessarily as simple and straight forward as it may sound.

Always bear in mind never to pay a publisher to print your book or any other upfront fees, this is not usual practice and you should beware of any publisher requesting such payments. It is more common amongst the well-known publishers to offer an advance payment or flat fee to you, and to also agree a percentage of the sales of your book.  In the case of royalty payments due to you, a percentage agreed by yourself and the publisher is made in advance. Remember just because you may have paid a publishers upfront fees they can always later decide not to have you as a client.

Once your book has been checked and you are ready to approach a publisher or publishers, to keep organized make notes of who you have approached, and any comments made, use this information to keep track of your progress. It is common to receive rejections for a variety of reasons so be prepared.

Here is a list of just some of the requirements
you may be confronted with:

- The name and a description of your book

- The nature of the agreement with the publisher and term e.g  license
  agreement and the period the agreement, which is normally the life of the
  copyright. There may also be other rights to consider such as; foreign
  translation rights, electronic rights, Film/TV rights,

- Future Royalties Advance and other payments.

- Delivery of manuscript plus any additional material i.e Illustrations,
  photography etc.

- Advertising and promotion

- Protection against loss & other Insurance Provisions

- Copyright Ownership


A  wealth of useful related resource can be found here: ArtString