How to Get Published

One of the questions I'm often asked is how did I get published. It seems to me that getting published by a traditional publisher is getting harder all the time for a little-known writer. Most require submission through an agent, but getting an agent can be as difficult as getting someone at a publishing house to actually read your work. Both have high odds against you. Of course, first and far most, you need to write a quality manuscript.

Then, don't disregard the small publishing houses. I've found that the good ones often give an author more personal attention than the well-known ones and are easier to work with. In fact, some of my author friends have left their big-name publisher because they were losing more control all the time. There's a small, Christian publisher located about two hours from where I live whose authors have won numerous awards because the publisher submitted their books for consideration, and they have systems in place to get their authors plenty of reviews and publicity. 

When you have a manuscript ready for publication go to writers' conferences that offer interviews with publishers, acquisition editors, or agents. This is how I found my traditional publisher and first got published. In fact, I just went to another one a couple of weeks ago to pitch a book to a certain publishing house. Despite the fact that I've published eleven books, I still have twelve unpublished manuscripts. I can actually write them faster than we can publish them, and a third way of publishing is feasible for me. While at the conference, I didn't see or hear of anyone in the interviews that weren't told to submit a proposal or portion of their work for consideration. In my estimation, this is the best way to get published for the first time in today's market.

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