How hard is it to get published?
By queenlove
@queenlove (495)
United States
January 14, 2008 2:19am CST
I am currently writing a book. Has anyone out there had a book published? I would like to know how hard it is to get published, how I should go about it, and how much money should I expect to make from my book? I am an excellent writer but I have no idea how to get the publishing process going.
4 responses
@scribe1 (1203)
• United States
14 Jan 08
I have had a nonfiction book for teachers published by Parker Pub./Prentice-Hall a few years ago. From my experiences, I've learned that it is just as difficult to attract a publisher as it is to attract an agent, and that nonfiction books are easier to get published than fiction and poetry. Of course, a nonfiction book should have a unique angle.
There is also a LOT of competition out there, and the only way that you'll see your work in print is to keep trying. If you give up, you will not likely be published anytime soon.
The money that authors earn varies a great deal, depending on the type of book. Usually, a lot of authors just break even on their first books.
@makemoneywithadsense (431)
• Cambodia
14 Jan 08
Oreilly France once proposed me to publish a technical book on Flash because it wasn't well known yet at that time. They even proposed to give about 2000$ in advance but I refused because the forecasted earnings wasn't worth my time as I had a business.
I'm always surprised people wants so much to be published whereas it is economically unsound. I guess they want celebrity. I don't need celebrity as for myself, I prefer to earn money quietly if possible :)
@makemoneywithadsense (431)
• Cambodia
14 Jan 08
Many writers do the things upside down: they write not knowing if there are some interests from potential readers.
It is better to do things the other way round: create a blog first, make people know you're an interesting person who has talent for writing and after that write your book.
A good example is todolist: she first create a blog, get promoted with many fans, then she wrote a book:
http://www.todolistblog.com/
I advise you if you're beginner to start with hubpages this is why:
"Why switch to hubpages (hubpages vs triond helium or blogger)":
http://hubpages.com/hub/Why-switch-to-hubpages
@gkurt08 (233)
• Philippines
14 Jan 08
It depends on the subject that your book is dealing with. If you want to know how hard it is to get published, well J.K. Rowling was rejected by a publisher when she tried to publish her first of the Harry Potter series. How much money you will get from your book depends on the sales of your book when its published. When you sell millions of copies, then you will also earn millions of dollars. If your an excellent writer then you should have no trouble finding a publisher.
@gkurt08 (233)
• Philippines
14 Jan 08
It depends of the subject that your book is dealing with. If you want to know how hard it is to get published, well J.K. Rowling was rejected by a publisher when she tried to publish her first of the Harry Potter series. How much money you will get from your book depends on the sales of your book when its published. When you sell millions of copies, then you will also earn millions of dollars. If your an excellent writer then you should have no trouble finding a publisher.
