So you’ve made the decision to try your hand at getting published! Please, allow me to offer you simultaneous congratulations and sympathies. This is not an easy business to enter, but it is, at times, immeasurably fun. If you’re reading this, odds are you’ve already cleared an enormous hurdle by making the decision to learn more about how publishing works. I’ll see if I can answer some of the more common questions I’m asked here. I hope it helps!
How much does it cost to get my book published?
Whoa! Slow down there, chief. First off, it costs you nothing to be published by commercial publishers: the non-vanity, non-subsidy, non-self-publishing publishers (more on these here, thanks to SFWA). In fact, you should be getting at least a little money in your pocket from this experience. But you’re getting way ahead of yourself here. First off, once your work is polished to the extreme, you need to find representation. You need a literary agent.
What’s a literary agent?
A literary agent is someone who represents you and your work, who acts as a go-between and uses their business connections to get your manuscript in front of the right editors. Once an editor is interested in making an offer, your agent negotiates on your behalf. Your agent will also vet contracts, get your check to you, handle disputes, and give you insight to potential problems with your writing. They are your personal champion in the publishing world.
Okay, so how do I get one?
First off, you research. Find out who represents authors that you admire, who has made recent sales in your genre. Be sure to check out Agent Query, Writer’s Market, Jeff Herman’s Guide, and Publisher’s Marketplace. You can also seek out advice on writers forums, but there is a lot of misinformation out there, so I recommend you check out Backspace.
Once you have a list of reputable agents (remember: reputable agents charge no fees. For more info on how to spot a scam agent, check out Writer Beware’s list of abusive practices by these…for lack of a better word…people.), you’ll need to write a query letter to send to the agents on your list.
What’s a query letter?
A query letter is a letter of introduction that a writer sends to a literary agent in order to introduce themselves and the book that they’re interested in garnering representation for. You should spend as much time on this as you do on your actual manuscript, because this letter is your foot in the door, and if you screw it up, you might not get an agent’s attention (however, please note that pink paper or that swirly-girly font you’ve been eyeing will only get you the wrong kind of attention). You can always Google for examples of successful query letters, but I’ll post mine here for inspiration. A query letter should be professional, intriguing, and descriptive without being over the top. Here’s mine:
Dear Mr. Agentman,
If you thought eighth grade was tough, try it with fangs and a fear of garlic.
Junior high school really sucks for fourteen-year-old Vladimir Tod, and not in the good slurp-up-the-blood kind of way. A gang of bullies harasses him daily, the principal is dogging his every move, and the girl he really likes prefers his best friend. Oh, and Vlad has to hide the fact that he’s a vampire.
When the one teacher he really connects with mysteriously vanishes, Vlad is determined to find him. But then Vlad finds an unsettling note scribbled across his essay: “I know your secret.”
Vlad must locate his missing teacher, dodge the principal, resist the bullies’ tempting invitations to Bite me!, and get a date for the dance–all before he is exposed for the teen vampire he is.
EIGHTH GRADE BITES is complete at around 39,000 words. It is the first book of a series, THE CHRONICLES OF VLADIMIR TOD. My short fiction appears in Darkmoon Rising, Descending Darkness and is scheduled to appear in two separate issues of Morbid Outlook. I’m also a contributing member of Backspace writers’ organization.
Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind Regards,
Heather Brewer
Looking at it now, it most definitely has room for improvement, but of the eleven agents I queried with it, nine responded with requests to read (six fulls, three partials), and one wanted an exclusive, so it couldn’t have been that bad (and yeah, the book is now much longer…and Vlad is now thirteen…but you get the point, right?).
Will you write my query letter for me?
Nice try. No.
Okay, so is there any more advice you can give me about query letters?
Absolutely! Use crisp white paper, a new printer cartridge, Times New Roman 12pt font, and always include a SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope) for their reply (as well as your phone number and email address). And be PATIENT! Sometimes it takes three months or more to hear back. Agents are very busy people.
Also, develop a thick skin. You will get rejected–we all do. And whatever you do, don’t fire of a “you’ll be sorry” email. It’ll only hurt you in the end. Remember, professionalism is the key to success.
What happens if an agent requests pages or offers me representation?
You send the pages UNSTAPLED (rubber band is okay) and you send them out right away (but don’t bother to FedEx overnight unless asked, it makes you look like an amateur), along with a polite cover letter reminding them of who you are and what you’re sending. If you get an offer, sit tight, ask questions about how the agent plans to grow your career, what their commission rate is, and take a few days to really think about it before signing on the dotted line. When you feel a hundred percent right in your choice, go for it! (and don’t forget to contact the other agents you’ve queried to let them know you’re already taken)
Is that all I need to know?
Nope, but it’s a good start. In a few weeks, I’ll write a What Happens After I Get an Agent? blog entry. I hope this helped!
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Hey Heather, I’ve been working on writing a book for a while now and I was wondering what a good size and font is for a novel like yours. Please tell!
P.S. I love you books, go Vlad!
Hey Heather i wanted to tell u how much i love ur books! they rock i just finished 9th grade slays and i have to tell u how freakin good that book was! I fell in love with Vlad haha u made an even more awesome version of Edward!!!! XD my kinda edward! Oh um i have a question i'm 14 and i have been writing sice i was like 8 yrs old well people tell me i could become the nxt stephaie myer lol ya rite but the thing is i can't stick to one story i have just started one of my best works so far called alternate worlds bout a goth girl named Levana and the popular jock Trevor…well there both the like leaders of thier kind and they fall in love even though they've been enimies since forever and i was wondering if maybe i could email u the like intro to my story it wuld be sooo amazing if u could just read it and get back to me on it plz i would totally apreciate it!!!! but i know ur busy so i would understand if u said ur to busy so i'm just askin plz reply!
So this was very helpful. All i've got written is 3 spiral notebooks full…not a lick on the computer but i've posted some on your forum, I'm pumped, but I've got alot of editing i gotta do, I LOVE YOU AUNTIE!! thanks!!
Thanks Auntie Heather!!!
This helped alot concidering the fact that I am absolutly determined to become and author, just like you. I look up to you! You, are my insperation, to write.
Anyways, thanks a bunch!
Yours In Eternity,
Madi
Thanks for teh help!
I’m still working on the thick skin!
hey heater =] ur advice helped alot. nd i us wanna say dat i really want 2 become an author. nd im also really into vampires nd gothic things. i love all ur boooks out vlad. readin ur boooks made me want 2 be a vampire even more!
YOURS IN ETERNITY,
lala
Well. Hey…uhm..Auntie Heather…I take immense interest in your books. And am very interested in the writing business…I really appreciate your kindness as a bestselling author to make a very generous site! I was just working on a fanfic when I decided to double check If there was a third book to your sequal…and I found it! You actually ruined my plot for my fanfic by just looking at the cover of your now known third book…I forgive you though..I put an intense tomboy in my fanfic that I jus started writing right now…and decided she would be a vampire from a different planet with wings…
Anyway…I hope to post a letter for your approval later this week…don’t know I’d you’ll repond, but it is worth a try.
Your is eternity,
“matt” (the tomboy in the story”
Hello?
Hey Matt – “letter for approval”? There was no letter to speak of. My agent called me on the phone. We spoke. I emailed him a few days later to say that I wanted to work with him. He emailed back to say he was happy to work with me. That’s it. Simple, huh?
Hey Auntie Heather I love writing and my dream is to see a book i wrote (such as Attack On Tikuihe or Atlantis Ice) on a book stores shelf. I just kinda felt like telling you that
You advice really helped a lot. The Vlad books rock!! I cant wait for the rest!
Your #1 Minion
Danny L
Hey, Heathyy! Couple questions. What are some good publishing companies I should look into? Will all of this publishing stuff interfere with school? Can a publisher publish your book if you’re a minor, or do you have to be 18? Or, do you have to have your parents signature/permission? What program(s) did you use to type Vladimir Tod?
Is it cool with you if I draw you a cover for one of your next books?
I was working on a book all through 9th grade, and absolutly everyone loved it ad i had edited it all the time, then this year(10th going to 11th), (i hadnt finshed it and actully misplaced it), and i looked back at it and it still seems really good, but ive lost intrest in it(it’s about vampires btw). I am now working on 2 different ones at the same time now along with reading your books and playing sims 3 to keep myself busy and interested. but ive also had all these questions about getting at least one published(hopefully by the time im 17). and im not sure if it would be possible. please email me.
Hey Heather… :}
Its been a while (A long while…lol), I was roaming around the net and decided to stop by your site….you’ve been a busy lady!! What a trip….I remember when we met at the shop; you were anxiously waiting for your first book to hit the shelves!! Still have your signed copy at the shop and tell people they should check out Vlad..Local Author and all that good stuff!! How exciting….Keep up the awewome work!! Carmie
Hi Heather!
I saw the first book of the Vladimir Tod series and loved it. The fangs drew me in to one of the best books about teenage vampires I have ever read. You’re amazing work has inspired me to try to publish a story I’ve been drawing as a comic. It’s also about a teenage vampire, except it’s a girl. Thanks so much for listening to me ramble and I hope to pick up the second and third Vladimir Tod books soon!!
U know, I can’t find anything as helpful as this using google… lol. Thanks a million for posting this! U have no idea how helpful it is to me! And you’ve written an awesome book series! Please, keep on writting!!!!
Dude, how did you manage to write your books so elegantly? You made Vladimir Tod the new Twilight, man! You can’t go wrong!
auntie heather i work on books and i get ideas but then i don’t think of any more in the middle of the book
where do you get your ideas if your stuck? i can’t trust my best friend with ideas for my stories or she’ll turn em into something with magical flying goldfish and talkin’ penguins when its about something totally dfferent! 
or i’ll start to not like it. what d you suggest?
ur crazie
minion,
allison <3
Help me! I’m drowning Auntie Heather! (please respond)
I’ve been working on a couple of stories that I wanted to make into a book, but school catches up with me and I cant work on it. Then I lose intrest or forget what I was going to do with it. Plus, most of my friends end up being no help at all and turn it into something stupid. Any advice?
I have been writing for as long as I can remember. I have written poems, stories etc. I was wondering though, how long did it take you to become recongized as an author and not just another wanna-be writer? And, if I may ask, How long does it take you to write a book? How do you conjure up new ideas? Thanks for your advice though its better than I expected because now I have an idea on agents (I never understood how to get one of those “minions”). LOL.
Hey, Heather! This really helped me! I’ll try this when I get my book finished! I’ll have to do a LOT of research so I get the rigth person! I’ll have my friend read this too! We both are writing books! And I was wondering if it matters how old you are? I’m not that old, just a teenager, and I was wondering if people accept people so young? Or if it’s harder to get something out there?
You rock!
~Lauren
So far I am really impressed with your site. The quality of your content and nice design makes it a real winner!
Hey Auntie.
I have a problem. What you said up there didn’t really make any sense to me. Also, it sorta sounds like your explaining to adults. I don’t know about anyone else, but I know I’m not grown up. I just had my 14th birthday yesterday for gods sake! Sorry, it’s really late and I’m tired so I’ll leave you be… BYE!
I just started my first serious book last night.
Last year i wrote a book about vamps in school with a few other people. (word of advice: if you create a story line with characters you love it’s a bad idea to be nice and let people who asked write with you)
I wonder If they will publish a book of horror poems and short stories. Cause I’ve got a bunch of them!
hi, this page helped out so much
i (like many other people) are writing a book. Im just a crazy little 13 year girl who was told by her teachers that she has an ounce of talent, and I am very niave in this business, so I’d like to thank you for this information.
I have a problem. I have a swell plot for my story and I’ve already started writing it. When I looked back on it, however, I realized that it sounds exactly like Vladimir Tod with a couple twists here and there. If I e-mail you my story’s synopsis privately, would you be able to determine if it IS like Vladimir Tod? I don’t want to seem like a copy cat or anything.
xoxo,
Raven Crow: That’s ironic!
Hi Auntie Heather! Well, I’m twelve and i’ve decided that the idea for a book that i’ve had in my head for over *counts fingers* three years! My best friend is going to be my editor along with other kids my age. I absolutely love your books, and thanks for the advice!
Yours in eternity,
Sarah Nicole
Hey Heather! I just started readin your books and I love ‘em(read the first in a day)!I love writing, but have trouble getting ideas, then sticking with them… I usually write fanfictions(right now I’m writing one for your seires)and my friends say their really good. Although one of my friends annoys me with random lines containing my odd use of adjectives… I actually got an honorable mention in a state-wide writing contest for my story about a huskey running in a race for the first time(I absolutly HATE word limits…). Anyways…Just wondering how you got started and where you found that magical land where they keep all the good ideas…
Yours in Eternity,
Kuryu Aya Mitsu
(P.s-your books made me want to be a vamp…hehe)
Hi Auntie Heather!
Vlad is my favorite caracter in any book ever. I write short stories, (mostly about vampires) and I think that your advice will help get me published!
I am one of your biggest fans, and I LOVE to write!
Thanks!!!!!
Becca
that helps alot but like somepeople that replyed will they rlly publish our books if they like them with us being teens??
you’ve never replied to my earlier comment or email. o.0
THANX FOR THE ADVICE IM WRITING A SERIES AND IM WRITING DA 1ST BOOK…ITS BOUT VAMPIRS OF COURSE…THANX FOR ALL UR ADVIE..
Yay! I know this will help ALOT
I LOVE VLADIMIR TOD BEST BOOKS EVER
plz come out with a new vampire book
.hey is d’ablo ever going to freaking give up.dont worry this is the last question.i have asked alot of questions srry.is vlad really the pravus
What happened to the rest????
I HAVE A PROBLEM!
) pleas tell me you have advice! 
i am absolutely going to be a writer i have many, many, MANY, ideas the problem is staying interested in it (i have the attention span of a goldfish(like two seconds)
Have you ever gotten a lot of writers block but you know what you want to happen and you just cant find how to get there and write it down. If you have how did you get over it? I have tried useing friends to bounce ideas off of but that sometimes doesn’t work.