Title: WHERE CAN I PUBLISH MY BOOK? (PART 1) Author: Arthur Zulu
Contact Author: mailto: controversialwriter@yahoo.com Copyright:
Copyright © Arthur Zulu 2002 Word Count: 518 Web Address:
http://www.1stbooks.com/bookview/10975
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WHERE CAN I PUBLISH MY BOOK? (PART 1)
By
Arthur Zulu
“If you write without getting published, then there is no use in
writing at all” Those are words of wisdom from someone who wants
you to seriously consider publishing your book.
But before you really do so, you will do well to consider these
questions:
1.Have I actually written a best – seller?
2.Do I believe that people will read my book?
3.Is my theme such a timely one that the public should know?
4.Am I expecting responses from my readers?
5.Will I benefit in one way or the other from the publication of
this book?
6.Will I be contented even if I don’t make money?
If you answer in the affirmative to one or more of the above
questions, then do not hesitate to listen to the above advice to
publish.
It will, therefore, be nice for you to know different publishing
channels available, so as to enable you make an informed
decision.
Trade Publishers Also called commercial publishers, these are
the big fish in the publishing industry. They include Longman,
Macmillan, Heinemann, Random House, Houghton Mifflin, Doubleday
Books, Little Brown and Co., and Brace Jovanovich, among others.
They publish without asking for payment from authors.
My advice to you is that if you are pre – published, if you are
a new writer, do not waste your time submitting your books to
these elephants. Because they will not publish you!
Yes, they have published a few unknowns like Eric Segal (LOVE
STORY) and Kathleen Winsor (FOREVER AMBER) But what about the
countless others who got the polite rejection slip: “We are
sorry your book does not meet our present needs. Good luck”.
I am among that number. I got a rejection slip from one of them,
one year after submission! Can you imagine that? Twelve calendar
months! And in the end, you would have to pray to the god of
good luck, to get a publisher. And after another one year,
another rejection slip. Another prayer. So you would have to
spend a lifetime looking for a publisher, after months or years
of hard work, writing your book.
The point is that they don’t have the time to read your book. Or
they can’t recognize a good book if they see one. Or, they can’t
afford to risk their money publishing a new comer like you,
without hope of getting huge profits. Or, all of the above.
But consider: If you were a great writer, perhaps a Nobel
Laureate who had written a magnum opus. Or, if you were some
celebrated politician with a memoir about your dalliance with
some red – lipped prostitutes.
Or, if as a scientist, you had written a book about how time
travels backwards, titled THE THEORY OF BACKWARD MOVEMENT. And
you even promise to take your readers in a space ship to witness
some epochal events –- pick your choice -– the fall of Carthage,
(history), the splitting of the continents (geography), Noah’s
flood (religion), and the real thing -- the Big Bang (Science).
Do you know how the publishers would react?
All of them, the above ones I have mentioned, and others not
named, would rush to dangle certified Bank checks with ten digit
figures before your smiling face! But try sending your
unsolicited manuscript, you unknown writer; and be damned!
Copyright © 2002, all rights reserved
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