Anyone with contacts in publishing?

[Darhling]

I have been writing short stories and novels for as long as I can remember and have been sharing a few outtakes on my FB every now and again. The response have been amazing and even though I am not confident enough to think that I have what it takes to be published, some think I should definitely give it a try.

So I thought to ask here about book publishers and if others have experience with getting published, I would love to hear your journey.

If you are willing to share contacts, but not publicly, I would be grateful for a PM.

 

[Pompidou]

While you wait for the real thing, you can get your writing out there yourself by publishing on iTunes with Apple's free osX software, http://www.apple.com/ibooks-author/ - you'd be able to charge up to 14.99 a book, and you'd split the profits 70/30 with Apple. You'd be responsible for all your marketing, which may or may not have a profound impact on your sales. Just a thought. Any publishing is better than no publishing.

 

[AmateisGal]

Darhling, check out the "Any writers" thread in the Reading Room!

 

[Edward]

While you wait for the real thing, you can get your writing out there yourself by publishing on iTunes with Apple's free osX software, http://www.apple.com/ibooks-author/ - you'd be able to charge up to 14.99 a book, and you'd split the profits 70/30 with Apple. You'd be responsible for all your marketing, which may or may not have a profound impact on your sales. Just a thought. Any publishing is better than no publishing.

I think Amazon do something similar? It's worth a shot. I'm sure there are a lot of folks plodding away with it, but there are one or two autohrs, mostly genre stuff like sci-fi, who have done surprisingly well out of it. Could be a way to get some audience feedback?

 

[AmateisGal]

I guess it really depends on what you want to do with your writing, Darhling. If you just want to get it in book or e-book form, then there are several ways to do that - self-publishers, Smashwords, etc. If you want to get it published the traditional way, i.e. by a major publisher, I would suggest finding an agent as a lot of traditional publishers (at least in the U.S. - not sure about the U.K.) require an agent before they will even look at your manuscript.

Connecting with agents and publishers via Twitter, their blogs, and Facebook is a great way to do this.