What are the best ways to get published?

I really love the idea of being an author and supporting myself by writing books. Is this a realistic option? What are the best ways to get published?

The best way to get published is to write your book or preferably ‘books’, take them to a publisher, let them read them, hopefully they will like them, and then they will publish them.

However, you do need

a) a good book,

b) good contacts in the publishing industry, and

c) perseverance and influencing skills.

The a) will be mostly dependent on your skill, but you can get a better book and definitely access to b) and c) through a publishing agent. These are people who will take your works, make recommendations on them, and refine them before approaching a publisher, and may make the path to publishing easier for you. They will also take a fee and margin of the books’ profit for their trouble – but a good agent can be worth their weight in gold.

The best thing to do first would be to find some existing authors who have already had books published, and ask them how the process was, what their recommendations would be to you, get them to read your work and give their advice, ask them for some more contacts you could talk to – network!

This will also help you with more good contacts in the publishing industry.

The last component of perseverance and influencing skills you either have or your don’t, but a good agent can assist you on both counts.

Go for it... Good Luck.