Mailbag: Where to Start in Traditional Publishing

"I have 200 copies of (my) book. i have sold all books in the matter of 3 days!! I feel i have a bestseller . i have sold all books in the streets through vendors... The problem is i can only afford 200 books which limits the distribution of such a great book. I need Help!!"

Congratulations on your sales! Sounds like you know your market.

As to your questions, if you are thinking about obtaining a traditional publisher for your work, what I could suggest is that you drop by the local library or book retailer and pick up a copy of the "Writer's Market."

This book will help explain things like query letters and proposals. It will also list most major and small traditional publishers along with their terms, policies, and practices. (FYI: I believe they have another book out that lists many agents as well.)

Read through the information (along with any other good writing/publishing books you find) then go back to your local book retailer and look thru books similar to your own to find out who published them.

Use the info from the WM about querying and send your proposal to the various Publishers and Agents that accept your genre, and you're off to a start.

Also, while you are researching, make sure to visit a few of the better known reference sites and forums that talk about traditional publishing (like Preditors&Editors , Piers Anthony , and AbsoluteWrite.com to name a few). Read through the wealth of free information provided along with any cautions or bewares to help weed out many of the unscrupulous persons and companies before you even query.

There's no guarantee that it will be an easy road or that you will get picked up, but if you work at having a good product and approaching the companies in the right manner, hopefully you'll get what you're wanting!


P.S.: And to add to this commentary, here's a random small selection of books you may want to look for while you're researching (no specific order):

* 2005 Guide to Literary Agents (Guide to Literary Agents) by Kathryn S. Brogan
* 2005 Writers Market (Writer's Market) by Kathryn S. Brogan
* Agents, Editors and You: The Insider's Guide to Getting Your Book Published (Writers Market Library) by Michelle Howry
* Getting Your Book Published for Dummies by Sarah Parsons Zackheim
* How to Get Happily Published, Fifth Edition : Complete and Candid Guide, A by Judith Appelbaum
* How to Get Your Book Published: Inside Secrets of a Successful Author by Robert W. Bly
* Jeff Herman's Guide to Book Editors, Publishers, and Literary Agents 2005: Who They Are! What They Want! How to Win Them Over! by Jeff Herman
* Literary Agents: What They Do, How They Do It, and How to Find and Work with the Right One for You, Revised and Expanded by Michael Larsen
* Making the Perfect Pitch: How to Catch a Literary Agent's Eye by Katherine Sands
* Shortest Distance Between You and a Published Book by Susan Page
* The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing a Novel by Thomas Monteleone
* The Publishing Game: Bestseller in 30 Days (The Publishing Game) by Fern Reiss
* The Publishing Game: Publish a Book in 30 Days (The Publishing Game) by Fern Reiss
* Write the Perfect Book Proposal: 10 That Sold and Why, 2nd Edition by Jeff Herman

(And yes, there are plenty more--I'm sure I missed a few--but I'm just offering a real quick listing. Please feel free to mention your favorites in the comments section!)