Needing some advice on...

[Elianna]

publishing something.

I'd like to get a story ready to submit to a few publishers, but since I'm a mathematician and not a writer, I have no clue where to begin.

How does one edit a work in order to submit it to possible publishers?
How do you submit things to them in the first place?
For those of you who are published, what did you do to get there?

I've noticed many writers on this forum have posted and then pulled their stories... Daniellekitten being one, while others leave them... Secretme being one. Recommendations?

You can PM me or post on this thread. I'm sure many of us are curious and would love advice from you "professional" writers.

-E

 

[meg1]

The reason some post and pull and some leave is depending upone where they publish. Selena_Kitt started a e-book publishing site that lets the writer's retain the rights to their own works. That means that they can be left here and still for sale on eXcessia.

If your work is BOUGHT by a publisher, then they will have the rights to your work and will pay you royalties based on sales. If the publisher gains the rights to your story, they will not allow you to have a story left posted here to be read for free.

There are others that can give better advice on how to go about finding a publisher/agent.

 

[Elianna]

The reason some post and pull and some leave is depending upone where they publish. Selena_Kitt started a e-book publishing site that lets the writer's retain the rights to their own works. That means that they can be left here and still for sale on eXcessia.

If your work is BOUGHT by a publisher, then they will have the rights to your work and will pay you royalties based on sales. If the publisher gains the rights to your story, they will not allow you to have a story left posted here to be read for free.

There are others that can give better advice on how to go about finding a publisher/agent.

Okay. The pulling vs. not pulling thing makes MUCH more sense. Thanks Meg!

 

[CopyCarver]

The reason some post and pull and some leave is depending upone where they publish. Selena_Kitt started a e-book publishing site that lets the writer's retain the rights to their own works. That means that they can be left here and still for sale on eXcessia.

If your work is BOUGHT by a publisher, then they will have the rights to your work and will pay you royalties based on sales. If the publisher gains the rights to your story, they will not allow you to have a story left posted here to be read for free.

There are others that can give better advice on how to go about finding a publisher/agent.

Actually, it all depends upon what rights you sell, as well as where you sell them. If you contract to transfer all rights to a publisher (or you're foolish enough to accept a "work for hire" arrangement, then your work belongs to the publisher and you can no longer control its future usage and you will receive no additional compensation for its repeated use or for its adaptation into movie scripts or other forms.

If you sell any of several flavors of one-time rights to a publisher, you retain all other rights to the story. You can then resell the story to anyone you wish, as often as you wish, under any terms agreeable to both parties, or do anything else you want with it for the duration of copyright protection. Although some stories probably don't have great resale value under any circumstances, others can be lifelong gold mines. Some stories have been reprinted in dozens of anthologies, collections, etc. and a few are adapted into other usages that can be extremely lucrative. If the author has negotiated well, he or she gets paid again and again. If authors simply signed away their rights, they get nothing.

Although publication offers are sometimes a take-it-or-leave it proposition, they are usually negotiable. The issue is actually quite straightforward once you understand the process and the vocabulary of publishing.-Seemingly simple English words and phrases do not always mean what they seem to saying in this context, and publication contracts can be confusing the first time you navigate their depths unless you have done your homework. It is definitely worth knowing what you are doing before you sign away your work.

 

[michchick98]

Okay. The pulling vs. not pulling thing makes MUCH more sense. Thanks Meg!

Even though excessica doesn't hold exclusive rights to the first story I'm getting published there, I still pulled it from my stories page. The reason being is if I expect to make any money on it at all, it shouldn't be available to read for free. That's my theory.

Most places that accept manuscripts for publication have submission guidelines to follow.

Here are a list of a few:

Exessica:
http://excessica.com/index.php/submissions/

Phaze.com:
http://www.phaze.com/submissions.html

Eternal Press:
http://www.eternalpress.ca/subguidesnew.html

Freya's Bower:
http://www.freyasbower.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=2&zenid=9f7225acbd8d27f76b4d6040ebc49a75

Those are a few to get you started. Most of them have the same guidelines. You need to make sure you follow them, too. As far as editing goes, most of the sites will also inform you that you need to have your manuscript as error free as possible.

I just finished going over a submission for one of the authors who's submitted work to excessica. She has a new story she wants to submit there and wanted to get it polished. It's always good to have a fresh set of eyes reading your work.

Good luck!