There are three main ways to publish a novel: with a major publishing house through a literary agent, with a small publishing house or college press, or through self-publishing. Major publishing houses require a literary agent, while small presses are open to more experimental works. Self-publishing is easy but lacks critical attention.
Getting a novel published is the dream of many writers. Unfortunately, there are some people who spend years wishing and hoping without ever finding a home for their novel. There are a few ways to publish a novel. The three main options are go with a large publishing house, go with a small publishing house or college press, or self-publish the novel.
To be published by a major publishing house, an author is almost certain to have a literary agent. Most major publishing houses will not even consider submissions for manuscripts that come from authors without agents. To get a literary agent, an author must present his manuscript or manuscripts to agents and, with any luck, find someone who is interested in representing his work. Working with an agent and a major publishing house means this option creates the greatest likelihood of financial gain and national reviews, which can boost book sales. It can also be quite difficult to get a good agent and a contract with a major publishing house.
Other authors decide to try getting their novels published through small printing houses, independent presses, or universities. These presses are usually low-staffed and low-budget, but are often open to books that, for one reason or another, don’t fit the mainstream or commercial models for novels. It is possible to publish a novel with one of these types of press without an agent, but authors with agents can also submit their manuscripts to this type of press. Working with a small publishing house means having more opportunities to publish literary or experimental novels. Books published on these types of presses are also less likely to produce large profits for authors.
The third option is to have a novel published using a self-publishing company. These type of companies usually have very limited screening procedures for the books they publish, and it’s quite easy to get a novel published this way. Publishing a novel through a self-publishing system means that an author can go from manuscript to hardcover within a matter of weeks. It also means that the author usually has to pay all printing and distribution costs upfront and critics usually ignore books that have been self-published completely.
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