Publishing your first book is never easy. Successful writers make it look that way, but then, they had their works rejected several times over before they were published. This list includes now-famous authors Dr. Seuss, Isaac Asimov, and J.K. Rowling. It goes to show that you should never give up as a writer if you want to get published, but there are right ways and wrong ways to go about it. Many a book publisher will throw your work on the scrap heap, but in a digital age, you do have other options.
First, Find Publishers That Are Taking or Asking for Submissions
The biggest mistake a lot of new writers make is sending random submissions in to random publishing houses. There are some publishing houses that will not even look at your work unless you have an agent/editor. These houses collect unsolicited manuscripts and chuck them into the garbage. If you are lucky, they may write a rejection letter to you, but those publishers are not obligated to do so.
What you need to do is find publishers that do not have such tight requirements. They are either looking for new submissions, or they are at least open to looking at your book. Find all of these publishers, make sure your book fits with the genres they typically publish, and then follow the submission rules to every one of them.
If You Are Rejected by All Publishers
Yes, it does happen. Sometimes your work is ahead of its time, like the writings of Stephen King. People are not ready for what you have written.
However, that does not mean you cannot publish your book now and wait for it to become relevant and take off in the future. There are many self-publishing divisions of popular bookstores and e-tailers. By self-publishing your book and promoting it on social media, you can find out how popular your book really is, or will be, and traditional publishers always watch for up-and-coming writers on digital publishing sites. In fact, some books that did not make it into print but were initially self-published digitally were later picked up by publishing companies and put into print.
Read the Fine Print
Whichever direction you take with publishing your book, do not forget to read the fine print of your contract. It is important to know how you will be paid for each copy sold and what the publisher expects in return. Even when you are using a publishing site to self-publish, you should read the contract. Contact a book publisher for more help.
