So, you’ve finally written that book that you’ve always wanted to and you are ready to publish it, but what’s the next step? How do you find the right publisher?

The first thing you need to know is that not all publishers publish all books. The second thing to consider is that most of them work with literary agents only. They don’t accept unsolicited work so you will need to submit your manuscript to literary agents for representation. Like publishers, most agents represent certain genres so it is imperative to review the agent’s submission guidelines. Agents, even within the same literary firm, usually have varying standards on how they want your work formatted and submitted, and they almost never want your full manuscript without them requesting it. Most will only ask for a few chapters, or even just a few pages, initially, so that has to make an impression. Make sure you only query agents who accept your genre and follow their submission guidelines very carefully. It is important to know that literary agents are extremely picky because they have the duty of selling your manuscript to publishers, and they don’t get paid unless they do.

It is very easy to doubt yourself after a standard rejection from an agent and many authors are tempted to give up, especially if they don’t know how to self publish. This is often how vanity publishers make their money. They offer to publish your book by sharing the expenses with you. For some authors who just want to see their book published, this may seem like a good option, but what you need to know is that you can design and publish your book online, basically for free. Websites like BookBrush and Canva make designing easy for covers, flyers and more, and there are several publishing sites to upload and print your books at little to no cost.

Still, as an author, you will need to put in the work of copyrighting your work, designing your book cover, obtaining your ISBN number, or “barcode”, for purchasing and selling your book, things that agents and publishers typically handle for you, which is why they retain royalties from your sales.

Just when you thought writing, editing and formatting your manuscript was all you had to do, you quickly discover that the difficult parts are just beginning, the sales and marketing. It is never easy but it’s always worth it so go ahead, publish that book!