First - get the latest copy of Writers' Market to find out who all the publishers, magazine editors, agents are -- and what the latest going pay rate is!

1) How to get a Short Story Published

• Look up the names of magazines that publish stories similar to yours.
• Write to the editor (be sure to spell the name correctly) and ask if they would be interested in your story. Include any information that would show that your story will be unique (such as if you work at a haunted house and are sending a horror story, or you have written and published other stories before, or if it is a true story).
• If they say "no" -- go on to the next editor! If they say "yes," find out how they want you to send them the story. Most editors nowadays prefer email, but some still want a paper copy mailed to them. Do whatever they prefer.
• Once they get the story, they may still turn it down, or ask you to change some things. You'll have to decide if you want to make changes, but it's almost always going to make a better story because the editors have seen many, many more stories than you have and they know what will sell best. If they say "no," keep sending out your query letters!

2) How to get a Book Published

• If you are looking to publish a book of short stories or poems, publications often call for types of them, so find a list of publishers you are interested in submitting your piece(s) to, looking specifically for those who specialize or call for your genre of writing (e.g. poetry, short stories, fantasy, mystery, science fiction...).
  • Make sure you know what kinds of books the various publishing houses actually publish.
  • The best way to look for publishers is to check the books or magazines on your own shelf!
  • You will usually write the same sort of thing you enjoy reading, so find out who published what you're reading.
  • You can also buy a Writer's Market, which is a huge list of every publisher in existence - this is cross-referenced by category, genre, and tells whether or not they accept unsolicited manuscripts as well.
  • For example, it doesn't make sense to send the typescript of a novel to a publisher that specializes in law books.
• Before you get really far with writing a book, write up a summary of your book to send to the publisher or editor. This kind of thing is much more likely to be read than a long manuscript.
  • The summary shall outline the theme and the content of the book (usually only about 800 words).
  • Keep all this very short, as most publishers are deluged with requests for publication. Ask if the publisher would like you to send in a chapter - or send it with your outline.
  • Be polite and make sure everything you send is well written.
  • You may add a couple of sentences or so on why you wrote the book and why you think it will appeal to the public.
  • If they like it and are hooked by the opening, they'll read the whole book. That's when they finally decide yes or no, and they'll let you know with a reply letter or email.
• A good first step is to copyright your work, especially if you search for publishers online.
  • You do not have to file copyright with any government agency, although you may if you wish (it costs to do this).
  • Your ideas are copyright the moment you save them into your computer or print them out onto paper. However, anytime you send your work out online or on paper, you do want to include a copyright notice (the symbol ©, date written, author's name).
  • DO NOT SUBMIT WORK ONLINE WITHOUT COPYRIGHTING OR CHECKING THE BACKGROUND OF A SITE CLAIMING TO PUBLISH WORK.
  • Plagiarism is a constant problem online, and if you do not have your work protected or know who you're dealing with, hitting the send button can give someone else a completed work to market as their own.
• When you have a list of publishers, send out a copy of your manuscript/poem collection/short story with a cover letter, which is a letter explaining the basic plot of your book/poem, etc., the genre it would be categorized in.
  • This letter is the first thing an editor will see; if it interests them as something the publisher might be interested in, they will screen the book, reading usually the first five pages or so.
  • Explain what sort of work you intend to write, make it clear what audience you are aiming at and say why you think the book would have appeal.
  • This letter can be included when submitting online, usually in a "description of your work" section.
• It is very important to be professional when submitting your work.
  • Do not try to be cute or funny - don't send a horror manuscript in a box with plastic spiders, don't send a bar of chocolate along to bribe the editor, don't turn one page upside down to see if they really read it, and don't use weird type fonts that are hard to read!
  • Check the guidelines that each publisher uses, and follow them.
• Try to get some published works under your belt before submitting a book length manuscript to a publisher.
  • Get a subscription to a couple of magazines for writers, like Writer's Digest or The Writer.
  • Consider a little freelancing. Anything to pad your resume and get some practical experience.
  • Have you had anyone evaluate your writing? No offence intended but there are a lot of 'wannabe' writers, actors, artists and musicians out there who just don't have what it takes. And there are a lot of the same who COULD have what it takes with the proper guidance.
  • When I ask if you've had your work evaluated, I don't mean, 'do your family, friends or co-workers think it's good?' There are on-line groups, forums and workshops for writers that can be great places for support, advice, constructive criticism, etc. You may want to consider joining one or two. They aren't difficult to find but here are a couple of examples: writing dot com and writersonlineworkshops dot com.
  • No matter how good you are or how good you think you are, be prepared for disappointment. Every professional writer has gotten his or her share of rejection slips. Don't let it discourage you. Learn from your mistakes and keep trying.
  • If you have written a book, you DO have book-writing experience. So now what? Study. Study the market. Read the magazines suggested above, read Publishers Weekly off the net, join some writers' forums and test it out there. Keep it away from family and friends - they'll only tell you what you want to hear, and unless they're writers themselves, what they have to say won't be of much help. Share it with a voracious reader. Consider carefully all suggestions, try things this way and then that.
  • An excellent book to help with revision is GETTING THE WORDS RIGHT: How to Revise, Edit and Rewrite, by Theodore A. Rees Cheney. If a look at the table of contents fills you with dread, you're in the wrong field. Remember, "Writing is easy. All you have to do is sit in the tub and open a vein."
• It's tough to get a publisher to take on a project. Sad but true. How about considering self-publishing?
  • If you believe there is a market for what you've written, consider getting the book printed yourself. You can do the marketing and promotion.
  • It can actually be much more profitable that way. I would suggest steering clear of having your book printed by a "vanity press" company. It will be very expensive. So avoid vanity publishing: that is for creative writing, autobiographies and the like, and it will not enhance your reputation.

How to get your writing published

• If you have 'one big idea' and want to write 'your' book, just write it.
• Find out what market it might fit in and send it to potential publishers (following their submission guidelines and all that).
• Look for a publisher who publishes the type of book you have written--for example, fiction, non-fiction young adult novels, children's books, or speciality subjects such as self-help, art, or history.
• Then go to the publisher's website and look for instructions, which usually appear in the "Contact Us" tab, or perhaps under something like "Editorial Guidelines," "Publish with Us," or similar wording.
• They will tell you how to submit a manuscript. Usually they will want you to send a query letter to the editorial department instead of sending the whole manuscript.
• A query letter is a letter or e-mail in which you ask them if they are interested in considering your manuscript for publication.
• Often you include a summary of your book, a table of contents or outline if it is non-fiction and information about the author's previous books and credentials for writing the book.
• Based on your query letter, either they will invite you to send your manuscript or they will reject it, saying that your book doesn't fit their publishing program.

About self-publishing

• It depends on whether it's for money, for glory or for once. If you just want to be able to say that you have a published book, but don't expect any significant audience (let's say for a book of poems or an autobiographical work about the life story of your granddad and your feelings about this), consider self-publishing.
• Self-publishing is vastly preferable if you cannot get an academic work published in the ordinary way. Try to set about it cleverly. If possible, try to get a reputable publisher to publish it on a self-financed basis.
• If you are looking for self-publishing companies to publish your book, find a few companies that practically hold court to everything a book needs from book cover design customization, layout consultation, copy-editing and even marketing requirements.
• Some self-publishing companies have practically everything an author requires whether your book is going to be in full color or black and white.
• Find a company that has been in business for several years and know what they are doing. They have programs that have all the inclusions that will turn your book of poems into book form.
  • First is that you have to customize a plan that will work best with your book.
  • List all the things your book needs such as book cover customization, editing, marketing, etc.
  • Second, find a publishing company that has everything your book requires.
  • Third, go through production process and then see if the final book form meets your standards.
  • Lastly, you might want to assess your budget, too, because if you are going to be self-publishing your book, self-publishing companies have programs which will might require a setup fee to get the whole thing started.

One writer's experience in self-publishing: My first book, which was very specialized, appeared as a supplement to a learned periodical. The editors said they would have published it in the ordinary way if they had had the money (and been willing to risk it) ... So I put up the money myself, and the periodical advertised it when sending out ordinary numbers of the periodical. In the end I even made a modest profit on it. Apart from the publisher and myself, nobody knew that the supplement was self-financed.

Comment:

This question appears under 'Academic Writing' as well as 'Creative Writing'.

In the case of scholarly writing, it really is standard practice for people to publish articles, possibly in scholarly 'campus journals', before they move on to writing a book. As far as 'Academic Writing' is concerned, I would urge you to get some articles published first, if only in order to give yourself an academic c.v.

• If you want to be a writer start writing everyday and publish multiple books, (in the sense that you want to make a living of it, as opposed to 'check-marking' and having a book published and then go on and do something else).

• Write one or two sample chapters per book and send them on to appropriate publishers. This increases your chances of positive feedback and also the chances of acceptance (since the publisher can see you as a commodity to build on, not as a one-time 'tourist'). It also allows you to work on different styles and markets and avoids the effort of writing a full book that nobody wants.

• Additionally, if you get one of the samples accepted, then you actually write a contracted book, so it's more goal oriented. On the other hand, you'll probably have a deadline, so it turns into work and is no longer a 'just for fun' thing.

There are only 2 ways to publishing. You either self publish, market and sell your book yourself, or you try to get a publisher to do it for you.

The second option means that you need to produce a book proposal and get it reviewed by all your prospective publishers. However, the problem here is that publishers already have their hands full with book proposals they get from other people like you. Therefore, it may take months or even a year before your turn is up.

Another disadvantage of trying to get a publisher to publish your book is that you'd really need to be unique. Think about it - there are already millions of children's book in the market. How will yours be any different?

From the publisher's viewpoint, they need a strong gauge on the marketability of your book. They need to know they will be able to sell your book before they are willing to invest their money to publish it. You may need to send your proposal to many publishers before it's taken up.

On the other hand, if you are self publishing., you are free to publish your book on your own. You determine the number of copies you are going to print, or if you'd like to go on print-on-demand. And you get a higher percentage of profits from book sales too, as compared to the meagre royalties. You market your book on your own, and utilize your own efforts to make your investment pay off.

A thesis is a statement of the main idea or topic of a paper. This sentence can also be called a topic sentence, a main idea sentence, or an "umbrella statement."

Sometimes instructors require three subtopics as lead-ins to the paragraphs that follow in a thesis statement, but the basic idea is to just present the unifying principle of the paper so that the reader knows where you are going.

If you're having trouble thinking of a thesis statement, try writing a list where you jot down everything you can think of that was an important point in your paper - then you can decide which point is the most important, and that's your thesis!

When writing a thesis statement, you just need two steps:

• The first part of your statement gives the topic -
• The second part of your statement gives the point of your essay or paper. You can do this in one of two ways. First, you can just make one statement giving the topic and the main idea of the report; another way of writing the rest of your thesis statement is to list three of the main points that you will be making in your paper.

Nobody else can write your thesis statement for you, because it needs to be your thoughts and feelings written down. If you simply copy someone else's thesis statement, you will have a harder time writing the report because it won't be what you would have thought of to write; and your paper will be much more dull and boring because you're trying to copy instead of think on your own.

• Is renting cheaper? No. Given the same house it will almost always be cheaper to own than to rent. Here is why: Somebody owns that house. And there is probably a mortgage on it. Let's say the mortgage payment is $500. If I owned it and rented it to you I would not charge your $500. I would charge you $650 or $700 because I would own it to make a profit. Not to mention the fact that a home owner is always getting equity while a renter is not. On the flipside as a renter you do not have to worry about repair, taxes, insurance, etc.

• Don't forget the tax advantages to owning the home! Depending upon where you live, there may be programs to encourage home ownership or to assist low-income and first-time buyers. In our town we have an infomercial on TV every Wednesday night in which two realtors review "available properties for no money down and monthly payments less than you'd pay for rent!" I recommend a book called "Live Debt Free," about buying a small property when you're young, making double payments so you own it outright in 15 years, then selling it for an appreciated amount which you use as a down payment to buy the home of your dreams in your middle age. That comparatively large down payment means you'll have lower monthly payments, which might mean one spouse can stay home with the kids or more income would be available for travel or high living. It's the kind of book you have to give as a graduation present, 'cause by the time you're my age it's too late!

• Keep in mind that there are one-time costs associated with the purchase of a house, like closing costs and realtor fees. If you only plan to live in a place for a year or two, this averages out to a lot of money per month, and usually makes it cheaper to rent.

• Use the Ginniemae.gov calculator to compare the advantages and considerations of owning vs. renting a home.

I think this partially answers the question. The assumed rate of appreciation does change the return and decision process. If, for example, the real estate market is running at a 2 to 3% decline each year...renting makes sense. If you had appreciation...of 3%..then yes, it would usually make sense to buy. Interest rate, condition of the home you want to buy, your plans and time frame all make a difference. For instance...what if you only wanted to live in a home for 2 years? Closing costs to purchase and then later sell make the decision to rent more realistic.

:

Renting home is better in some cases..

If your rent is very low.

If you plan to moving in a few years or months.

I personally prefer to rent an apartment. I have been renting a 2 bedroom for $800 a month while continuing my real estate enterprise so far for the past 4 years -- any defects are paid for and fixed by the propery owner and I can continue my enterprise and not keep any properties under my wings for extended periods of time this enables me to be able to leave the country for travel fun without worrying too much about vandals, home insurance, property taxes, repairs, etc... as I build my fortune for the next 15 years at which time I will then use some of the savings to begin winging some of the properties for my own personal retirement portfolio-- in the meantime... the IRA account looks wonderful. I urge anyone to teach their 20 year old son or daughter how to do foreclosures the same way I do them and to save what they can and prepare themselves for an early retirement by age 40

Renting a home will give you more chance to save it is best to rent if you still don't have budget to buy your dream house. If you know how to handle properly your money surely that you can save a lot from your money while you are renting.