In today’s world, nothing sells if it has not been marketed well. You might have written a book that is comparable to those of the literary greats. But, how will people know that. And this is precisely why you need to find a literary agent for your book. And to find the literary agent of your choice, you first have to know the when, how and why of literary agents. Good literary agents are not easy to find and you have to strife hard for one. It is a literary agent only that can give your book the exposure and the readability that you want.

Pre requirements before you get a Literary Agent

You need a written book first before you seek a literary agent. Even while you are in the process of writing a book, whether fiction or non-fiction, try to publish other works. It does not matter if they are smaller works or even if the publication is not a very well known one. The more number of publications you have, the easier it will be to find good literary agents for publishing your book. Also get your book edited by a professional editor. Literary agents are very particular about meticulous details of your book that needs to be published. Any kind of unprofessional quality in your book can make you lose your literary agent. Therefore, keep these things in mind. It is not just about the time when you have to go out and search the agents, it is also about preparations that you take over a period of time so that the next phase is smooth and easy.

How to Deal with Your Literary Agent

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you will approach the literary agent of your choice and he will welcome you with open heart to publish your book. The better a literary agent is known for his selection of books and their sales, the more cautious and demanding will he be. So, approach quite a few literary agents with a manuscript of your book. You should also carry a well written summary of the book because that is the first thing that will make or mar your relationship with your literary agent. He might not have the time to go through your entire manuscript always. In such a case, a summary of the book becomes handy. Also, first approach those literary agents who are known to work with first time authors. Besides, not all literary agents work with all genres. So decide upon the genre of your work and choose the literary agent who has expertise in getting such books published. More importantly, if any agent asks you to make some minor changes with the book, do not be stubborn and refuse to change anything. He has been working in this field for a long time, so his advice is likely to be useful. Appeasing is the way to go.

How will you find a Literary Agent?

If you are internet savvy, searching for literary agents online is the way you should go. There is a website called Association of Authors’ Representative where you can find a list of many literary agents. Some of them accept e mails, so you can mail them one. Many, however, prefer that you contact them through postal mail only. So, mail a few agents and if you get a positive feedback from more than one person, you have the opportunity to choose the best deal. But do be aware of fraud literary agents who can lure you into believing them. Since literary agents get a good percentage of money from both publishing houses and the independent authors, many fraudsters are there who claim to work with reputed literary agents and fool people of their money. Also, remember that when a potential reader chooses to buy any book authored by an unknown face, the publishing house, the quality of the paper they use and the cover page goes a long way into deciding whether your books leave the shelves of the book stores or whether they are accumulating dust. It is a good literary agent only who can wheedle your way through the publishing houses, for there are many who won’t look at a manuscript unless they come though a reputed literary agent.

Thus, these are the few steps which if taken will ensure that your book gets a literary author that it deserves.

If publishing in print is a tedious process through which you don’t want to tread, publishing your book online is the best way to reach the readers and share your ideas and thoughts to them. However, e-book publishing also requires you to follow certain rules and regulations without which your book publication online will not be successful, or would at least be much more difficult. The first decision that you have to take is whether you want to publish your book for free or do you want to charge money from people who are interested in reading them. Both have pros and cons. For example, if you publish for free, more people will read your writing, and you can develop a readership base. Read on to know about the various steps you have to go through before and after you publish your book online.

Writing the Book, Then Formatting Your eBook

Writing your book is, of course, the primary step. But, this also has a format if you want your book to go online. Write your book in the Microsoft word and save the file in the .doc format. This is compatible with most software and will be easy when converting to the e book format. Since, this book is to be published for people to read it and review it, make sure that there are no mistakes. Nothing can be more embarrassing and damaging to your budding writer reputation than a few spelling mistakes here and there. So, either hire a good editor who will go through your entire content and make sure there are no mistakes or do this yourself, but very carefully. When writing the book in Microsoft word, see to it that your fonts are all of equal size unless you specifically want it some other way. The margins should also be proper, preferably a 6 by 9 inches and a margin of 1 to 1.5 inches on all sides. For the font, 12 is the norm. Change it accordingly.

The Extra Somethings that can make your Book Interesting

Your book should make the right noises. You have to make your book seem appealing to the reading mass. So, write a preface to the book. Have an exceptionally well written blurb for your book either by a professional blurb writer or someone you know who can do a good job. Blurbs go a long way in deciding, specially for people who have not heard much about you or your book, what book they will choose. Publicity is the key word in today’s competitive market. Whether you want your book to be read for free or to be bought with a price, in both cases you have to publicize well. So, go and check those sites which are most visited by people and have those pop up advertisements talking about your book. It might seem self promotion to you, but that is how it works.

Copyrighting your eBook

This is very essential if you do not want to wake up a few days later to see your book selling in someone else’s name. This gives your book the ownership that it deserves. Copyrighting process differs in different country. Search the net or ask someone knowledgeable and trustworthy about the process of copyright in your country. Usually you have to fill an application form and pay a fee to get your copyright. Also, before uploading the book online, make sure that the security settings are enabled properly to not allow anyone to copy-paste lines from your book. Keep the read only option for the online readers. Besides, make sure that your book format looks the way you want it to, with page numbers, chapter headings and table of content in its right place. Everything you write is naturally copyrighted by law. However, if you’re primary means of distribution is on the internet, copyrighting your eBook is even more pertinent.

Publishing your eBook

This is the most important step. Spend a few days to research extensively on websites that have a good reputation with the readers about the quality of the books they upload. A website that is popular with the masses can win the readers’ confidence easily. Before uploading the book, you will get a form which will ask your details, the price of the book, will verify your copyrights and ask for distribution rights. After all of this is settled, upload your book. Your e-book is ready now. Go to the preview section to check if your book looks the way you want it to look. Make sure that your book cover is as enticing and as interesting as your book. This done, your hand typed manuscript has now become an electronic book or an e-book which people will either download and read if it is free or else pay and read.

Therefore, these are the few easy steps by which you can publish your book.