Online free? Traditional publishing house? Online salable?
Condensed, those are your choices of publication, unless you choose door number four which is you write for yourself and so you keep your work to yourself, but I've found that writing is like most other arts and is a largely reciprocal profession. This means that when one is delighted with one's own literary aptitude, it only seems prudent that others should ackowledge that adroit display of skill, thereby supplementing the author's schema of what is good. That's not a bad thing, just human nature.
So let's assume you've completely finished your book. You've edited, polished, and it's perfect. Now what do you want to do?
Traditional= You want to get published by a professional publishing house(hard copies sold in stores and online too by a publisher). If you put your full story onto Wattpad to read for free you will MOST LIKELY NOT get that specific book published by a professional publisher. Why? Because it's already out there, free to read, why would they want to publish something people have already read? If your work get s a lot of attention and excellent reviews however, it may make it easier to entice a publisher to accept your NEXT book, because you have evidence that people enjoy your work.
You're going to need to seek out a publisher. You are MOST LIKELY NOT going to be approached by one, and if you are, it's suspicious, don't trust them unless you know they're reputable and successful. In the next chapter I'll outline a manuscript submission guide if you want to skip ahead.
Online free= Hello, Wattpad, free as free can be. Choose this if you want to share your brilliant work with everyone without charge. You can also upload to various platforms such as Smashwords, Goodreads, Lulu, Booksie, and Booktango. There are others, just Google search it.
Online salable= You sell your books in an online format for people to read on Kindle, online, on their phones, tablets, Ipads etc. Same sites as above but you put a price on your work. If you're doing this you're no longer just an author, you are your own editor, agent, and advertiser. You won't sell copies unless you advertise, let people know your work is out there, have offers, send out free copies. Most importantly, you won't sell copies if your work is no good. People like their money, they don't want to pay £3/$3 to read something littered with mistakes and lazy writing. MAke the price reasonable and remember that you probably not going to get rich from it, not to begin with at least.
Though it's important to stay judicious, don't lose hope and certainly don't lower your aspirations. If you work hard, you'll reap the reward.
YOU ARE READING
For The Forgetful- The Complete Writer's Guide
Non-FictionIf you're struggling with punctuation, dialogue, spelling or grammar, have a read of this simple guide to the components of writing, copyright, and publishing. [UNEDITED VERSION- Full, edited version to be released soon!]
