Has anyone here ever had a book they wrote published?

[Mr. Toad]

I am in the process of gathering up a bunch of short stories and artwork I have created and want to get them published. Now I have read a bunch of stuff online but I was wondering if any of you all could help me along with your personal experiences with publishing a book.

Thank you

[Duncan Glenday]

Get an editor, and an agent.

They will (a) clean up your prose in ways you wouldn't believe possible, and (b) point you at publishers.

[Jerjo]

I used to work in publishing but it was for law books. I'm currently working on a novel. Are you looking to just see the thing in print or do you want to make $ off it? If it's the former, it's pretty easy to get self-published. You have to be careful about those in the self-publishing business though - the field is as rife with scoundrels as the music business. Amazon has its own self-publishing unit that won't cost much at all. I've seen vanity publishers do a book for $4K, which is just insane. Don't give those thieves the time of day. Be careful what you sign. Many self-publishing agreements will have you give up essential rights that no agent would ever let you agree to.

If you have a finished work and you want to see it published by a real publishing house, then you have to take a different approach. First, like Duncan said, get someone to go over it with a fine tooth comb. There are editors for hire but again, you have to be careful for the vultures. Better off finding an English professor that has time for a quick project than these bloodsuckers that will charge a fortune and make only insignificant changes. If you have friends that are well-read, have them look it over as well. Many professional authors have a network of those they let read their stuff while writing it. I have a group of friends that look over my project from time to time.

Agents are next. You need to craft a query letter that explains your project and sells it to the agent. There's a ton of resources online and on the bookshelves that will help with query letters. Then start sending your query letter and a sample to agents that deal with your particular genre and are taking clients. If the agent is sold on what you're doing, then they will do the hard part of getting the publisher.

Sturgeon's Lawyer is a published author - this might catch his attention. His two cents should be even more accurate than mine.

[Digital_Man]

I am actually in the beginning stages of writing a prog related book. I don't want to say too much about it since it's very early but I'm also looking for advice.

[Dave the Brave]

I'm a desktop publishing specialist/graphic designer.

One of my clients publishes print on demand using:

https://www1.lightningsource.com/default.aspx

Unfortunately that publisher: Freedom Press Canada, does not publish the kind of work you are talking about.

DtB

[Mr. Toad]

I am actually in the beginning stages of writing a prog related book. I don't want to say too much about it since it's very early but I'm also looking for advice.

I am keeping my subject matter a secret as well. A friend has a degree in English and I will get him to proof it. I think I may have to get a copyright before I go to a legit agent.

[Digital_Man]

I have a couple of reasons for my secrecy. It's something that I don't think has been done before and because of that I don't want anyone to "steal" my idea.

I am familiar with Lulu and I'm sure there are other similar sites. At this point I'm not sure if I want to make it a physical copy or digital only. Lulu is certainly an option for me and something I'll consider. Needless to say I'll need to do more research.

My dad is a published author so I might pick his brain a bit as well.

[ronmac]

I am keeping my subject matter a secret as well. A friend has a degree in English and I will get him to proof it. I think I may have to get a copyright before I go to a legit agent.

I'm pretty sure you can lawfully accomplish that by simply adding your own copyright info ("copyright 2013. [owner's name) All rights reserved."). You shouldn't have to pay fees for a layer of protection.

Same works for trademarking. You can get protection, using a "TM," without having to register it. That doesn't mean it shouldn't be registered (and in most cases, TM's don't really need to be), which would incur fees.

[Mr. Toad]

Cool! i will check into it further. I do recall reading that about copyrighting.

[Deano]

I used http://www.smashwords.com/ for my collection of music interviews which was a cheap and cheerful way to get an Ebook out. Very good distribution network across all of the E reader platforms and I have had 1/4ly royalties through without any problems

[flowerking]

I just had an IT textbook published this year and am working on a second, but I don't think my experience is relevant for what you are seeking. From what I gather, academic textbook publishing is a completely different world from popular book publishing. One thing I would mention though is to make sure you did all of your writing and creating (artwork) from home and not a work computer. If you used anyone else's equipment, you will have to check into intellectual property right laws to make sure you own 100% of your work.

[Mr. Toad]

Good call Flowerking. I work at a government site and put nothing on the computer.