Specific Purpose: To Inform My Audience of the Steps To Becoming a Published Fiction Writer.

Specific purpose: To inform my audience of the steps to becoming a published fiction writer.

Central idea: The publishing process is a long and mind bending one that most people tend to overlook when simply walking though a bookstore.

Introduction:

I. Mostly everyone has read the acclaimed novel the Outsiders written by S.E. Hinton.

A. What most people fail to realize is that this successful novel was published when she was only 16 years old.

B. She had never written a book before and had no intentions of the book becoming as well known as it is while she was writing it.

II. As an aspiring fiction writer, I was inspired to look into the steps to becoming a published author when one has never been published before and I would like to share with you.

Transition: The first thing to do once you have completed your novel is to get an agent or editor.

I. Agents and editors act as a 'filtering' system for publishers these days.

A. For every manuscript sent to a publishing house, there are thousands of manuscripts

and query letters examined by agents.

1. Agents are always looking for well-written manuscripts.

2. However, according to Writer’s Digest, they aren’t always open to a new novelist because without a name and track record; a new writer will not get much of a commission.

a. According to the Complete Guide to Writing Fiction and Nonfiction and Getting it Published, agents handle between thirty and forty clients, and usually charge a commission of 15 percent of final profits for a nonprofessional writer.

B. An editor is usually affiliated with a literary agency or publishing house and works as a liaison among the author, publishing company, and book’s audience.

1. The editor will undertake to work with writers who are close to publishing, but not yet professional.

2. They will read the manuscript and will prepare an evaluation of several pages typed that is a blueprint of what needs to be rewritten to bring it to a publishing state.

a. They can charge a fee for their services and often for an additional fee will help one create a publishable book.

b. The editing process can take approximately six months to a year spent on a one-to-one basis with the editor perfecting a piece of writing.

C. Use any method you can think of to get your work read by an editor.

1. They like it when you try to get their attention creatively.

a. To them it implies that you are a creative writer when u do so.

D. Listen to the editor and make the necessary adjustments to your manuscript.

1. If the editor’s point is valid then rewrite the problem areas.

2. If you feel the editor is off base, send the manuscript to another editor and publishing company.

a. The same goes for when you are rejected by a company.

Transition: Once you and the editor feel the book is truly publishable and a proposal is finalized, a publishing house is acquired.

II. As for getting the right publisher, many times, you don't end up with much choice in the matter.

A. One thing to always remember is that publishing is a business.

a. According to the complete guide to writing fiction and non fiction and getting it published, only about seven hundred out of one hundred thousand first novels will get published.

b. Money is made only when a book is bought, published, and sold at a profit.

2. The marketing emphasis forces a new writer