I’m 14 and so far I have only written the first draft of the story I want to publish. I know I have a LONG way until I can seek for agents and stuff like that, but I want to gather as much information as I can. So it is easier when the time come! Wish me luck! HELLO, PEOPLE OF THE INTERNET!!! I am alive and my book isn't. I have gone through with editing and rewriting about 2 times and that is where I am now. Thank you to everyone who has wished me luck and supported me through this comment. I shall update the next time anything happens. Good luck to everyone is their own writing journey! Kept writing and see where life takes you!-All of the Books Above! UPDATE: I have started another book for NaNoWriMo 2022, I haven’t forgotten about my original book but I am more passionate about this new idea. My confidence in writing is better now that I am a Junior in high school. I plan to continue writing this new story pass NaNo until it is completed before I go on to the second draft.
I'm here because my 8 year old son is writing a book, so far it's 36 pages. He just decided to start writing it one day and he is also illustrating it. I find this quite astounding for his age. I want to know the best path to eventually getting him published. He is a natural author, with a brilliant mind. Thanks for the informative video.
Yeah, it's why Self Publishing is on the rise. And these days there are Self Published works that far exceed a good majority of Traditional ones. Just look at something like Dragon Mage.
I watched this video by Alexa and thought the same but I chipped away at it. In the time since, I've gotten an agent, and now have a book deal. It can be done!
I always feel more confident when you talk about the publishing details. You demystify it to the point it doesn't feel scary going through all those steps and working with all those people, just exciting. ^^ I can't wait to finish my book and start this whole process. (Of course, in my country things are a bit different, but I think every year we get a little closer to the American scenario, so you're videos are very helpful to future me.)
I am 17 years old and I am writing ✍🏻 my first draft of my book 📕 (currently on chapter 7) and I’m really enjoying the experience of writing my own story it’s way more fun to write my own book free from the restrictions of school 🏫 writing pieces. You have more creative freedom to think of your own ideas 💡 story, characters and overall story line. My story fallows the traditional fairytale story of Magical creatures, Good Vs Evil with a bit of Love in the story. I must say although I must say although it is a fairytale story it is a fairytale story for a slightly older audience from people at the age of (12- 16) xx
This is amazing! I will say though, academic writing definitely helps you become a better writer in the long run. I study English: Rhetoric, literacy and reading at a collegiate level and the skills are absolutely transferable. Take ever opportunity you have to write. Learn from every essay or discussion you write.
@@ohthatsruby thank you sm for the support. Ohh don’t worry I will tbh Ive managed to build a very large world in my head full of magical creatures and characters. I’ve even created my own magic user currency 💴 and bank. My book sets out to both be an entertaining, educational and inspiring book for children of all ages who are beginning to see the wonders of the world. It is about an Old Elf wizard named Aziraphale who must embark upon a brave and dangerous journey after his home is destroyed. He must stop the Evil sorcerer Lord Azazel from stealing all the magic of the universe corrupting it with his dark black sorcerery and destroying life as we know it letting darkness reign supreme. Aziraphale must call upon the help of other magical people such as Azariah the great enchantress (Aziraphales love interest) to defeat Azazel before it is too late ⏰ can they do it before everything is destroyed… That was the prototype blurb not perfect but a work in progress I hope it gives you an understanding of what my book is roughly about and I’d be delighted to tell you more. Xx
yo bro are you still active on this acc? I'm of similar age I would like to share experiences with someone because I'm at the agent seeking stage and I'm writing a similar type story!
Thank you so so much for this video! I’m a creative writing major on the professional track and yet even in my senior year, I feel like none of my classes or professors have addressed how the actual professional side of things work. You’ve done us aspiring authors a great service with this video and even though there are about a hundred more steps than I thought there were, I feel a lot less scared knowing the basics of how traditional publishing works :)
I feel like you just described college. We have all of these professors that can educate us, but none of them actually know how to help us get jobs. I had the director of my program tell me to 'just google it' when I asked her where I should start looking for jobs
Thank you for this. This may sound a bit strange but I’ve always considered to self publish without knowing anything about traditional publishing. Now I’m most likely going to traditional publish my first book. It makes more sense.
I'm working on my second draft and I'm hyped because it's so much more fun to read already. I'll do a third draft just to be thorough but my goal is to actually give traditional publishing a solid chance
First: I want to give you and all the people commenting hugs! Non-creepy! I just love fellow authors so much :). Second: Alexa can you do a video where you read peoples pitches or query letters and weigh in??
I had a book published called Devils Dropout I was with the Charles Manson family before I got saved or become a Christian. My book is out of publication. It’s selling online not by me asa collectible . I’m wondering if I should reprint it?
Thanks for the helpful content. I just finished the initial draft of my first full novel, and it is quite gratifying to be at this point. Now however, I find myself standing in the middle of the road, like a startled deer, not knowing which way to go. I'll be checking out more of your videos, along with other resources, in order to find a compass to lead me on.
I looked at your sample for the Ivies. I like it. I would tell you I'm going to read it but right now I'm busy with some other books. Glad I found your channel.
I’m doing NaNo. This manuscript is going to be freaking huge. Last project was underwritten. This one is overwritten lol. I don’t even want to think about revisions at this point.
Bad writers have all that expendable time they don't use on the writing. Good writers would rather write something that matters than optimize word order in a query letter. It's quite rare that someone gets a good agent by querying. It's about as likely to work out as sending free copies to celebrities and hoping they'll tweet about your book. It's not a zero percent chance, but it's not a reliable strategy either. The agents who can drive a lead title don't read query letters. You've got to know people. If you're insistent on TP, have lunch with the richest person you know in New York. That person is your agent-for-agents. That being said, if you're going with TP, you absolutely need an agent. The commission is 15%, but they'd be worth it if it were 40%.
@@michaelchurch1324 You are very incorrect! Every writer I know got their good agents by querying. I got my good agent by querying (she reps a book that has sold 12 million copies worldwide; I think she's quite good). I'm a good writer (if I may say so myself) and I still put a nice amount of time into crafting a winning query letter. And now I help other writers craft great query letters, too. Traditional publishing is one of the few industries where you don't have to know someone to get a foot in--you really can just write a great book and query letter and win the attention & representation of a great agent. Hollywood isn't like that at all, for example, but trade publishing is.
Thank you so much Alexa for your expertise. I'm currently working on a three part set of books as one story that is a children's book. I wasn't sure at first of how I should do this, until something told me, "Just write it". So I'm following what I was told to do in what down deep inside of me knows, that it will actually bring thousands of souls back to God. Again, thank you for your help and please wish me luck.
It's good to see videos on Traditional publishing because most people only do self publishing. I'm going the traditional publisher route all way through. It's the best way to do it for me. I'm writing Middle grade fiction, Young adult fiction, adult suspense, crime/mystery, and urban african american street life fiction novels.
I've taken to not buying books that have that. If there's a synopsis and a quote I might read the synopsis and judge it on that, but the synopsis has to be REALLY good.
This seems to go against everything Alexa talks about in blurbing, apparently it's an honour to have those quotes. I agree though, I want to know what the book is about, not what some random thought of it. Obviously no one is going to put "it's average" on the back of the book lol
@@WinterWind The problem lies in if there is only quotes and no blurb. But I think a lot of people take the quotes with a grain of salt, and personally, I find the quotes biased and unhelpful.
You just explained the Minoan Labyrinth to me! I got lost at about 4 times! Boy, now I know why so many writers go Indie! It sure looks intimidating! Someone in your videos made a comment the good thing about going Indie is you don't have to suffer through rejection. I'll need to keep that in mind.
I’m currently in the process of writing my own book. I believe it’s a fairly powerful book covering mental health, I’m a little over halfway through the novel. I have been writing my entire life and I would say I’m a fairly well spoken person, writing isn’t the hard part. The hard part will be publishing it. I want people to understand that they aren’t alone. If I can get this novel out to the masses I might be able to save someone else’s life.
I've been writing a book for years and never finish. I don't think it will be good enough to get through all these gatekeepers. It was explained very clearly, and now I know how it works. Thank you
This is a good video. I just finished watching your "Are you a good writer? How to tell . . ." video, and it gives me a lot of hope. Thank you for all your videos.
I have written to two books they are still being edited in English and Spanish. The Adventures of Michael, Violet and Stupid Dog. And Michael Violet and Mr Big. (Stupid got an upgrade at the end of book one) I have a master's degree... the audience is 12-18 years old. A fun story to read.
Excellent information, thank you so much Alexa. I'm on step #1, it'll be a while for me....maybe I'll be back in 5 years when I finish. lol, just kidding. I work on my book almost daily and the little sucker is growing fast! Thanks for this video.
Excellent video. I wish more people were aware of how long and arduous the entire process of getting traditionally published is. I can't stand it when as a self-published author I get asked when I'm getting a publisher. I do want to be hybrid some day as well but it takes time. You don't just 'get' a publisher, you have to write the book first, go through multiple edits, query agents etc.
Idk what you did but your eyes look GORGEOUS in this video (edit: not that your eyes are not always gorgeous, but i was just STRUCK in this video). So many great insights on trad pub, I always come back to your channel when Im trying to get myself back in the motivation station to get my book done. Thanks as always
I haven't been able to finish my book for awhile because I haven't been able to find my footing. But now, I'm finally ready to get back to writing. If I want to get published, I can't keep falling into a writing slump. I need to finish the bloody book.
Thanks for the video, Alexa. I’m from Guatemala and working on getting published here, but a lot of the publishers here want to charge the author to publish them and I don’t like that.
Okay, this might sound ridiculous but the part I'm still confused about is how to find an agent? Do you have any recommendations? Like are there websites or locations or...I don't know. It would mean a lot if someone could reply and help me out😅
Thank you. I thought I should throw my hat in the ring and try to get my book publish. I wanted to try to get it traditional publish (I think it would be best for me). This really helped.
This may be an incredibly stupid question but: when an agent is requesting 10 pages how are you measuring that? Is that 10 pages TNR font size 12 single spaced? Double? Etc. It's the only question so far I haven't been able to find the answer to!
@@a.gunter2893 Thank you so much!! I just want to make sure I follow all the rules when I (eventually) hit the stage where I'm querying. I really appreciate you taking the time to reply
@@pheart2381 It would be the same. The way you format your poem will not change, but the font, the spacing, and borders are standard across the board. Once you're represented and sell to a publisher, then choices will be made about style and page layout and so on. I hope this helps.
Just found this video and it's really informative, I've been a fan of the dystopian books since I was in high school, I'm currently 20 and I have decided to write my own dystopian, I have a super long page of notes for the details of the story and now I'm working on the outline, I'm so close to start writing the draft!
I wish this information was so easy to get when i was a kid. I would have been published by now. Thanks for explaining all this so maybe I can get published as an adult before I die.
I wrote books when I was 11, completed my first novel at 13…I tried querying agents, but had countless rejections. I am now 24, rewrote the same book countless times since then…when do you know when it’s time to just give up?
Hey Alexa! What a fantastic video! Thank you for the time you took preparing it! It's beneficial! I just wrote my first book. I did not know where to go, who to talk to, what to do, and what not to do. I will watch all the videos you mentioned in your description. I would like to know if you have any video about how to find the book illustrator. :) Thank you very much! DL :)
I feel like I’m terrible at storytelling but I’ve been told so many times (in school lol) that I was a “good writer.” A friend I looked up to because she was so smart even telling me “you should write a book” albeit, in jr high- I’m curious about how people go about.. meeting with an editor- getting an editor they maybe routinely work with.
I think I would need someone to look at all of my bits and pieces and help me organize them into a clear picture. I know what I have in my head so it’s hard to anticipate how it would actually be.. digested. Palatable..! Edit: I feel dumb now 😭 about 15 minutes in aahaaaaaa
Could you cover more on the whole part where am agent contacts you with an offer and you in turn inform the other agents that you are actively querying? This was the first time in hearing about this part specifically. Thank you for another AMAZING video!
I have a whole video on what to do when an agent offers :) It is called "Literary Agent Offer? Now What?" Here it is th-cam.com/video/BdPTnUNhdY0/w-d-xo.html
I just wanted to ask, if we send the copy to literary agents, are there any chances of plagiarism if we don't get accepted? This may be a silly question but I'm very concerned about to whom shall I send my copy so that there is no plagiarism, even if I get rejected. Is there any process of copyrighting my work before I send it forward to agents? Please help me out, this video was very useful. Thank you!
Thank you so much for this video. I did alot of this research back in 2002. My father was working on a book and I was trying to help navigate this world but got caught up with other things. Now fast forward to today, my father has finished a new book and I'm here on youtube trying to find out how to do it. I'm assuming when we are talking query's in this day and age we are using email and not print? Also, do no publishers accept manuscripts anymore? Is it only through agents these days?
I just finished my novel and am working on editing it! Currently I am doing a chapter synopsis so I can do developmental editing. In doing this I realized I haven't brought attention to a bracelet that is supposed to be important but hasn't been mentioned enough! I'm lucky to have an English teacher for a husband and I'm hoping that means I will do well in editing. Thanks for all the information! Do you have information on popular agencies? Despite your red flag video... I'm not the best at researching business stuff like this.
Hey I'm 14 and I been writing my story but the thing is I don't know how many chapters I need and thank you and the thing is I love writing more then anything can you publish it even if your 14?
Would you recommend submitting to publishers that accept unsolicited manuscripts if you're a first time writer? Is this easier or harder than the whole agent process?
So you suggest submitting your work to several agents at a time, rather than going through a publishing house. I was seeking out a few publishing houses who are accepting work from new writers, one has a list of people to submit to in their organization who specialize on varying genres ... But you feel that going through an agent would be best? Thanks for your help.
You may have covered this before, but I've just found you and started watching your videos. Do I need to copyright my book before trying to pitch or publish it? I'm a little wary of the idea being stolen. Maybe I've watched Elf too many times. On the same note, should I incorporate to protect myself as a business entity so that I can't be sued personally. My book is a children's book, but it's likely to garner attention from large corporations who don't like the message.
Your videos are very informative. Thank you! I am almost done editing my first novel and I am struggling with the idea of independent publishing vs traditional. I write plays for a small company that publishes through Amazon. Could this cause problems when I approach agents about representing me and the novels I write?
With most agents it shouldn't be an issue--though there are a few literary agencies that do prefer to represent ALL work, though I'll say I'm less a fan of that (b/c there are specialized reps for both plays and Hollywood and I think a writer is best served by breaking up their rep for different avenues of writing). So that is to say: You should be mostly fine. The only agencies I know for sure who prefer to rep ALL avenues are work are New Leaf Literary and Pippin Properties.
In a situation like this, you go to the publisher, tell them what has happened, and make arrangements for them to pay you directly for all forthcoming royalties.
I nearly got caught by a scam, luckily I have a brother-in-law and an ex--university tutor who are both published and the moment they looked at it for me they both said "Yep, that group are throwing up ALL the red flags, I wouldn't go anywhere near them"
@@ruchika1132 For some reason I either didn't see the notifications or forgot to reply, I don't remember the name and it's now so long ago I can't track the name down (for once the search function on my email is being useless)
@@brontebee yup. I've been researching and only 8. Most are not taking on new writers either. And only 3 I think take on fantasy Thank god for overseas markets amiright
I’m 14 and my sisters a lawyer so she’s quite intelligent and I’ve written drafts on Wattpad and other websites. She said my ‘stories’ can become a published book one day. All I want to know is if at what age can I publish a book? And what can I write about?
So, this is interesting. I didn’t have to do any of these steps. Dorrance publishing saw my book and offered to read it to see if they want to publish it. I got direct contact with a publisher without an agent. What are my next steps?
hi so i am a self published author but i want to become a traditionally published one. i have a question, do you have one agent for life, which you can publish many books with, or do you have to get a new agent with every book you publish? thank you
I’m 14 and so far I have only written the first draft of the story I want to publish. I know I have a LONG way until I can seek for agents and stuff like that, but I want to gather as much information as I can. So it is easier when the time come! Wish me luck!
HELLO, PEOPLE OF THE INTERNET!!! I am alive and my book isn't. I have gone through with editing and rewriting about 2 times and that is where I am now. Thank you to everyone who has wished me luck and supported me through this comment. I shall update the next time anything happens.
Good luck to everyone is their own writing journey! Kept writing and see where life takes you!-All of the Books Above!
UPDATE: I have started another book for NaNoWriMo 2022, I haven’t forgotten about my original book but I am more passionate about this new idea. My confidence in writing is better now that I am a Junior in high school. I plan to continue writing this new story pass NaNo until it is completed before I go on to the second draft.
Good luck to you and your writing journey ! :-)
Same!!!
Good luck :)
Good luck!
As someone in a similar situation, I can relate. Good luck!
I'm here because my 8 year old son is writing a book, so far it's 36 pages. He just decided to start writing it one day and he is also illustrating it. I find this quite astounding for his age. I want to know the best path to eventually getting him published. He is a natural author, with a brilliant mind. Thanks for the informative video.
Aww. My heart just melted. ❤🤓 Stephen King started young, too. 😊
I wish him the best of luck.
Parents like you create successful adults
This is so complicated.
Everytime I look up how to do something,
I learn about ten more steps.
fr tho 😂
I feel you bro.
Yeah, it's why Self Publishing is on the rise. And these days there are Self Published works that far exceed a good majority of Traditional ones. Just look at something like Dragon Mage.
I watched this video by Alexa and thought the same but I chipped away at it. In the time since, I've gotten an agent, and now have a book deal. It can be done!
I always feel more confident when you talk about the publishing details. You demystify it to the point it doesn't feel scary going through all those steps and working with all those people, just exciting. ^^ I can't wait to finish my book and start this whole process. (Of course, in my country things are a bit different, but I think every year we get a little closer to the American scenario, so you're videos are very helpful to future me.)
I was just sitting down to work on my book outline. But then I got distracted once I saw this new video notification :)
What's the book called?
I am 17 years old and I am writing ✍🏻 my first draft of my book 📕 (currently on chapter 7) and I’m really enjoying the experience of writing my own story it’s way more fun to write my own book free from the restrictions of school 🏫 writing pieces. You have more creative freedom to think of your own ideas 💡 story, characters and overall story line. My story fallows the traditional fairytale story of Magical creatures, Good Vs Evil with a bit of Love in the story. I must say although I must say although it is a fairytale story it is a fairytale story for a slightly older audience from people at the age of (12- 16) xx
This is amazing! I will say though, academic writing definitely helps you become a better writer in the long run. I study English: Rhetoric, literacy and reading at a collegiate level and the skills are absolutely transferable. Take ever opportunity you have to write. Learn from every essay or discussion you write.
@@ohthatsruby thank you sm for the support. Ohh don’t worry I will tbh Ive managed to build a very large world in my head full of magical creatures and characters. I’ve even created my own magic user currency 💴 and bank. My book sets out to both be an entertaining, educational and inspiring book for children of all ages who are beginning to see the wonders of the world. It is about an Old Elf wizard named Aziraphale who must embark upon a brave and dangerous journey after his home is destroyed. He must stop the Evil sorcerer Lord Azazel from stealing all the magic of the universe corrupting it with his dark black sorcerery and destroying life as we know it letting darkness reign supreme. Aziraphale must call upon the help of other magical people such as Azariah the great enchantress (Aziraphales love interest) to defeat Azazel before it is too late ⏰ can they do it before everything is destroyed… That was the prototype blurb not perfect but a work in progress I hope it gives you an understanding of what my book is roughly about and I’d be delighted to tell you more. Xx
yo bro are you still active on this acc? I'm of similar age I would like to share experiences with someone because I'm at the agent seeking stage and I'm writing a similar type story!
@@s1dz959 I’m still in the writing/planning out phase but it would be nice to talk to someone else about writing ✍🏻 etc.
@@TheWhovinerd-1963 do you have any social medias? I'll add you up.
Thank you for explaining these steps that almost everyone fails to mention.
Thank you so so much for this video! I’m a creative writing major on the professional track and yet even in my senior year, I feel like none of my classes or professors have addressed how the actual professional side of things work. You’ve done us aspiring authors a great service with this video and even though there are about a hundred more steps than I thought there were, I feel a lot less scared knowing the basics of how traditional publishing works :)
I feel like you just described college. We have all of these professors that can educate us, but none of them actually know how to help us get jobs. I had the director of my program tell me to 'just google it' when I asked her where I should start looking for jobs
Thank you for this. This may sound a bit strange but I’ve always considered to self publish without knowing anything about traditional publishing. Now I’m most likely going to traditional publish my first book. It makes more sense.
I'm working on my second draft and I'm hyped because it's so much more fun to read already. I'll do a third draft just to be thorough but my goal is to actually give traditional publishing a solid chance
First: I want to give you and all the people commenting hugs! Non-creepy! I just love fellow authors so much :). Second: Alexa can you do a video where you read peoples pitches or query letters and weigh in??
I think that’s a great idea
I SECOND THIS!
Love this!
I had a book published called Devils Dropout I was with the Charles Manson family before I got saved or become a Christian. My book is out of publication. It’s selling online not by me asa collectible . I’m wondering if I should reprint it?
Thanks for the helpful content. I just finished the initial draft of my first full novel, and it is quite gratifying to be at this point. Now however, I find myself standing in the middle of the road, like a startled deer, not knowing which way to go. I'll be checking out more of your videos, along with other resources, in order to find a compass to lead me on.
I looked at your sample for the Ivies. I like it. I would tell you I'm going to read it but right now I'm busy with some other books. Glad I found your channel.
I’m doing NaNo. This manuscript is going to be freaking huge. Last project was underwritten. This one is overwritten lol. I don’t even want to think about revisions at this point.
All this work, and there’s still bad books...
Bad writers have all that expendable time they don't use on the writing. Good writers would rather write something that matters than optimize word order in a query letter.
It's quite rare that someone gets a good agent by querying. It's about as likely to work out as sending free copies to celebrities and hoping they'll tweet about your book. It's not a zero percent chance, but it's not a reliable strategy either.
The agents who can drive a lead title don't read query letters. You've got to know people. If you're insistent on TP, have lunch with the richest person you know in New York. That person is your agent-for-agents.
That being said, if you're going with TP, you absolutely need an agent. The commission is 15%, but they'd be worth it if it were 40%.
I have found most bad books are from established already published authors who just have to write new books for $$$$$
@@michaelchurch1324 Yet, people get good agents by querying pretty much everyday...
@@michaelchurch1324 You are very incorrect! Every writer I know got their good agents by querying. I got my good agent by querying (she reps a book that has sold 12 million copies worldwide; I think she's quite good). I'm a good writer (if I may say so myself) and I still put a nice amount of time into crafting a winning query letter. And now I help other writers craft great query letters, too. Traditional publishing is one of the few industries where you don't have to know someone to get a foot in--you really can just write a great book and query letter and win the attention & representation of a great agent. Hollywood isn't like that at all, for example, but trade publishing is.
@@AlexaDonne - Cheery, polite, and educated takedowns are one of the many reasons I stan you so hard, Alexa.
Great insights. I've leant some very useful tips i need for my new book which I'm now looking to get published. Thanks Alexa. You are amazing
Thank you so much Alexa for your expertise. I'm currently working on a three part set of books as one story that is a children's book. I wasn't sure at first of how I should do this, until something told me, "Just write it". So I'm following what I was told to do in what down deep inside of me knows, that it will actually bring thousands of souls back to God. Again, thank you for your help and please wish me luck.
I'm fifteen and I'm thinking about writing my own stories, I have a lot of ideas already and this video is so helpful, thank you so much❤️❤️
This is insanely informative for us, amateur-writers! Thank you Alexa from Croatia!
It's good to see videos on Traditional publishing because most people only do self publishing. I'm going the traditional publisher route all way through. It's the best way to do it for me. I'm writing Middle grade fiction, Young adult fiction, adult suspense, crime/mystery, and urban african american street life fiction novels.
CONGRATS AGAIN ABOUT THE IVIES!!!!!
I want the back cover to be a synopsis of the book and not quotes of randome press and Twitter quotes.
I've taken to not buying books that have that. If there's a synopsis and a quote I might read the synopsis and judge it on that, but the synopsis has to be REALLY good.
This seems to go against everything Alexa talks about in blurbing, apparently it's an honour to have those quotes. I agree though, I want to know what the book is about, not what some random thought of it. Obviously no one is going to put "it's average" on the back of the book lol
@@WinterWind The problem lies in if there is only quotes and no blurb. But I think a lot of people take the quotes with a grain of salt, and personally, I find the quotes biased and unhelpful.
On hardcovers you can find the blurb (synopsis) in the inner flap at the front. It only goes on the back for paperbacks, in trade publishing.
Appreciate the light shined on some of the more obscure corners of the market.
Keep up the good work, and thank you again.
Thank you so much for this information, I’m so close to finishing a novel that I want to publish so this was extremely helpful!
This is so succinct! Such a great resource for those dipping their toes in the water.
You just explained the Minoan Labyrinth to me! I got lost at about 4 times! Boy, now I know why so many writers go Indie! It sure looks intimidating! Someone in your videos made a comment the good thing about going Indie is you don't have to suffer through rejection. I'll need to keep that in mind.
I got to say I watched a lot of video with people explaining how to publish and I feel that yours has much better details.
I’m currently in the process of writing my own book. I believe it’s a fairly powerful book covering mental health, I’m a little over halfway through the novel. I have been writing my entire life and I would say I’m a fairly well spoken person, writing isn’t the hard part. The hard part will be publishing it. I want people to understand that they aren’t alone. If I can get this novel out to the masses I might be able to save someone else’s life.
Do you ever have to meet your agent? What if you live far away from him/her? Love your video, thank you.
I do love your videos about publishing, you have a lovely clear voice and are a great teacher. Also, congrats on The Ivies!
I've been writing a book for years and never finish. I don't think it will be good enough to get through all these gatekeepers. It was explained very clearly, and now I know how it works. Thank you
Love this sort of SparkNotes version. I'm definitely keeping it on hand as I get through the process. And THANK YOU for posting LINKS!❤️
When i looked at this video cover, i knew, alright, she must be an expert in that area 😂 did not disappoint at all. Keep up the good work! 👏👏👏
This is a good video. I just finished watching your "Are you a good writer? How to tell . . ." video, and it gives me a lot of hope. Thank you for all your videos.
This is SUPER helpful and definitely underrated
Thank you for explaining the steps in such an easy way to understand! I look forward to watching more of your videos
I have written to two books they are still being edited in English and Spanish. The Adventures of Michael, Violet and Stupid Dog. And Michael Violet and Mr Big. (Stupid got an upgrade at the end of book one) I have a master's degree... the audience is 12-18 years old. A fun story to read.
Rowe, Rowe, Rowe your boat....
This video felt like a journey and made me emotional. Thank you so much for all the efforts.
Another great video! LOVE how your videos are honest and straightforward!
Thank you sooooo much. This was very helpful. I sounds daunting, but better to know what lies ahead so I can be prepared.
Thank you for posting this! Just finished my first draft and need to make some serious edits to it before I can send it to anyone!
I'm always hyped when I see you have a new video ❤
Ps. Have you ever shown us your successful query letter? I'd love to see it if you can share!
@@JulianGreystoke Yes, I have a video where I read my query for Brightly Burning!
@@AlexaDonne sweet, I'll have to find it
Excellent information, thank you so much Alexa. I'm on step #1, it'll be a while for me....maybe I'll be back in 5 years when I finish. lol, just kidding. I work on my book almost daily and the little sucker is growing fast! Thanks for this video.
I wish I had this video when I started writing. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge, Alexa!
Thank you, this has even really helpful to a longtime story writer whom wants to finally write my first novel
Excellent video. I wish more people were aware of how long and arduous the entire process of getting traditionally published is. I can't stand it when as a self-published author I get asked when I'm getting a publisher. I do want to be hybrid some day as well but it takes time. You don't just 'get' a publisher, you have to write the book first, go through multiple edits, query agents etc.
Idk what you did but your eyes look GORGEOUS in this video (edit: not that your eyes are not always gorgeous, but i was just STRUCK in this video). So many great insights on trad pub, I always come back to your channel when Im trying to get myself back in the motivation station to get my book done. Thanks as always
Thank you!! I am working on my first book! I see the road is long..I will work myself thru your helpful videos!
I haven't been able to finish my book for awhile because I haven't been able to find my footing. But now, I'm finally ready to get back to writing. If I want to get published, I can't keep falling into a writing slump. I need to finish the bloody book.
This is great advice .... my childrens book will get published is something I have told myself for years
wonderful thank you and consider bouncing the light off of a white background. Love the content and look! Cheers and blessings!
Thanks for the video, Alexa. I’m from Guatemala and working on getting published here, but a lot of the publishers here want to charge the author to publish them and I don’t like that.
Yeah. They may be Vanity Presses and therefore, scammers. xD Wish you good luck!
Okay, this might sound ridiculous but the part I'm still confused about is how to find an agent? Do you have any recommendations? Like are there websites or locations or...I don't know. It would mean a lot if someone could reply and help me out😅
I want to try to write and create a non-fiction, pet care guide that is picture/visual based, I'm not sure how to design the pages!
Thank you. I thought I should throw my hat in the ring and try to get my book publish. I wanted to try to get it traditional publish (I think it would be best for me). This really helped.
This may be an incredibly stupid question but: when an agent is requesting 10 pages how are you measuring that? Is that 10 pages TNR font size 12 single spaced? Double? Etc. It's the only question so far I haven't been able to find the answer to!
Yes. Times New Roman, 12 pt font, double spaced, 1 inch borders is industry standard.
@@a.gunter2893 Thank you so much!! I just want to make sure I follow all the rules when I (eventually) hit the stage where I'm querying. I really appreciate you taking the time to reply
@@taylorstotler8512 You're very welcome.
@@a.gunter2893 what about for poetry though?
@@pheart2381 It would be the same. The way you format your poem will not change, but the font, the spacing, and borders are standard across the board. Once you're represented and sell to a publisher, then choices will be made about style and page layout and so on. I hope this helps.
just finished your other video and seriously couldnt wait for this one 👏 thank you so much
Thank you so much for a great informative video. You really covered a lot, and explained it well.
Just found this video and it's really informative, I've been a fan of the dystopian books since I was in high school, I'm currently 20 and I have decided to write my own dystopian, I have a super long page of notes for the details of the story and now I'm working on the outline, I'm so close to start writing the draft!
I am stuck on the finishing and editing part. Hoping to finish by the end of next month.
Same
Thank you for the video! Why do you not recommend having an editor edit your book before pitching it to an agent? Thanks!
I wish this information was so easy to get when i was a kid. I would have been published by now. Thanks for explaining all this so maybe I can get published as an adult before I die.
GREAT JOB at explaining!! I was just curious on the process and yours was the first video I watched. I learned a lot! Thank you!
I wrote books when I was 11, completed my first novel at 13…I tried querying agents, but had countless rejections. I am now 24, rewrote the same book countless times since then…when do you know when it’s time to just give up?
No views and 3 likes. This just shows how people trust your content. They like your content even before they finished watching.
Anna Maledon Picture Book Author views get reviewed first.
So many people post this kind of comments. Why is it such a big deal if there’s a lag.
Hey Alexa! What a fantastic video! Thank you for the time you took preparing it! It's beneficial! I just wrote my first book. I did not know where to go, who to talk to, what to do, and what not to do.
I will watch all the videos you mentioned in your description.
I would like to know if you have any video about how to find the book illustrator. :)
Thank you very much!
DL :)
I feel like I’m terrible at storytelling but I’ve been told so many times (in school lol) that I was a “good writer.” A friend I looked up to because she was so smart even telling me “you should write a book” albeit, in jr high- I’m curious about how people go about.. meeting with an editor- getting an editor they maybe routinely work with.
I think I would need someone to look at all of my bits and pieces and help me organize them into a clear picture. I know what I have in my head so it’s hard to anticipate how it would actually be.. digested. Palatable..!
Edit: I feel dumb now 😭 about 15 minutes in aahaaaaaa
Could you cover more on the whole part where am agent contacts you with an offer and you in turn inform the other agents that you are actively querying?
This was the first time in hearing about this part specifically.
Thank you for another AMAZING video!
I have a whole video on what to do when an agent offers :) It is called "Literary Agent Offer? Now What?" Here it is th-cam.com/video/BdPTnUNhdY0/w-d-xo.html
I just wanted to ask, if we send the copy to literary agents, are there any chances of plagiarism if we don't get accepted? This may be a silly question but I'm very concerned about to whom shall I send my copy so that there is no plagiarism, even if I get rejected. Is there any process of copyrighting my work before I send it forward to agents? Please help me out, this video was very useful. Thank you!
Wish you blessings...This video was informative. You have a lot of energy!!!
Thank you so much for this video. I did alot of this research back in 2002. My father was working on a book and I was trying to help navigate this world but got caught up with other things. Now fast forward to today, my father has finished a new book and I'm here on youtube trying to find out how to do it. I'm assuming when we are talking query's in this day and age we are using email and not print? Also, do no publishers accept manuscripts anymore? Is it only through agents these days?
I just finished my novel and am working on editing it! Currently I am doing a chapter synopsis so I can do developmental editing. In doing this I realized I haven't brought attention to a bracelet that is supposed to be important but hasn't been mentioned enough!
I'm lucky to have an English teacher for a husband and I'm hoping that means I will do well in editing. Thanks for all the information!
Do you have information on popular agencies? Despite your red flag video... I'm not the best at researching business stuff like this.
Im 11 and I'm trying to create a book and idk how to take the story from the google docs and publish
as a book😣😫
Hey I'm 14 and I been writing my story but the thing is I don't know how many chapters I need and thank you and the thing is I love writing more then anything can you publish it even if your 14?
Would you recommend submitting to publishers that accept unsolicited manuscripts if you're a first time writer? Is this easier or harder than the whole agent process?
So you suggest submitting your work to several agents at a time, rather than going through a publishing house. I was seeking out a few publishing houses who are accepting work from new writers, one has a list of people to submit to in their organization who specialize on varying genres ... But you feel that going through an agent would be best? Thanks for your help.
Would previous publishing credits (short stories in the genre of your novel/flash fiction etc.) help your query stand out in the slush?
They can help if the publishing credits are especially good... they can nudge an agent to check out your writing. They never hurt!
You may have covered this before, but I've just found you and started watching your videos. Do I need to copyright my book before trying to pitch or publish it? I'm a little wary of the idea being stolen. Maybe I've watched Elf too many times.
On the same note, should I incorporate to protect myself as a business entity so that I can't be sued personally. My book is a children's book, but it's likely to garner attention from large corporations who don't like the message.
Your videos are very informative. Thank you! I am almost done editing my first novel and I am struggling with the idea of independent publishing vs traditional. I write plays for a small company that publishes through Amazon. Could this cause problems when I approach agents about representing me and the novels I write?
With most agents it shouldn't be an issue--though there are a few literary agencies that do prefer to represent ALL work, though I'll say I'm less a fan of that (b/c there are specialized reps for both plays and Hollywood and I think a writer is best served by breaking up their rep for different avenues of writing). So that is to say: You should be mostly fine. The only agencies I know for sure who prefer to rep ALL avenues are work are New Leaf Literary and Pippin Properties.
this helped with my school report about book publishing thank you
You did an awesome job explaining the process, I thank you for that !!! This has helped me a lot
Can foriegn people publish their book in another countries?
Thanks for making this video! All of your videos are great and super helpful. I appreciate you!
Loved the video. Great 101 intro. Now I need to hurry up and finish my book.
Amy specific resource you can share about business book? Marketing books?
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for making this video!
What happens once you sold your book, two years after, the book is on shelves, your agency goes under, how do you get paid?
In a situation like this, you go to the publisher, tell them what has happened, and make arrangements for them to pay you directly for all forthcoming royalties.
I nearly got caught by a scam, luckily I have a brother-in-law and an ex--university tutor who are both published and the moment they looked at it for me they both said "Yep, that group are throwing up ALL the red flags, I wouldn't go anywhere near them"
I don't suppose you could elaborate what the red flags were?
@@slowmoe1686 I am curious of that as well.
Edmund! We need answers. 😭
@@ruchika1132 For some reason I either didn't see the notifications or forgot to reply, I don't remember the name and it's now so long ago I can't track the name down (for once the search function on my email is being useless)
Great video! I found this very helpful. I just finished my first book and now exploring how to get it published. Thank you!!!!
Always do love this look into traditional publishing! 💜💜💜
'Best possible agent'
Laughs in Australian.
We have 8 literary agents. 8.
StrawberryBell 246810 Do we really only have 8? That’s so sad. At least there’s the UK and US that we can query too
@@brontebee yup. I've been researching and only 8. Most are not taking on new writers either. And only 3 I think take on fantasy
Thank god for overseas markets amiright
Yes, American authors have to keep in mind they are literally competing with the entire world.
Yeah all the Aussies I know are repped by American agents lol.
@@AlexaDonne I'm not surprised. It put me off trad publishing for ages. Sounds so complicated to do tax overseas :p
I’m 14 and my sisters a lawyer so she’s quite intelligent and I’ve written drafts on Wattpad and other websites. She said my ‘stories’ can become a published book one day. All I want to know is if at what age can I publish a book? And what can I write about?
So, this is interesting. I didn’t have to do any of these steps. Dorrance publishing saw my book and offered to read it to see if they want to publish it. I got direct contact with a publisher without an agent. What are my next steps?
WOW! Thank you. Brilliant amount of information.
Hi! Is it the same steps for publishing a children’s book with illustrations?
hi so i am a self published author but i want to become a traditionally published one. i have a question, do you have one agent for life, which you can publish many books with, or do you have to get a new agent with every book you publish? thank you
This is a ton of info. Thanks, Alexa.
I’m working on my first novel after years of writing fanfiction and I wanna find a publisher or self publish.
Thanks Alexa you are very informative and have a amazing way to communicate your knowledge!
Brilliant thanks for the heads up. Great pointers 👍
What if you wanted to put illustrations in your book?