I really wanted to publish my work and so far I'm too afraid or maybe in the dark when it comes to this kind of thing. If you've ever published something before, whether online or on paper, how did you proceed? What can you tell about it?

deathbyprayer (10:31pm Thu, Aug 14, 2014)

I really wanted to publish my work and so far I'm too afraid or maybe in the dark when it comes to this kind of thing. If you've ever published something before, whether online or on paper, how did you proceed? What can you tell about it?

I haven't published anything yet, but I do have a handy little book called the "Writers and Artists Yearbook".  It's quite UK based, but does have information for overseas writers too.  The book has listings of agents and publishers, as well as the newspapers and magazines that look for submissions, and what their guidelines are for these submissions, as well as contact details etc.  It also has a section for theater groups/companies who accept plays for consideration, and there's a section for illustrators too. 

But that's not all.....There are some fantastic articles by well known authors, various guides for writing certain genres, and details of national story writing competitions, and loads more.  There's a wealth of information in this book for all aspiring writers, and there are other books in the series too, such as writing guides for children's books etc. 

I have never tried to publish anything, but i think a good way to do a trial run, so to speak, might be to start with an ebook and publish it in the Kindle Store on Amazon.
It doesn't involve having a publishing company, and could be almost any size you wanted to do to start.
 I have seen some of the "how to" books on there that are only a few pages long.
Once you found out whether the book would sell, then you could go through the process of actually having it printed and published.

Since publishers can decide what they do or don't want to publish, starting out with an ebook would solve that problem, because you are the decision-maker in that case.

happyflowerlady (03:38pm Sat, Aug 16, 2014)

I have never tried to publish anything, but i think a good way to do a trial run, so to speak, might be to start with an ebook and publish it in the Kindle Store on Amazon.
It doesn't involve having a publishing company, and could be almost any size you wanted to do to start.
 I have seen some of the "how to" books on there that are only a few pages long.
Once you found out whether the book would sell, then you could go through the process of actually having it printed and published.

Since publishers can decide what they do or don't want to publish, starting out with an ebook would solve that problem, because you are the decision-maker in that case.

That's a good idea happyflowerlady.  With publishing on Kindle you can at least test the waters, and maybe people you know will download it and give you some feedback or a review.  I think it's what I need to do myself, because it will be harder to crack the world of publishing, I think. 

I think I have seen something called "create a space" poppping up in ads. May be good just checking out

Some things to help you....

http://www.creativeburrow.org/help-advice/(info)-on-agents-and-publishers/

http://www.creativeburrow.org/help-advice/(info)-publishers-and-agencies-to-avoid/

http://www.creativeburrow.org/library/how-to-self-publish/

http://www.creativeburrow.org/help-requests/looking-for-good-writer's-resource(s)-for-getting-published-and-an-agent/

http://www.creativeburrow.org/help-advice/4-reasons-you-should-advertise-your-work-on-project-wonderful/

http://www.creativeburrow.org/?action=resources;sa=details;lid=110

http://www.creativeburrow.org/?action=resources;sa=details;lid=112

http://www.creativeburrow.org/help-advice/(tcp)-what-is-an-author-platform-and-why-do-you-need-one-now/msg4646/#msg4646

http://www.creativeburrow.org/help-advice/(tcp)-the-author-2-0-model-explained/msg3497/#msg3497

http://www.creativeburrow.org/help-advice/(tcp)-the-author-2-0-blueprint-using-web-2-0-tools-to-build-your-author-platform/msg3488/#msg3488

http://www.creativeburrow.org/help-advice/(info-tcp)-overwhelmed-online-3-steps-to-start-your-author-platform-building/msg6538/#msg6538

Very useful info here, Bunny!  I'm going to spend some time reading through those - thank you for bringing it to our attention. 

I'm particularly interested in self publishing, prior to testing the waters anywhere else. 

I used Smashwords and Createspace for my e-book so I could set up an author profile page with them.
Both give you step by step guides on how to do it, the only thing I would say is look out for the formatting.

If you have a copy of your manuscript free from formatting it will help as each has a preferred format.
Createspace have some cover templates you can use and I used the same one for Smashwords.

Read over everything before you start and you will also have to apply for an ITIN number for tax reasons for both, but that can come later on, so don't worry about that.

One of the places that I have been reading about that publishes  e-books is Bookbub.  Bookbub sells ebooks direct to the public, and is known for its cheap books.
If you are a reader, you may already be familiar with how Bookbub works from the reader's perspective.

Basically, you sign up at the webpage, and then fill out a profile of the type of books that you are interested in reading. I have a membership like this, and every day they send me an email featuring the book for the day that meet my specifications. You can also go directly to the website and browse books.

Some of the Bookbub  e-books are promoted free, at least at first.
Anyone who wants to self-publish a book can submit a copy of the book, and then, it is either accepted or rejected by Bookbub.
I only have experience with it from the buyer/reader perspective; but to me, it seems to work fine, and would be a place that I would definitely check out if I were going to publish an e-book.

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/retailing/article/60193-bookbub-closing-in-on-two-million-members.html#path/pw/by-topic/digital/retailing/article/60193-bookbub-closing-in-on-two-million-members.html