How to get published? 5 tips from authors and editors

Get your name on the cover of the book here, according to the poll Literary Figaro In 2022, the dream was shared by more
twelve million French. Hundreds of thousands of them, braver, more unconscious perhaps, take the plunge and send their first novel manuscript to a publisher.Every year a publisher like Flammarion receives over 6,000.

Many candidates and very few elected officials, the prestigious house of Saint-Germain-des-Prés publishes only three per year. The most reckless of the numbers, but which we should forget. Yes, it is possible to get your first novel published, even if you are not a star , who appears on television or if you don’t know anyone in the publishing industry. As long as you respect certain rules and, as Collett said, “write in everyone’s words, like no one else.”

Learn how to edit your text

With such a volume of applicants, the selection is ruthless. Before starting, therefore, it is necessary to have a finished text. My husbandPublished in 2021, L’Iconoclaste has sold over 400,000 copies. And after a while I felt like I was wandering.” Writing is a lonely road, but before contacting a publisher, you need to get out of your cave by showing your text to loved ones who will spot mistakes you no longer see. ​After re-reading.Or turn to the experts by signing up for writing workshops or master classes offered by famous authors.

“Contrary to popular belief, writing can be learned,” explains Vanessa Kafin, co-founder of Livres Agités, a publishing house that only publishes first-time novelists. By attending a workshop, you improve your manuscript thanks to the ideas of others.” Maud Ventura attended these meetings of student writers almost by accident. “When I was a student, I did an internship at the literary school Les Mots,” he explains. In my novel, the reader is immersed in the thoughts of the narrator, and during the workshop I wondered if we really understood what he was doing physically. : And I changed a lot.” These training courses, which cost up to €990 for the most complete, can be covered by a personal training account.

Of course, you can do without it, but you need to know how to get help where you can find it. fr and 250 euros buy nineteen online videos by the king of crime fiction, Bernard Minier, or the prolific Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt are for some who are stuck in their writing.

Choosing the right home

Thriller, novel, new romance, autobiographical story, no publisher worthy of the name publishes all literary genres. A first-time novelist should do some market research to find a home that will likely publish it. Nothing could be simpler than talking to local booksellers or visiting book fairs that are held all over France understand the editorial line of different publishers. For example, we only publish first novels written by women, but we still receive many manuscripts from men, laments Vanessa Caffeine. It is a waste of time for the author who offers us his text…”.

In recent years, self-publishing on platforms such as Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) or Librinova has attracted more and more aspiring writers
that the book exists, why not? But, be careful, the text will be buried among thousands of others, often of poor quality, and it will be very difficult to reach readers,” explains Vanessa Kafin Grandma in the nettle In 2014, on KDP
Before signing a contract with Fayard and becoming one of the top ten best-selling writers in 2024 are rare.

Run away from cheaters

Self-publishing has at least one merit. it avoids being cheated by supposed publishers who accept all the manuscripts, print them, and sell those copies to their authors at a high price. These famous self-publishers should be banned. “If you are asked to pay,
be it correction or printing, run away,” warns the publisher of Livres Agités.

Raise your handwriting

Finally, it’s time to print or scan the manuscript to send it to selected houses. Publishers appreciate a PDF format, in a classic font such as Garamond or Times New Roman, and size 12. It is imperative to send an attachment with the manuscript. “A short piece of work, concise and with a tone that ensures the author has style, makes you dive into reading the manuscript very quickly,” explains Vanessa Kaffin.

For Maud Ventura, the adventure turned into a small family business. He bought an ink cartridge, pieces of paper, his mother brought a binder from her work, and with the help of his father, they installed:
reprography workshop. “I remember very well the day when I sent my envelopes,” the author recalls. I even have a photo of me in the post office, holding my packages. You see me there, happy, at peace, because it was the end of four years of hard work.

Knowing how to wait and…move on

When a manuscript is sent, the most dreaded moment for a first-time sender comes: “I’m an author myself, and I’ve experienced this anxiety of waiting for a text that’s taken years to write,” explains Vanessa Kaffin leads to great anxiety when we get standard, soulless rejection letters. “Ah, I get these standard letters, and I keep them carefully,” jokes Maud Ventura: Fortunately, I also received an email from Sylvie Gracia of L’Iconoclaste, who wanted to meet with me.

The young author then begins a new process where, on the advice of his editor, he rewrites his text to finally get a final version that will be published in September 2021, more than a year after his manuscript was accepted.But, deep down, when you love write, is it really the most important thing to sign or not?

“The main thing for me is not the publication,” explains the published author famoushis second novel last September. Writing, alone, at home, is when I am happiest. If I have one piece of advice for those who send a manuscript to a publisher, it is to write again at the center of everything, and never forget the joy we experienced, as well as the moments of doubt. while writing these words. To never lose the pleasure of writing.”

If rejection letters and emails letters pile up, we must hold on to hope Remembering that Marcel Proust was rejected At Swan’s by all publishers in Paris. And that Romain Puertola unsuccessfully sent seven different manuscripts until the eighth, The extraordinary journey of a fakir stuck in an Ikea wardrobeaccepted in 2013 by Le Dilettante for selling over one million copies…