How To Publish A Book | Traditional Publishing 101
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- Опубликовано: 9 фев 2025
- The number one question so many people have is "how do you get a book published?" I'm dialing it way down to the basics! How do you get a book into bookstores? What are the steps required to be traditionally published? This is a 101 video for anyone who wonders how to get published.
Things I cover in this video:
Do you have to finish a book before reaching out to publishers?
How to get a literary agent
Querying basics
Finding a good literary agent
Going on submission
Selling a book
Self Publishing Resources
The Courtney Project channel: / @thecourtneyproject
Jenna Moreci's channel: / @jennamoreci
Vivien Reis's channel: / @vivienreis
Heartbreathing's channel: / @heartbreathings
Query Resources
Novel Tea Show episode on Agents & Querying: • AGENTS & QUERYING | No...
My Query Form & examples: alexadonne.com/...
RELATED VIDEOS
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Why I Didn't Self Publish: • Why I Didn't Self Publish
Getting An Agent Playlist: • Agent Fit: Finding the...
Learn to Self Edit: • LEARN TO SELF-EDIT!
What Kind of Editor Do You Need: • What Kind of Editor Do...
How to Spot a Shady Agent: • Shady Literary Agents?...
Literary Agency & Publisher Contract Terms To Know: • Agent/Publisher Contra...
Secrets of Submission: • Secrets of Submission ...
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+FILMING SPECS+
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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’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 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'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
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!
@@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 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
Did you ever get off the ground with a book? Just curious, thanks! :)
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?
Thank you for explaining these steps that almost everyone fails to mention.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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❤️❤️
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 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)
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 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.
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'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 so succinct! Such a great resource for those dipping their toes in the water.
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.
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.
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 insanely informative for us, amateur-writers! Thank you Alexa from Croatia!
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 ruclips.net/video/BdPTnUNhdY0/видео.html
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
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.
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!
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.
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 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 do love your videos about publishing, you have a lovely clear voice and are a great teacher. Also, congrats on The Ivies!
Appreciate the light shined on some of the more obscure corners of the market.
Keep up the good work, and thank you again.
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!❤️
CONGRATS AGAIN ABOUT THE IVIES!!!!!
Another great video! LOVE how your videos are honest and straightforward!
This video felt like a journey and made me emotional. Thank you so much for all the efforts.
Do you ever have to meet your agent? What if you live far away from him/her? Love your video, thank you.
THANK YOU! A thousand times; Thank you! I finished book 1 of my trilogy, which I'm hoping to traditionally publish, and I have been fretting about needing to have the entire series complete before attempting to publish. This is a huge weight off of my shoulders. I appreciate your advice!
What is it about?
@@aengusog3415 It's a soft SciFi about a single dad trying to make ends meet when he is given a lucrative job offer by a mysterious stranger. The job offer is simple; help an elderly philanthropist find his missing employee. Except the missing employee is a psychotic murderer, the mysterious stranger is using him for her own devices, and the philanthropist is worse than any of them. By the time he figures this out, however, the main character is on the other side of the galaxy, an alien searching from system to system in the hopes that he can make it home to his daughter.
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 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.
I have created and written stories that make my family members cry, stun, and have unbelievable endings. Now that I am retired and thought I could get one published. You have shown almost impossible hurdles to jump just to get one. Thanks for killing a dream.
@Steve Peter Yes! I tried that once with a story of what really happens in the future in Star Trek, The Last Generation. All they did was demand I send them $750.00 with no guarantee of anything. They weren't scamming me! Right?
This is great advice .... my childrens book will get published is something I have told myself for years
Thank you for explaining the steps in such an easy way to understand! I look forward to watching more of your videos
From a business point of view: You bear the costs and the labour to it, if is good somebody takes the risk to put it on the market. They control the costs and rights and you get 10-20% from the sale.
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....
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 wrote a first draft in one day as the book had much thought and a promise to my father’s pillow, yes pillow, months after he passed. More about that later. It’s a children’s book. I had it edited, at my cost by an Editor who name is Joyce Gilmore. She gave me advise and stated “I really needed to have it published.” Then I hit a road block so years and years later here I am.
I wish I had this video when I started writing. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge, Alexa!
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
just finished your other video and seriously couldnt wait for this one 👏 thank you so much
This is SUPER helpful and definitely underrated
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.
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!
Thank you for this! I’ve always wondered how your work is protected from being stolen after touching so many hands. Have you spoken about this in any of your videos?
Thank you so much for a great informative video. You really covered a lot, and explained it well.
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.
I'm 15 and I just finished writing this short story that I really want to publish! I am honestly terrified to but it's worth a shot
I’m 15 too and just started writing my own novella. If you haven’t tried to publish it just go out and try we only Live once !!!
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
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!! I am working on my first book! I see the road is long..I will work myself thru your helpful videos!
wonderful thank you and consider bouncing the light off of a white background. Love the content and look! Cheers and blessings!
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!
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 :)
Thank you, this has even really helpful to a longtime story writer whom wants to finally write my first novel
Thanks for making this video! All of your videos are great and super helpful. I appreciate you!
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!
'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
Wish you blessings...This video was informative. You have a lot of energy!!!
Brilliant thanks for the heads up. Great pointers 👍
You did an awesome job explaining the process, I thank you for that !!! This has helped me a lot
Step one complete. I wrote my book already. -Casey Casper. Edited it too.
Always do love this look into traditional publishing! 💜💜💜
"You should never write the second book of a series if you haven't sold the first one" Yeah for you maybe, but I write not just to be published. I write because the story needs to be told, it needs to get out of my head and onto paper. I'm currently halfway through book 3 and will happily continue writing it, thank you very much :) never let anyone tell you what you should and shouldn't write
Great video! I found this very helpful. I just finished my first book and now exploring how to get it published. Thank you!!!!
that was a lot of great information, thank you
this helped with my school report about book publishing thank you
i love you talk so much !! thank you !!
I had to start over because I was busy perusing your bookshelf! LOL
WOW! Thank you. Brilliant amount of information.
This is a ton of info. Thanks, Alexa.
love you video. Love the fact that you have other videos to watch.
This is a fantastic video. My only issue is that you mention reading other books that are similar to the one I've written. There aren't any, which is of course why I wrote it in the first place. Elements like time travel, billionaires, espionage, and an ending with a shocking twist...I just don't know of any other books/stories like mine. I guess it's just time to blaze my own path! :)
It sounds to me like you have a sci fi thriller.
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?
Thanks Alexa you are very informative and have a amazing way to communicate your knowledge!
As Brandon Sanderson says in his lectures on this subject here on RUclips, remember:
"You have something they want."
Don't give up hope!
Thank you so much for all this valuable information.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for making this video!
Thank you, Alexa
Thank you for sharing your publishing knowledge with youtube :D I had pursued publication back in the early 2000s and life took me away from writing prose for a while. I'm dusting off old manuscripts here lately and this video was very informative as well as motivating for me to put diligent focus on finishing out my books. I've got a few beta-readers, some of which are published in their own rights. Friends from school mostly and I'm actively typing up an edited manuscript (which I've edited multiple times and now accept I will be editing for the foreseeable future haha). Thanks again. :) -- off to write.
Hello! My name is Lee Walker, and I work from Author Reputation Press in Canton, Massachusetts, as a Publishing and Marketing Consultant and In-Charge for Presenting Books to 510 Physical Bookstores (worldwide). I'd want to know whether you're working on or writing a new book right now. I’d like to include your book in our listings since Holiday Season is fast approaching and everyone loves to buy books and I don’t want you to be missed out on this opportunity for your book and your name as well. Please let me know if you are interested in publishing or marketing your book. You can contact me @ 1-888-821-0229 ext 2560. Thank you so much!
Website:
authorreputationpress.com
This was so helpful, thanks so much Alexa! Subscribed!! :D
Very educative, ---your video is.
Some agent steal money offered authors by publishers.
A literary agent stole an advance a publishers offered me nine years ago.
One would be better off learning the tricks of the trade and seeking publishers him--, or herself.
But how do you do that? We're facing a highly monopolistic system.
@@anonymike8280 ---find a way to break into the whatever monopoly there are, and make your way forward from there.
1000th like! Thank you so much for this video and going into the level of depth that you did. 😊👍
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.
This channel has been so helpful to me! One thing I have been wondering is how publishers/agents view a book that doesn't fit neatly into any one genre or audience. Is that a bad sign to them? Would it change the way they treat the work?
Thanks for this video...i was searching for this content...was useful 👏👍
Thank you so much for your content, you are awesome!