My Booky Wook

The book that I have written is complete, this is not news to anyone. But the final stages of sending out has dribbled on for far too long, so I'm now conscious of pushing it out to the world.

I have found a really useful website that aims to help amateur authors become published. It's called www.WritersWorkshop.co.uk and it offers some basic advice guides on various stages of the process.

- Polishing off the manuscript
- How to write the perfect synopsis
- How to get a Literary Agent

The Final Polish

- Double Line Spacing
- Times New Roman font
- Indent paragraphs, and no space between paragraphs
- Single quotation marks for dialogue
- Perfect punctuation

So I'm going to go through the tome and bring it up to this standard.

Synopsis

- No more than 500 words
- Business-like
- Well presented
- Just tell the story

Literary Agent

- First of all there is no realistic route into the market other than using an agent
- A typical agent takes on two new authors a year, and yet he reads over one thousand manuscripts. (No pressure)
- At least get the layout right
- Select your targets - the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook will come in handy for that
- Send out six at a time with;
- a covering letter
- the synopsis
- the manuscript (some may require only 2-3 chapters, others only 50 pages etc)
- Wait 3 weeks and send the next lot out
- Prepare for rejection
- Review Progress (if there have been more than 15 rejections then there is likely to be something wrong with your manuscript

It also gives you tips like, there is no harm sending it to MR.X of ABC company one month, and then Mrs.Y of ABC the next month.

This website also offers a manuscript guidance service which is quite costly at around £500. Which promises to offer hard-nosed literary advice and marketability suggestions, and a reputable weight behind the manuscript when it goes back to the market. So I shall see how it goes on my own steam at first, but that is definitely an option if needed. £500 versus a lifetime as a published author, seeing my books being turned into films in Hollywood; a mere snip.

So, this is what I will be busying myself with over the next week, and making sure that I'm in a position to start sending the baby out.

Location:Alderley Edge,United Kingdom