How does someone get a novel published?
It’s not easy: first, write a book about a subject you love and feel compelled to write about, or find a story you simply have to tell. Then, draft a ‘query letter’–a very specific type of letter-of-introduction for your book–explaining a bit about it, about you, and why anyone would want to pay good money to read it. Then, send a whole bunch of these letters (plus a one or two page synopsis, plus the first chapter) to agents and publishers–preferably exclusive to each person or publishing house, meaning one at a time–and wait for the rejections to arrive. After a few of those have woken you up to the reality of the ‘biz,’ then call people you know in the publishing business–maybe then you’ll get a closer look, or an actual read of your sample chapter or synopsis (many, if not most agents and publishers don’t make it past the query unless they’ve heard of you). If you’re lucky, someone will want the whole manuscript, and then if they like it, they offer you a contract. You review
