HELP!

[Shalom66]

I have just completed my first book. A lesbian romance, does anyone have any advice or details on how to get published, please?

Is this a first draft? If so, put it away for a few months, then return to it. The Writers and Artists year book is packed with publishers and agents so it's worth while getting yourself a copy. You need to research the publishers very carefully and only target the ones who print your genre.

Best of luck

You will firstly need an agent. But Lady has some good advice. Don't rush. Start on the next and leave the first for a while....

You don't really need an agent. If it's possible to approach the publisher directly then do this. Agents are useful, not everyone can get one though so you may end up waiting a long time if you go down this route. (sorry punk)

I would disagree - unless you are very savvy and able to negotiate deals yourself. Also, a number of publishers will not deal directly with writers and will ONLY deal through agents. Children's books and non-fiction seem to be exceptions - as the reception for them seems much looser, but any other type of fiction really needs an agent. Particularly literary fiction. I have a number of friends in that field, either writers or the on the 'other side' of the desk. An agent can promote you and organise publicity, really guide your career. They will also give you an honest appraisal of how you need to present yourself. Yes it takes time but if a writer has something, then an agent will know. Otherwise you spend even longer thrashing around in a world of which you know very little, making very common mistakes.

...that said...do you read Mslexia? They have very good listings, particularly for independent publishers and small presses. Magazines such as Chroma (I think that's the one) might well be worth a look.

Ah, I write children's lit and there's a real lack of agents for this so it sounds as though it's very different for adult lit. I found it almost impossible to get an agent, even though I have a couple of publishers interested. I did find that the agents took my work a little more seriously once I'd already approached a publisher though. I'd concentrate on the quality of the work before anything else though. Writers rush into looking for a publisher/agent when they really shouldn't. There's no hurry and a book is like a great wine; best left to mature. Put the first draft away for as long as you can, then come back to it. It will help to show up any flaws in the plot/grammatical errors etc.