What next?

[NoviceWriter]

Hello.

I was hoping someone could help me.

I have written my novel and I feel it's finished and I'm looking to possibly get it published however I am very new to all this.

Would someone be so kind to advise what the next steps are?

Thank you

Has anyone read it yet apart from you? Woukd you trust them to give you honest feedback? If you haven't shown it to anyone yet, I would suggest posting it , chapter by chapter on a site such as Critique Circle where strangers will give you unbiased but, in my experience, helpful comments.

If others have looked at it and you are fully satisfied that the book is finished, you've taken on board any suggestions, then you need to decide if you want to find a traditional publisher or self-publish.

If you wish to pursue traditional publishing, you need to research agencies (your local library should have a Writers and Artists Handbook which will list agencies and their websites) currently accepting manuscripts.

Read the bios of each agent at the agency and decide who is most closely aligned with the type of book you have written. Each agency will have its own rules for submitting, so read them carefully.

You can submit directly to some publishing houses again research which ones allow writers to do this.

It's very time-consuming and can be demoralising - good luck.

Well done for finishing it! I would (if you can afford it) pay for some professional feedback if you've already had beta readers go through it, or if you've had it workshopped.

If you haven't had any feedback from other writers yet, it's really important to get this - no matter how finished you think it is, if no other writer/reader has read it and given constructive feedback then it probably won't be ready to go out. I would do this probably at least a couple of times. There's the website the other poster mentions, but there are probably loads of other reciprocal things you can do with other writers to get feedback.

Other writers will see flaws/opportunities in your work that you won't have noticed so it's really important to do this - even if it seems like it's wasting time.

When you approach agents it's worth making sure your work is as good as possible, and getting more people to look at it can only help you.

Good luck!

It's worth understanding that the vast majority of people who try to get traditionally published don't succeed. Not to put you off, but it's best to go into the process with a realistic attitude.