I about fell out of my chair laughing. That is the million-dollar question, isn’t it? The answer is so complex I didn’t even know where to begin. What’s the genre? How long is it? What’s the subject/plot? Is it any good?

Those are just the first questions that came to mind and I just couldn’t even reply. My first instinct was to tell this person to go look it up on the internet. Then I remembered – oh, yah, I’m supposed to be able to respond to questions like that. I’m “in the business” after all.

In all seriousness, if you are truly serious about getting published, the process starts long before your book or story is ever finished. Heck, it starts before you ever set pen to paper, so to speak.

The best way to get published is to do your research beforehand. Once you decide on your topic, go out and research similar books. If there are a lot of books similar to what you have in mind, or if it tackles a subject that is commonly written about, you should decide before you ever start writing how exactly you plan to set yourself apart from the pack. You are going to want to sit down and read, or at least scan, your competition. You can’t put a new spin on an old horse until you know what has already been written. You are going to need this information down the road when it comes time to solicit publishers and agents, so keep it on file.

Once you have that in mind, start looking for agents or publishers that handle the type of book you are planning. It helps to know ahead of time what each publishing company out there expects from its authors. You especially want to check out the publisher’s upcoming catalog to see what their latest and greatest interests are. While that doesn’t tell you what they plan in the future, it at least gives you some idea what they are looking for. Be sure to check for calls for submissions, as well.

Think small. If you are a first-time author, you have an extremely rough road ahead. If you want to add to your credibility while strengthening your writing skills, start submitting your work to literary contests. When you don’t win, it gives you a much-needed callous to help you get through the pile of rejection letters you are going to have to face when you try to get into a publishing house. If you do win, however, this gives you IMMENSE credibility with a potential publisher. Every little accomplishment helps.

Don’t rule out the self-publishing route. You will learn a lot about publishing, marketing and “the business” of writing by going through this process. If you do well at it, this also helps give you some clout. Be prepared to market your book like crazy, though. If you flop and don’t show some know-how and sales results, it’s not likely to add to your credibility.

Finally, never, ever submit a manuscript without having a professional editor look it over. And I don’t mean your friend down the street or your Aunt Velma in North Dakota, either. If the manuscripts that come through my door had been sent to an editor before they went to the publisher or agent, most would have hit the slush pile inside of 2 pages. Your best chance of getting published is to have a clean, relatively error-free manuscript to submit. If an editor is on the fence about the subject matter or style, you might push him into at least giving you a chance if you can demonstrate your professionalism and dedication to quality by giving him something he can work with.