by Aris Jameson

Created on: June 28, 2009   Last Updated: April 03, 2010

The first step to publishing a successful book is composing a plot that editors will be interested in. Your story should feature dynamic characters who are forced to overcome some sort of conflict; it also helps to include secrets and interesting details about these characters that will keep readers engaged. In addition, the setting and characters should be well described, allowing readers to develop vivid mental images of the action in your story. This method is referred to as show, don't tell, because readers would rather gain knowledge through dialogue, concise descriptions, and imagery that appeals to the five senses instead of being subjected to long, drawn out paragraphs in which the author peppers them with trivial details.

After you proofread your manuscript for mistakes, ask a friend or family member to read it and check for any incongruous details and grammatical mistakes. Agents and editors don't have time to waste on stories with silly spelling and grammar errors that divert their attention from the action, so do yourself a favor and make sure you send them a clean copy of your manuscript.

When the long process of writing, proofreading, and rewriting is finished, you'll have a manuscript that is ready to be reviewed by a professional. Don't waste time searching the Internet for publishers though; the major companies are simply too busy to accept literary pieces from the general public. Furthermore, beware of vanity publishers who will ask you to pay for your own book to be published. Often times these companies feature extremely deceptive websites with catchy lines like, We'll publish your book immediately, or First time authorno problem, Unfortunately, if you read enough fine print you'll eventually learn how much they intend to charge you to publish the book you spent many months and years writing. I, myself, made the mistake of submitting my manuscript to one of these insidious vanity publishers, and they sent me back a detailed reader report which summarized my manuscript and expressed the company's interest in publishing it. After reading their summary I was ecstatic, but this excitement quickly faded when I reached the third page of the packet they mailed to my house and realized they wanted me to pay eight thousand dollars to publish my book. When I called them to inquire about this fee, which was not listed anywhere in their website, they told me they could reduce the fee to seven thousand dollars (their final offer). Moreover, the

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