Is it expensive to get yourself published?

[Garmard]

If a literary agent or publisher(s) takes a shine to my novel that is as yet unpublished, is the costs incurred by the agent and publishers for me to pay and if so, is it very expensive?
Also, do i pay before or after publication?

[Bambi_1]

If you find an agent who likes your novel, they will try to sell it to publishers and you should not have to pay anything. If you manage to sell directly to a publisher you should not pay, unless you go to a "Vanity" publisher. In the latter case, they will publish anything for you as long as you pay all the costs and you only recoup the costs if the book sells enough copies.

[saxy_jag]

As Bambi says, if an agent/publisher likes your work enought to publish it, you won't incur any costs.

You may or not be offered an advance, depending on how well they think your work will sell, and an agent will want a percentage of anything you earn.

Vanity- or self- publishing can be inexpensive and even profitable, but you need to do lots of homework first. Stay well away from anyone who actually offers to publish your work for a fee. If you want to go down this route, it's you who should approach them in the first instance.

[carmalee]

get a copy of The Writer's Year Book - has everything in it to help you.

[Wak]

If you are still looking for answers/ways to getting your book published then have a look at the following web site.

http://www.publishamerica.com/faqs.htm

I got the urge to write a book upon my retirement and managed it in 1992.
I tried for approx. three years to get it published and contacted loads of UK publishers with the aid of the "Writer's and Artist's Year book" but to no avail. This involved a lot of printing and postage charges at that time.
In late December of 2005 I saw the web site of PublishAmerica.com on the Internet and e-mailed them to see if they were interested in a "one-off" Detective novel.
They asked me to forward the synopsis and the first chapter and within a few days asked me to send the complete manuscript.
Within three months they had helped me in every respect to edit the book, help with the cover and have it ready for printing, all of this being done on the internet so there were no excessive printing or postal charges.

[Wak]

Obviously, you have to sign a contract and get the .PDF files copyrighted (which costs approx. £30) but you still own all literary and film rights, etc.
In April 2006, they printed the book in paper-back and sent two copies for my records.
They helped me to achieve my ambition at that time which was to write a book and get it published.
It has since been extensively advertised in the UK on the Internet.

http://bookshop.black...Deposit/9781424131754

If you are still unable to get published in the UK, then try PublishAmerica.com you won't be disappointed. They even send you a Dollar bill to prove they are not after your money.

[Garmard]

Wak,
thanks for giving such brilliant and encouraging advice. I think there is also a site called Authonomy that is owned by Harper and Collins that uses the same method to get a novice writer published. I hope to realise my dream........soon?

[Wak]

You're very welcome. Best of Luck and Nil Desperandum.