Tips for success and Pitfalls to Avoid

This list I have compiled from intense research I have done over the past few years. However, I have only came up with 7 tips and pitfalls. I will try to come up with 3 more very good ones in the next few weeks. Be adviced that I can not tell you which companies to avoid without being sued. However, I can tell you which ones I recommend.

• 1) Make sure the company is reputable to avoid scams. Check out the Better Business Bureau and ask other writers what their experiences were to get recommendations.
• 2) Avoid vanity publishing companies if at all possible. Lulu.com is the only exception. Most vanity companies charge huge amounts of money to publish your work. Chances are that if your book won't sell to a publishing company, then it probably won't sell if you self-publish either.
• 3) Do your homework! Make sure that your book is accurate, unique and stands out from the rest. If your book is unbelievable, then people won't buy it and you won't make money.
• 4) Know your audience. Writing for children? Hang out with children and find out what makes them tick. Using 60's slang in a book that takes place in modern times won't cut it for children and shouldn't cut it for you either.
• 5) If its sounds to good to be true, it is! No one gives away anything for free. Every offer has a catch. Be sure to read the legal exclusions and be sure you understand the terms before signing up for anything.
• 6) Some contests are scams! The biggest scam out there is the Poetry scam. You send in your poetry and they will judge it. Then, they will offer you a huge chance to go to a big convention where you can network with other poetry writers. Also, they offer your poem to you in a book for a price - more than what Lulu charges! You can also pay even more money to get your poem framed. Winners? After you have paid then entrance fees to the convention, paid for the book, and paid for the frame. They have made a lovely mint off of you and your poem isn't even sellable in its current state. Forget writing contest that promise you a deal. Too many of them are scams.
• 7) Know your source before you believe the source. The best way to find out all about getting your works published, is to go to writers who have successfully published their works. Anyone can give you advice about how to publish. But, unless they have actually published or have done intense and exhausting research, their advice really isn't going to be worth much. It will be worth as much as hearsay is.
• 8) Check to see what books the company has published and how available they are at prominent bookstores.
• 9) ? future thoughts
• 10) ? future thoughts

Other Resources

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Publishing Overseas Resources

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