# A Couple Questions About Publishing



## Killer Croc (Nov 12, 2010)

Although I'm not ready to publish I've been trying to learn a little about the process. I have a couple questions I was hoping you could answer.

The first is about security. How do you make sure an agent/publisher won't reject your work and then publish it anyway? I'm sure this is very unlikely, especially from the more well-known publishers, but I've been working for years on this book and it means a lot to me, so I can't help fearing someone stealing it (I'm sure all authors understand the feeling).

The other question is also about legal rights. I've heard that it's possible to have your book printed (Lulu for example). Is it possible to have a couple copies of my book printed (not to sell, but just for the sake of having an unedited version and control over the cover etc.), but then send it to a publishing house to have it published? Or would the publisher/agent view the novel as "not fresh" and would there be legal conflicts? 

Any help would be appreciated.


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## Baron (Nov 12, 2010)

No reputable agent or publisher is going to steal your work.  The "Preditors and Editors" website has a guide to those who are to be avoided.

Works published on Lulu don't have to be made public.  You can publish solely for yourself.  This will not be regarded as an infringement of publishing first rights, which would only be the case if you made the book generally available.


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## Scarlett_156 (Nov 12, 2010)

To answer your first question:  No publishing company in its right collective mind would ever entertain the idea of stealing material from a writer who sends them an MS, solicited or un-.  Yes, it does happen sometimes, but it doesn't happen that often simply because the penalties for any publisher who DOES attempt to lift a writer's material without first obtaining the copyright are quite stiff in just about any country you can name, and also there are international laws pertaining to copyright. 

I do understand the feeling of fearing that your creation will be plagiarized, but in fact that is a fear that plagues novice writers--it will leave you as you gain experience.  Most writers find that the dread of eternal rejection slips--i.e., not attracting any attention at all with your writing no matter how hard you try--is much greater than the dread of plagiarism. 

Do not send your work to any entity--publisher, agent, or anybody--without verifying that said entity is really what it says it is.  Always do some research first.  A reputable, established publisher is of course not going to steal your work no matter how tempted he is; only a lowlife, small-time crud does something like that, and fortunately in publishing it's pretty easy to tell the two apart with only a minim of research. 

I would not send a self-published book to a publisher; if it's in a book already, it's already published, so of course the publisher--again, if he has a brain and is reasonably honest--is not gonna want do do anything with it.  Always follow the submission guidelines for the publisher or agent you are submitting to! 

What you CAN do with your self-published book is have a few copies printed and send them to various people in the literary world who might be inclined to review the work for you and give some input.  If you can collect a few good reviews from some people who have some influence in the publishing industry or some knowledge--for example, the professor who taught you creative writing in college, the published writer you're friends with on the internet, etc.--then you have a better chance of getting an agent or publisher to read your work. 

I hope that helps.


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## WriterJohnB (Nov 12, 2010)

Croc,

The procedures used in the publishing industry are generally self-policing. If your book is good, the agent will forward it to the publisher in hopes of future commissions. The publisher will front the money for publication in hopes of enough sales to make profits. Some pay advances, others just royalties. That's how they make their money and they have no need to "steal" your story, which may or may not sell as a novel, when they might jeopardize their professional reputation and possibly face criminal charges.

The rip-offs in this industry are the ones who want you to pay "reading fees" or "editing fees." (Which brings up another point. Why do you want your novel to be unedited? Are you that good there are no typos or other errors in your work?) There is also some fraud in the vanity publishing arena (where the author pays publishing fees), but they want YOUR MONEY not your novel. Remember, self-publishing still bears a stigma. If you go that route, it will be said your novel was not good enough to go the regular publication. A lot of the stigma is because of so many self-published authors who don't want their work to be edited, which usually means crappy writing in some manner.

Of course, you can self-publish if you think you can generate enough sales to interest a mainstream publisher. Some books have made the big-time this way.

There are many threads about both these questions on any writing forum. Go find them. Most writers are so sick of the newbies coming on and asking questions without bothering to find the answers themselves, that they won't reply to such a newbie question. You can also to to pred-ed.com, Preditors and Editors, to find out about unscrupulous agencies and publishing houses. They have many articles about the writing industry you should read. Also go to www.ralan.com and check out both writing advice and writing links.

Hope that helps. Too many writers jump straight into the publishing river without knowing how deep it is, when they could do a little research and find out where the shallows are located, so they can wade in safely. Don't rely on the forums. Most of the folks who will answer your questions don't know any more than you do.

Take care,

JohnB


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## Killer Croc (Nov 12, 2010)

Thank you so much everyone for the replies. This definitely answers my questions, and all the responses were helpful.



WriterJohnB said:


> (Which brings up another point. Why do you want your novel to be unedited? Are you that good there are no typos or other errors in your work?)



I can easily see how it could be interpreted that I'm arrogant and that my reasons are because I think I'm too good to be edited. Actually, by 'edited' I meant name/title changes and things like that, not grammar-related changes. I just want to make sure everyone knows that I realize an author needs to have the modesty to have their work edited, and my reasons for wanting a physical copy of the book in book-form are purely innocent and are not because I think I'm above editing and that I'm an above-average author or anything like that.

So please don't misunderstand my purpose and I apologize if it came off that way! Thanks again Baron, Scarlett and JohnB for the sound advice and warnings.


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## garza (Nov 12, 2010)

The name of the book is one of the first things that's likely to be changed. Name it whatever you want to, and the editors at the publishing house will find what they believe is a better title. Don't argue, just let it go. 

I've only had one book published that kept the original title. It was the autobiography of the head of the house that published it. The title was suggested by the subject and the editors worked for him. 

No, wait. There was that romance novel I wrote almost 50 years ago. The original title stayed with it.


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## WriterJohnB (Nov 14, 2010)

Croc,

Plagiarism does happen but it's rare. The writing community jumps on anyone they suspect and prosecution usually follows. But you do have to be careful. There's a guy, David Boyer, Iron Dave, Nickolas Paccione, and other aliases who keeps changing his name and asking for submissions. Some of the stories end up in other places, totally plagiarized. Here's a link to just ONE of the many threads writers are attacking him in. This is a warning for everyone not to have any doings with this guy. He ripped me off 4 years ago, not paying for a story and sending no contrib copy. I don't know if the story was truly published, but I thought Nick Paccione was gone, since I couldn't find him anymore. Nope, just changed his name and kept on stealing.  The Plot Thickens « The Rusty Nail


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