Welcome to the writers corner. Here's a few tips for aspiring writers looking to become published authors.

HOW TO GET PUBLISHED IN 10 EASY STEPS

1. FINISH YOUR NOVEL. Don't worry about anything else until it's done. One it's finished, edit, edit, edit, till it shines.

2. Set your goals! Do you want to be the next Stephenie Meyer or Stephen King? Then you're gonna need a literary agent. Do you just want to write for a small audience? Research some small press publishers.
Do you have a niche book that might have a hard time finding space in a book store or just want to publish for a group of devoted friends and family? Research self publishers like Lulu and Createspace. NEVER pay someone to publish your book. If you need to pay for editing, that's up to you, but no decent publisher will charge you to publish your book.

3. If you aren't self publishing, you are gonna need to write a killer query letter. I recomend you check out http://elanajohnson.blogspot.com/p/writing-query-letter.html for your query how-to.

4. Make a list of literary agents (or small press publishers) you want to query. I recomend using QueryTracker.com. It's free and an amazing resource.

5. Remember to check each individual person's SUBMISSION GUIDELINES. Everybody wants something different, don't get rejected just because you didn't do your homework.

6. Query widely. Remember, only agents can submit your work to major publishers.

7. Take rejections with a grain of salt. Publishing is a numbers game. Everybody gets rejections at first. EVERYBODY. Be professional. Don't bad mouth anyone. It's a small community and you don't want to get a bad reputation.

8. Wait. Then, wait longer. It takes 2 minutes to two months to hear back from a query letter. After 2 months, send a gentle "did you recieve my query letter?" letter or resubmit. If you still don't get a response, mark it as a reject. You don't want to work with someone who ignores you anyway, right?

9. Still waiting. In the mean time, write something new. It keeps you from obsessing and it keeps the creative juices flowing.

10. You get the magic "yes" from an agent or small press publisher. Congrats. Now the real work begins.
~OR~
Still no bites? Consider revising or send out something new. Remember, not every great book gets published, and not every published book is great. Just keep writing and always believe in yourself!

Good luck!
~Sherry