# Looking for some advice for getting published



## psion (Apr 19, 2011)

Something I've been thinking about for awhile and not sure if this has been discussed before in another thread but for those of us who have had experience getting things published, what have your experiences been?  Have you had more success with an established publishing company (big or small) or with self-publishing?  What was the most unexpected side effect or complication you encountered?  What medium do you prefer to get published in and why?
Thanks in advance.


----------



## Cain (Apr 20, 2011)

1st thing, if you ever see a company online that offers free publishing, always google it, and see if people say it's fake, which usually it is.


----------



## sunandshadow (Apr 20, 2011)

AbsoluteWrite has good information about which publishers are scammers and which aren't.  The worst is PublishAmerica, stay far away from them.

For self-publishing vs. traditional publishing, the way things seem to be going is this: if you have written a non-erotic original novel you will make more money and build more reputation if you can get it published traditionally (in a paper format, not straight to ebook).  If you write erotic novels which aren't too niche you should probably try the traditional publishing route first.  If you write erotic short stories and novellas, or erotica for a small niche market, or niche non-fiction, there are limited traditional publishing opportunities for those so you should consider self-publishing them straight to ebook or working with an ebook publisher that handles distribution for a really small cut.


----------



## M. LeRenard (Apr 20, 2011)

Some old threads on the subject:
Getting published [by] Poetigress - http://forums.furaffinity.net/showthread.php?t=18658
Information On Publishing [by] kitreshawn - http://forums.furaffinity.net/showthread.php?t=32384
Writing From A Publishers View [by] kitreshawn - http://forums.furaffinity.net/showthread.php?t=26323
(*Please don't post in those threads, or people will flip out.*)

Anyway, my personal experience has been with magazines only so far, and what I'll tell you is that if you want to go the traditional route, you've got to be extremely patient.  You've written a short story you just love, and you think everyone else will love it too, but then you end up waiting for three months to get a rejection letter.  And that's not an exaggeration.  And then another two months for the next rejection letter.  
So that's why I'm setting aside many years to see if my novel can get published anywhere.  I expect it will probably take that long for a positive answer.

Also, I use this to find magazines: http://www.duotrope.com
And there's also: http://www.ralan.com

I think sunandshadow pretty much covered it for erotica, though.  Sex and cuss-words are things people get real picky about, so make sure you read guidelines before you submit anything anywhere, else just go the self-publishing route if you think it'll be impossible to find the right venue.


----------



## psion (Apr 20, 2011)

@ Jagged Edge:  That should be common sense but as common sense isn't all that common... thanks, I'll keep it in mind.

@ sunandshadow: Thanks for the leads (well, the lead and the tip about who I should stay away from) and the advice.  Though since this is furrydom and we abuse the definition of porn to no end, I'll ask just to make sure I'm keeping up with the conversation.  When referring to erotica, are you specifically referring to stories featuring nudity and/or sexual activities?  Or are you referring to the more general "I can fap to this" definition the fandom prefers to use?

@ Renard: Thanks for the link, magazines were something I considered only briefly but perhaps I should give them another look.  As for the bit on patience... yeah that's something I'm afraid of and one of the reasons why I'm leaning towards self-publishing (though I realize that has its own problems in turn.)  Though granted from where I'm sitting, what's a few more rejection letters?


----------



## sunandshadow (Apr 20, 2011)

My reading and writing isn't specifically furry, I'm more in the general science fiction and fantasy camp.  So, furry fandom aside, erotica is generally defined as fiction which contains explicit sex.  So basically, if you have anthros in a romance, but you 'fade to black' instead of having a bedroom scene, or have a vague and minimal description of sex, that is not erotica and you could probably get a science fiction or fantasy publisher to take it (assuming it's actually good fiction, a big assumption lol).

If you have an actual romance novel, which might involve borderline-anthros like werewolves, aliens which happen to resemble cats, mermaids, or that sort of thing, you can have fairly explicit sex and still get published as a steamy romance novel.


----------



## psion (Apr 21, 2011)

@ sunandshadow:  I figured as much but I thought I better ask just to make sure.  And yes, being "good" is always a huge assumption.
As for my writing, what I'm thinking of bringing to market is also more in the general science fiction and space opera camp.  I don't write romance mostly because its a subject I never really tried or had much personal experience with.


----------

