The Lawgiver’s Seven Commandments of Publishing

The Lawgiver is clear. For the fiction writer, there are no publishing shortcuts, only the slow, hard route through a reputable publishing house. The lawgiver issued down eleven seven publishing commandments, which a writer must follow:

1. Just as a manufacturer designs a product for a profitable target market before a single item is produced, the fiction writer must write for readers that will buy a publisher’s books. Who will read your fiction? Will you write for the literary class or the masses? Will you write speculative fiction about an upside down world where man rules ape or a tale of horror about a talking man that preys on ape? Will you write a romantic tragedy of two star-crossed lovers, one gorilla and the other, chimpanzee?
2. A story must be written to be published. Book publishing is not the Babylonian whore of man, Hollywood. You cannot secure a contract with an idea. Many have an idea. Few have a book or a short story.
3. Only a foolish ape solicits a multitude of publishers. Discover which publishers publish fiction that is similar to your story.
4. Focus on the publishers most likely to bear fruit for your labor. Delve further into your publisher research. Find the publishers with the best fit for your fiction, and learn how they are to be approached.
5. According to the publishers needs, prepare your manuscript. Some guidelines are fairly common among publishers. Be certain that you are following any special requirements expected by each publisher.
6. Send exactly what the publisher wants; no more, no less.
7. Wait, but do not be idle. Just as the wheel of the man cart turns and turns, follow the writing-publishing cycle. While the publisher ponders your fiction, write for the next publisher, returning to commandment 1.

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4. Ape Lady in Paris Review
5. The Path to Publishing Fiction