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Hi, Lasya,

Thanks for posting. I’m pleased to hear that my books have been going over well with you, and that you’re interested in the steps my writing career has taken. I’ll try to get to all your questions.

Literary agent. Sometimes these are harder to get than publishers, especially for a beginning writer. Their fees are usually a percentage of the earnings of the book(s) the author produces. To find an agent and/or a publisher, I recommend that you go to your public library and ask for a book on Writers’ Markets. That book will list all of both, and you’ll be able to see which ones will take on newbies, which publishers accept unagented manuscripts, and pretty much everything you need to know.

Professionlly edited? I didn’t. Do you have a favorite person — Mom, aunt, teacher, someone who will read your work and give you an honest opinion? And yourself — writing it isn’t enough. You have to work with it, read it through as many times as it takes to make sure it reads well and there are no typos or (gasp!) grammatical errors.

Covering letter — It should tell a little about yourself and your book, but be short enough so that the person who first gets it won’t find it too long and set it aside. And a stamped, self-addressed envelope for their reply — or a bigger one if you want the whole thing back. “Sorry – this does not meet our present needs” is an all-too-real possibility. A disappointment which should NOT discourage you. 

I was 12 when I started out, and I think I just got lucky. Someone at Scholastic read my book and liked it, and sent it to a senior editor. And the rest is now 104 books ago, with several publishing companies, all of which are very nice to and supportive of me. I wish you the same smooth sailing and ultimate success. I hope to be writing you a fan letter one of these days!

                                                        Best regards,                                              —–Gordon Korman—–

P.S. Oops. Forgot one. From the time your book is accepted until the time it appears for sale can be as short as a few months, and is likely going to take a year or more. Most publishing companies have a queue for releases, so unless your book has a time-sensitive topic, you get to wait your turn.