Help with finding Publishing companies.?

Does anyone know of any really good publishing companies that'll work with someone who doesn't have any money to publish his work while allowing him to keep his work the way it is? I don't have the cash for self publishing etc.

Please help. My biggest fear is that I'll have to sign all rights to my work over to a publisher for him to change my work to his ideas where it'll be published. This is bothering me. I am doing this to pay off some debts and to survive. I was told that if I take my work over to a publisher I'd have to sign away all rights to my work to the publisher just to get it going. Does an author also have to have a lawyer? I don't have the money for one and could use help with this. How many words make up a novel? I have a sum of 16,868 words written over a total of six chapters.Help with finding Publishing companies.?
If you don't want to self publish or vanity publish (i.e., pay money to get your work in print), you're going to have to submit to the editorial process.



Now, I sincerely doubt they would take your work on if they wanted to change it 100%, but they might ask you to do some revisions.



If you can't stand the idea of changing a single word of your work, perhaps professional writing is not for you. The editorial process is not about a publisher inserting "his ideas" into your work. The editor and publisher don't want to do that. They want to make your work better and more marketable. You have to accept that your work has flaws and shortcomings and might benefit from some changes. You don't have to like being criticized, but you have to be able to handle it professionally and accept other people's input.



Also, don't expect to make a lot of money right away. If you're trying to get out of debt, there are about a million other things you can do to make money. This is sort of like deciding to become an actor or start a band to pay off your debts. It doesn't make sense. If that's what you want to do with your life, fine. In the meantime, get a day job to make some money.
Unfortunately, you'll never make a living by writing. I know. I've tried.



However, your fears of them changing your work are unfounded. A publisher does not have time to change a manuscript they've accepted.



Get a copy of Writers Market and start learning about writing. There is more money in writing short stuff (short stories and nonfiction articles) than books and the competition is not quite as fierce. Everyone thinks they can write a novel, but few wannabees tackle the magazine market.



The best paid writers today are technical writers. They are hired by corporations and get a salary and benefits. They are followed by screenwriters, then nonfiction writers (magazines). The novelists are actually the poor cousins.Help with finding Publishing companies.?
Most major publishers will not talk to you unless you first have a literary agent.



So you should start by querying agents. This is done with a one page letter describing yourself and your book. Sometimes the agent will request you include the first few pages or chapters, but that is an individual preference.



There are several websites out there that will help you find an agent, my favorite is QueryTracker.net at http://www.querytracker.net/ . It is free and has a list of literary agents and also tools to help you keep track of who you already queried and who you haven't, plus more.



They do a good job of keeping the crooks off their lists, but it is still a good idea to double check at http://www.sfwa.org/beware/twentyworst.h…



There are a lot of crooks out there. Never pay anyone to read or publish your book. A real agent will never ask for money except as a percentage of your royalties.



Keep in mind that finding an agent and getting published is not an easy process. Some people have to query hundreds of agents before they find one who will accept them (sadly, some never get accepted), but be persistent and keep trying.



You should also visit http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums one of the largest forums for writers. They can be very helpful.



Good luck.
all want your money first.Help with finding Publishing companies.?
Don't plan on paying off any debts with writing. Not unless your book is a million seller, you get a huge advance or they make a movie from it. Most authors get only 15% of the book sales. If your book sells for $25.00, you will get $3.75 on that sale.



You'll need a literary agent unless you want to self-publish your work. 16,000 words aren't enough for a novel. You'll need at least 45,000 to consider it a novel.



Quote:



Novel: Generally any work of prose fiction over 45,000 words, ranging to about 150,000 words.



Novella/Novelette: Short novel averaging 7,000 - 40,000 words. These terms are often used somewhat interchangeably, although novellas tend to be longer, and novelettes shorter.



Short Story: Prose fiction of about 2,000 - 7,500 words.



Short Short: Prose fiction under 2,000 words.



Flash Fiction: (also known as sudden fiction or micro fiction) Prose fiction under 1000, 500, or even 99 words, depending on the market or guidelines.



Unquote



Here is what you'll need to know before you even start.











Writing a book takes more than just sitting down and putting your idea into words. There are a lot of things that you have to consider.



You need a good grasp of the English language. Spelling and Grammar. You will also need to check and recheck your work. Editors are very expensive these days.



You need to know how to write an effective ‘query letter’ to a literary agent.



Can you write a synopsis that will hold the interest of the agent, and want to make him or her ask for the first three chapters of your work?



Do you know how to outline?



You’ll need to know how to format your manuscript. This includes the fonts that

most agents, editors, and publishers want.



Do you know what Point of View is? (POV) Do you know how to write in First Person Point of View? The can’s and can not’s?



Do you know how to write dialogue? How to format dialogue?



It’s a good idea to know some of the publishing laws. The use of names and places.



These include

o Delivery Of Satisfactory Copy

o Permission for Copyrighted Material

o Grant Of Rights

o Proofreading and Author's Corrections

o Advances and Royalties

o Author's Warranties and Indemnities

o Copies to Author

o Option Clause

Do you know how to get a ‘word count?



Do you know what a prologue is? An epilogue? Do you know how both of them are used and why?



Do you know what the word ‘genre’ means?



You’ll need to know how to use the proper ‘page set up’ for your work. Margins, indents, paragraphs.



Are you prepared to do a lot of ‘research’ involving your work? Many professionals such as, doctors, lawyers, nurses, public accountants, judges, architects, bricklayers, engineers, and police officers read, too.



Do you know what a plot is? A sub-plot?



Can you take rejection and constructive criticism? If you’re easily hurt in the feelings department, then this hobby is not meant for you. Critics will tear you apart or build you up. The best writers in the world “King, Patterson, Koontz, J.K. Rowling, and many others” have been torn up one side and down the other. You can’t please everyone.



If you decide to hire an editor, remember: Your manuscript will be double spaced, which means there will be twice as many pages. A 600 page novel could cost you around $1800.00, some even more depending on what the editor charges a page.



These are the things you must know to work at your craft. But don’t let these things deter you from writing. There are books in libraries and bookstores that can teach you all of these things. Buying these books (if you want to be a serious writer) is the best thing to do. Why? Well, because you can use a yellow marker to highlight all the points of interest. Then you can use the front of the book to make page references to those markings in order to check back on them at a later date, when you need to.



You’ll need to get a copy of Writer’s Market for the current year. This has literary agents whom you can send out query letters to. Some of them allow email queries.



I wish you the best of luck!
The people who make money on their writing, enough to pay off debts and make a living are extremely rare. This just doesn't happen to the average writer. You're going to have to keep working a job.



Let's explore publishing logically (dead writers just turned over in their graves, did you hear that?). A legitimate publisher gets hundreds of submissions a week--from agents representing writers, from writers themselves who have navigated the submission guidelines correctly, etc. Out of this they find one, maybe, in a couple or few weeks that they feel suits their publishing goals and has the qualities to make a good book. They chose it because they thought it was well done, not because they thought they could take and change it and not give the writer any credit.



Legitimate publishers don't take away your work. They contract with you for a method of publicly releasing your work because, let's face it, publishers make more money on the books sold than authors do. You retain the copyright or ownership of your writing while they have the right to publish it. Legitimate publishers don't charge writers to publish their work. Anyone in the writing industry who asks for money from you up front should be avoided at all cost.



You may want to look into finding a reputable literary agent to represent your work to publishers. They do the leg work--and you pay them out of your book royalties once they get you a publisher and things get going. But beware. Finding a reputable agent to take you on is sort of like finding a publisher on your own. It takes time, research and a lot of effort.
I would look at getting an agent before trying to go straight through a publisher. You can find many on writer's market. The agent will do all the work to get your book published. And the agent doesn't get paid unless you get published...they do all the dirty work such as negotiations and such.



As far as how many words make up a novel...I've seen many places that a good count is 85,000.