Q&A for How to Publish a Book

Word of mouth makes a tremendous difference! It builds slowly, but with good books, it can really have an important impact. Above all, make sure that you keep your expectations realistic—people have to know that your book is out there, which can be difficult to do sometimes.

Absolutely! Anyone can publish books. If you're under 18, you just need your parents' permission.

Yes. If going through a publishing house, the author will receive a percentage of the book sales, which will be applied to the author's advance, if any, until that's paid. After that, the author will receive royalty checks from the publisher monthly/quarterly, less an agent's fee (if any).

Yes, I have seen a kid actually publish a book written in my class (grade 9 English). He took lots of time editing the book, and a year later he got it published and actually sold a few copies.

Yes, a published novel indicates you're interested in writing, and probably pretty good at it, even if it is self-published. Colleges are just as interested in your experience and skills as they are your grades.

Yes, of course. Just write something worth publishing and get a publisher to look at it. This article will point you in the right direction: how to publish a book at a young age .

You are a minor and cannot legally sign a contract, so you will need to talk to your parents first so they are prepared to sign the contract with you if an agent offers representation. Other than that, your steps will be the same as for an adult.

This depends largely on how much time you are willing to put into marketing your book. Use avenues such as social media and local bookstores to get the word out, and encourage friends and family to spread word-of-mouth and leave favorable reviews. Ultimately, though, there is no way to predict how many sales you'll see from your publication, it will depend entirely on how popular it becomes with the readers.

Yes. You will just need parental permission and signatures for most legal documentation.

You'll have signed a contract, of course. As to the exact payment method, credit card or personal check (or even cash, if you prefer) is probably fine.

No, you can figure out the title of your book after you finish it if you want to. But it would be best to have the title ready when you are preparing your book to be reviewed by publishers.

Yes! Anyone can publish a book.

Good publishers will take you seriously. If you run into publishers who don't, you'd be better off with another. If you can't find anyone to take you seriously, try to self-publish.

You can write a collection of poem(s) and see if you can find a publisher who will print the book, you can self-publish, or try to get a few poems included in a larger anthology of poems.

You can still publish, either in the U.S., or wait until you go back to your home country.

In most cases, no. There are many better sources, such as online writing forums, where you can find other writers (both published and unpublished), as well as agents and people who work in publishing who are willing to answer questions and offer advice.

When I was around your age, I did a number of things for inspiration. What I did most often, and still do today, is write about my experiences. This doesn't mean that I wrote an autobiography, but I took something that I've experienced and built that idea into a whole story.

Use a pseudonym, which is just a make-believe name. A lot of authors do this if they still want to carry on with a "normal" life.

If you self-publish, yes. If somebody else publishes you, they will either charge you up front, take a cut of your sales or -- in some cases -- publish you for free.

Yes, it can be done but you must make sure your publisher is notified. Royalties will be split but it should be about the same thing. Just note most publishers have probably never published a double team book, so make sure you help them if you end up getting a contract.

Yes, it's called self-publishing. Just Google self publishers and you will have lots of options.

It depends on the type of agent you're looking for. Most do require payment though, so you should probably have a good amount of money to prepare for any costs associated with literary agents.

They should not charge you anything up front, they should pay you to publish your book. However once the book is published, they receive a percentage of the profits from sales. That is how publishing companies stay in business.

Yes, there are many works like that. Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate is a fiction book written in a series of poems.

You should not pay for any of these things. Money always flows towards the author. This means that when a copy of a book is sold, the publisher takes their cut, then sends the remaining money to the agent, who takes out their 15% and sends the rest to you. You do not pay agents or publishers up front.

No, you do not need to meet in person. Many authors speak with their agents only on email and over the phone.

Follow the instructions listed in the article above.

Yes! Anyone of any age can publish a book, but if you are under the age of 18 you must have your parents' permission.

You can, though if you are under 18 years of age, you will have to ask your parents for permission and have them sign the contract. No one is going to discriminate against your manuscript based on your age, but realistically, an adult's manuscript is more likely to be accepted simply because they tend to have more writing experience, in addition to better-developed understanding of life and people, which is likely to make their writing better. There are always exceptions, though.

Yes! You can publish any book as long as you either get an agent or self publish it.