my first work

[putter]

I'm sure this has been asked and answered, thousands of times but I'm gonna do it, anyway.
I've written a work of light fiction and have no idea where to go now. I'm not even sure how to categorize it.
Boy, am I green.
I'd like to find an agent but the few I've contacted, haven't responded. I'm probably not even doing that right.
Publish America has asked me to submit my story. Is that a smart thing to do?
As you can see, I'm a little lost, here.
Any help at all, would be most appreciated.

[Ol' Fashioned Girl]

Before you do anything else go to the 'Bewares and Background Checks' section of this site and read 'the Never Ending Publish America Thread'. You don't have to read it all... jump in anywhere and read for awhile. Then jump out and jump in again anywhere else in the same thread.

When you get tired there (that is if you don't get hooked and keep reading 'til your eyes bleed), go here:

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10211

That's the 'Reasons We Don't Recommend Publish America' thread. From there, you can go to an analysis of the contract... but hopefully you'll have seen the light about PA by then and will be ready to visit the 'Writing Studios' section where you can learn all kinds of wonderful things.

Welcome to AW, by the way. ;)

[Cathy C]

I'm sure this has been asked and answered, thousands of times but I'm gonna do it, anyway.
I've written a work of light fiction and have no idea where to go now. I'm not even sure how to categorize it.
Boy, am I green.
I'd like to find an agent but the few I've contacted, haven't responded. I'm probably not even doing that right.
Publish America has asked me to submit my story. Is that a smart thing to do?
As you can see, I'm a little lost, here.
Any help at all, would be most appreciated.

Welcome, putter! Never fear! We're here to help you find your way! :)

Okay, when you say a "work of light fiction," do you mean a short story or a book? That's the first place to start. Next, it will help you quite a bit to be able to know what genre you write. Here's a lecture (http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18764) I wrote up about the various genres of fiction which might help you decide how to classify it.

Finding an agent is no easy task, so you're in good company! The best thing you can do is to purchase a book called "Writer's Market" which is put out by Writer's Digest magazine. You can also subscribe to their internet service instead, which is here (http://www.writersmarket.com/index_ns.asp). There are lots of listings of agents as well as publishers, to help you get started. Another good place to check is the Association of Author Representatives (http://www.aar-online.org/mc/page.do?sitePageId=10336). The link here takes you to a Frequently Asked Questions page that explains what an agent is and what they should do for you. It's a good place to start for basic information. Sometimes, just knowing what questions to ask is a big help! While not every good agent is a member of AAR, many are and nearly all of the good ones at least follow their Canon of Ethics (http://www.aar-online.org/mc/page.do?sitePageId=10337), including treating authors fairly, not charging fees to represent them, and dealing ethically with publishers.

Next, Ol' Fashioned Girl gives good advice about PublishAmerica. They are what is known as a "vanity" or "subsidy" publisher, and you want to stay away from them. They CHARGE you money to publish your book, instead of the publisher PAYING you money, as it's supposed to be. There are quite a few scam publishers out there, just waiting to coax your wallet open, so be very cautious and check a publisher out thoroughly before sending your book! We have a list of inquiries about publishers here (http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=792), where you can see what others think about them. There is also a great website called Preditors and Editors (http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/), which lists information about publishers, and SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America) has a website called Writer Beware (http://www.sfwa.org/beware/)that lists scams and how to avoid them.

Good luck, and feel free to ask any other questions you might think of!

[putter]

Thank you so much, both of you.

I think i got the drift on "PA".
And I will do the assighned home work.
The work of light fiction is book length - 52000 some odd pages and I guess it would be mainstream,,, maybe,,,,???
Thanks again
Mac

[putter]

Wow!
I've done some of the assigned home work and Publishamerica has been shredded.
Come to think of it, in their response to me, they misspelled my name. That should have been my first clue.
Mac

[putter]

Ok, after further homework,, contemporary is probaly the genre.
Thanx, Cathy C and Ol' girl

[Julie Worth]

52000 some odd pages

That might a bit too long for a first novel!

[putter]

I'm so sorry. I meant words. My bad