Writer publishing.
 

I don't think this belongs in the Arts and Crafts, because I'm not showing anything off, but I figure i'd place my bet here.

My problem is, I've written two books right now. Both are fantasy novels, the first one kinda action/adventure-y, the second one a drama (and part one of two, might I add,) and I'm working on a third.

My problem is, I'm an unsolicited author.

I'm sure that there's some way I could get published while unsolicited, but I'd rather at least try for something else. So here's the topic's point;

Does anyone know of any sort of game, computer, fantasy, or anything similar magazine, online or offline, that accepts unsolicited materials? I've already checked out a few; Dragon Mag, the DND source, accepts nothing unsolicited, neither does Gamepro (unless you count their quarter-page fan 'review' slot).

I would write for my local newspaper, but this is not only Mendocino "Synonym with Marajuana" County, but the local newspaper sucks the shit out of all other newspapers. This is the 'bottom of the barrel' for news based publishing.

And, of course, for any aspiring authors (I know Rai Rai is one of them, but you may have moved beyond that by now) this could be helpful for them too.

Well, you could try to get lucky by submitting it to a publisher, hoping an editor sees it, likes it, and puts you in touch with an agent. ;) Other than submitting it into the ever-growing piles of hopefuls, I'm not sure how you'd go about getting a fantasy novel published. I mean, you could try to interest an agent, but I've been told that most will only really want you if they have some sort of sign that it'll sell.

Best bet, Mirai, is to pick up a copy of 'Writer's Market 2005.' Or '2006' if that edition is out yet.

Writer's Market has listings of hundreds of different publications that publish works by aspiring authors and veterans alike. Most take short prose, but there are probably a few out there that would accept larger works. Each pulication that is listed has certain criteria for the works that they pulbish. This could be anything from 'Modern Gothica Exestentialist' to 'Harlequinn Romance.'

Find a seres of publications that you feel your work falls into. Do a little research on them and, most importantly, pick up a couple of their magazines/zines/pulp novels/whatever they produce and sit down and read them. Get a feel for the audience that you're trying to get the publications to sell your work to.

The publications will pay you in either money, or copies. Sometimes both, but always with, at least, copies.

Get some short stories printed, and start building up a 'resume.' Keep all the copies that you earn. Then, in five or six yearsm get yourself an agent. Research these too. After you get an agent, start looking to publish your books.

And, pick up a copy of 'Literary Marketplace.' It wouldn't hurt.

Um...guys, I already know about all those. I was mostly asking about magazines that would publish that sort of thing. I've already gone through Writer's Market 2006 and checked off a few places that would accept unagented, unsolicited material, and once I get a few more revisions of my books, off they go.

Mostly, I was looking for something to publish that anyone would know of, from word of mouth. These are usually more reliable than wild-goose-chases in Writer's Market.

I know a few people that have published fantasy with Wizards of the Coast. They really don't treat writers well, but if you want your work out there, they can help.

I asked my boyfriend, who has a couple of stories published and plenty of newspaper articles, about publishing. I will try to summarize what he said:

A publisher is always swarmed with new stories. Most of them are brilliant. Publishing a new writer is a very risky move for any publisher who is in the business to make money. That's the catch- you have to have experience but you can't get experience. The way to differentiate yourself is to go through anyone but the publisher's aides (who are the ones who actually skim over your story). If you are a college student/grad, you have an advantage. All the universities I've been to have an alumni database where you can search by profession to find any alumni in any profession. You need to contact this person, mention that you go/went to the same school and network through him. People are always happy to help out fellow Wildcats or Blue Devils or what-have-you. The people who actually read your stories usually barely look at them with EXTREMELY prejudicial eyes. But if this person's boss hands him a story and says, "I know this guy. Tell me what you think about his story." That will probably increase your chances several fold because you already have someone's blessing.
A good graphic title page for your story actually helps a lot too. If you need help with that, I'm sure several eager forumites could help you. ;)
Chicago used to have this bimonthly free magazine for freelance authors to get credentials. I haven't seen it in a few years, but I'm sure there are many out there. Maybe a google search could prove profitable.

Best of luck to you!

How open are you to sites like fictionpress.com ? I used the fanfiction version of that site for a while *shrugs* but then, I never wanted anything published.

Fictionpress.net is like dishonorable seppuku for writers. There's no publishing in it. It's all "Put up my story," and watch all the shitty l33tsp33k reviews you get.

It's not publishing. It's sodomy.

Good luck to you. I've been trying for a while to find a place that is accepting, yet alone that has the time to take in my material and have a look. In the end, I gave up, and my ideas are gathering dust at the back of the closet somewhere.

This is where a lottery win would come in handy. I've always loved the idea of being a publisher. But alas, that dream fades with money just as the dream of having anything published fades with their 'lack of time'.

I'm not sure if it's what you're looking for, but Lulu comes highly recommended from the TWiT cast, among others, and that means 'highly reputable.' It uses an unconventional printing method, I believe on-demand of sorts, so the author doesn't have any big debts, but still gets good profit (if it sells).

Hm. Maybe I'm being inspecific.

I'm, more specifically, looking for some sort of regularly published material, IE internet source, that publishes articles but isn't just a "Title here, document here, "Upload button."" sort of thing.

Sounds like I'm getting a wild goose chase, really. I'll just start throwing my books at publishers.

I've done this for nine years, I'm not about to quit now.