4) What advice would you give to authors?

Bold Strokes: Write because you love it. If you’re interested in publishing, familiarize yourself with the various publishers before submitting your manuscript. Most importantly, don’t give up.

Circlet: The markets and the way money works in publishing is changing rapidly, but there will always be a need for storytellers, and there will always be readers. It's just that the ways of putting them together are changing radically. You still have to perfect your craft and mastery of the language no matter what.

Intaglio: If you’re planning to submit your manuscript to a publisher, you should read the guidelines for submission before hitting the send button. Typically, if you ignore those guidelines, it tells the publisher that you were unwilling to meet their requests or simply cannot follow instructions. If you’re asked to send a cover letter along with the manuscript, make sure you spell check it first. A cover letter with misspelled or misused words more than likely will ruin your chances, even if the manuscript is perfectly polished. Here’s the biggie: learn to be patient. Publishing houses are inundated with submissions. It takes awhile to conduct a proper review. If you’ve already published a book, take what you learned from the editing process and apply it to the next project you plan to submit. It shows the publisher that you’ve learned a few things and you’re taking your work seriously. All of our most seasoned authors will tell you they learn something from every editing process.

Lethe: Aim high. Be ambitious. Know you are human. The community of writers is a varied one but one that needs your voice. Try and attend Saints and Sinners, a terrific queer literary conference held every May in New Orleans. (Editor note: read Amie M. Evans article about this event in this issue.)

P.D.: First and foremost, have others read your work and encourage them to give you constructive criticism. Some just use family and friends,  others get into reading groups or author groups. Don't use a group that only pats each other on the back. Not only does constructive criticism help you learn how others may do something differently, but it starts thickening up your hide from when you start submitting your work to publishers.  On that note, PLEASE read each publishing house set of submission guidelines. There is nothing worse than getting a rejection and it only is because of not reading instructions.  Find a type of publisher that fits you and your personality, which means learn as much as possible from online email groups, blogs, and list journals before jumping into the publishing world.  Stay with your gut instinct as well when you get the vibes from email correspondence. Talk to authors at different publishing houses as well as self-publishers to find the niche that you like. Lastly, don't be so desperate to get published that you'll accept any publisher or any contract - pay for an attorney to give you greater detail/understanding about the offered boiler-plate contract. Do not hesitate to ask the publisher for clarification on points you do not fully understand. They should not be hesitant in responding to your concerns.

RedBone: Authors should keep writing. Authors should research all they can about their craft, and become the best they can be. Writing is work; don't let anybody tell you different. And when sending a book proposal to a publisher, research how to do that, too; publishers appreciate a well-thought, well-put together package.

Spinifex: Get yourself established in the reading communities you know best first. If it's literary send stories to literary magazines, anthologies and competitions. Same for poetry. For a poet being a good reader of your work is a great advantage. Think of new and creative ways of presenting your work. Most of all read, read, read and write, write, write. You wouldn't expect a runner to get to Olympics without training. The same applies to writing. Most of us have been doing both of these things all our lives, but being paid for it takes time and work.

STARbooks: Keep plugging away. Get a few short stories published in anthologies, and don’t haggle over payment. I had a mediocre author refuse to contribute because we wouldn’t pay him what basically was the cost of publishing the book for on eight-page story. If you come across as demanding, you won’t be asked to contribute again. If you get a good reputation with a publisher, your novel or non-fiction title will get better consideration. Our best novelists began as short story contributors. Once you are published, it is up to you to promote your books and arrange any publicity you can get.

Wildcat: These are tough times for authors, especially new ones. It isn't easy to get published right now -- even by the small presses. A number of LGBT publishers have closed their doors in recent years, and the ones who are still active are being cautious about what they publish. 

So an author hopeful should be prepared to keep on keeping on, and believing in what she or he is writing, no matter how discouraging things get. Also, it's important to learn everything possible about the business before jumping into it. Read books, find information online, talk to people in the business.  The more you know, the better your chances of not signing a bad contract when you finally get a chance to publish.

Fortunately some new authors do break into print these days, and they do well.  And if you don't find a publisher, the availability of "print on demand" technology makes self-publishing be an attractive option these days.  Here again, you have to do your homework. Make sure you don't fall into the clutches of a vanity press, and be prepared for a lot of hard work if you go the self-publishing route.  Real self-publishing is not vanity publishing. Another good publishing possibility to consider is iUniverse.

For authors needing information, I have a feature on my webpage called "Secrets of Writing and Publishing." It has a menu of help articles on a lot of different subjects.  http://www.wildcatintl.com/pnw.cfm?view=secrets.