First of all. Hi, and thank you for your attention. I have registered here because I sarted writing a novel, as I am a huge anglophile and through the years I have read many books, watched many films and I felt more confortable writing in English, which is what brings me to this thread. Should I feel satisfied with my work when it's done, how would I go about trying to get it published in the US/UK as a foreigner?
Massive massive question - to answer it we'd need a lot more info like whether you want trad or self, paper or electronic etc
Then you submit to US/UK agents or US/UK publishers. A select few might want local authors (I came across some of these in my own search) but most are happy to take on an author from anywhere, as long as they think the book will sell and make money.
Nope and yes. Plenty of authors go through the entire process without a single face-to-face meeting, although I imagine it's rare to go through it without phone calls. If you think about the US, the major publishing hub is New York. An American author living in San Fransisco is going to find it just as difficult to mosey over to NY for a coffee as me in the UK, or you in your country. But people in or near NY don't make up the majority of authors. This is one of the reasons I really wanted an agent: she's near NY and she has the NY connections that I don't have and can't feasibly make.
There are a very small number of agents and publishers who want physical printed copies of submitted manuscripts, but even these can be sent through the mail. And for the vast majority, e-mail is fine or even preferred. I've never met my agent or any of my publishers in person. Don't think it's had a negative effect on anything.
There are some successful agents not based in New York, but I agree, there's a definite benefit to an agent who can meet face to face with people in publishing. My agent has contacted me several times with tips she picked up at lunch or at a party with publishing folks - she does the networking so I don't have to!
Very true, and there are also some good publishers not based in NY. My agents both live in Vermont, but they go to NY regularly and have those face-to-face meetings that I couldn't afford and wouldn't be invited to anyway.
How exactly would I get in touch with an agent after my work is done? Sorry if it seems like a dumb question but i'm fairly new to sailing these waters.
There's a whole query process. In a nutshell, you write a 250-ish word blurb for your book then send it out to agents you want to work with. If they like the blurb they'll ask to read the manuscript, and if they like the manuscript they might offer you representation and try to sell it to publishers. You'll need to do a lot of research nearer the time but for now, I'd just concentrate on your writing. You can only query once the novel is finished and as polished as you can get it, so no point getting distracted with other stuff at this stage.
