Summary of the Semester

Overall I found the course to be pretty enjoyable. I was given a good amount of helpful suggestions for my work, so I am thankful for that. The tips I was given were creative, and I felt that they really improved what I had already written. Having others read my work is always beneficial. I also got to read some good stories by other aspiring authors, which I enjoyed. If I had to name any downside to this though, its that I ended up spending a lot more time writing critiques than I spent writing my own work. Still, the help I obtained through this process was beneficial.

I do intend to send out my query letter, but not until I actually finish writing my story. I will also have to slightly alter the format of the letter, as the format the DAW Books requests for their submissions is a little different from the format required for our final portfolio. I also want to finish the story first so I can give an accurate word-count, and a more up to date summary of the story.

I actually did not find it difficult to find a publisher to choose. I went to Penguin Group and saw that the listed DAW Books as currently taking submissions for sci-fi and fantasy, so that was absolutely perfect.

It is unlikely that I will continue blogging on this blog. I felt like this blog was just for work in this class, and so I would like to separate that from work I would like to do in the future. Also, many bloggers I read use Word Press, and I like the look of Word Press much more than Blogger.

I am open to self-publishing, as I know of several writers I like who have enjoyed moderate success through self-publishing. I don't exactly know how to do this, but I know that I could contact one or two of the writers I know of who would probably let me know how it works, or point me in the right direction.

Overall I have enjoyed this class, and feel like I have gained a lot from it. I am actually kind of sad that its over, because Creative Writing and other English related classes are the only classes I really enjoy anymore.

Publishing Houses

            How I picked which publishing house I would prefer was not all that complicated. I mostly looked how their website looked, and what sorts of books they published. St. Martin’s Press didn’t seem to have much fantasy or sci-fi books, so that one wouldn’t work out. Same thing with Little Brown. I also couldn’t find much of a list of their books, save for a few new releases, so I found their website a bit difficult to navigate.

Harper Collins, Penguin, and Random House all seemed to have a large selection of books looked good. Of those I think I would pick either Penguin or Random House. That is mostly because I know I have read books from those publishing houses that I have enjoyed, but I’m not sure if I have read a book from Harper Collins. I probably have, but don’t recall. I also just liked the way their websites were laid out, as opposed to Harper Collins.

So yeah, not a very complicated selection process, but there you go.