Finding Plan B

So, let's recap a little, huh?

Sometime in February, I got a huge wakeup call that I am not doing what I want with my life. Okay, I should probably clarify that. I don't hate my job. I don't even dislike my job. But my job is not what I wanted to do. This state (six straight months of snow and counting!) is not where I wanted to be. And after this wake up call, I decided that it was about time to do something about it.

So, I found a manuscript that I had started nearly 6 years ago and decided to get it published come frozen over wasteland or high water. And, during this time, I found an article posted at Suvudu about a writing contest. So I went on a month-long editing sprint to get my manuscript ready to submit. And now, we wait.

Now, don't get me wrong; I'm probably not going to win that writing contest. I like my writing and I think I'm okay - but there are thousands of entries, most probably by people who have been honing their writing for years while I've been busy doing everything that's not writing. My possibilities are remote - and I know that.

Which is why I need a plan B. :)

And Plan B deals with figuring out how to get published. So, I went on a bit of a "research" trip. Okay, not really, I went to Barnes and Nobles online and read through a bunch of summaries, book reviews, and the like. I even picked up a title or two for my Nook! But mostly, while I was there, I checked out the books listed under Science Fiction / Fantasy...which just so happens to be the genre that my manuscript is in. Then, I wrote down the names of several publishing houses that had handled many of the books there.

Now, of these publishing houses, exactly one of them accepts manuscripts unsolicited. The rest require that you have a literary or publishing agent. So maybe Plan C will be to find an agent. I'll work on that later this week. But in the meantime, should you be interested in knowing the publishers that I found through this unconventional method of research, here is my list:

Random House Publishing - of course, this is the primary Publishing Group that created Suvudu, so it makes sense that they would have been one of the first I found. They're huge. And they require you to have an agent.

Penguin Group - Another huge publishing group. They also require that you have an agent except for one subsidiary, Daws Books, which does accept unsolicited manuscripts (at least for the time being) in Science Fiction / Fantasy.

HarperCollins Publishers - requires an agent.

Simon and Schuster Adult Publishing - agent required.

Hachette Book Group (including Little, Brown and Company) - agent required.

Of course, I have no idea how I'm going to go about getting an agent. Which is one reason why I'm leaving that for Plan C. Meanwhile, Plan B entails waiting for the official news regarding the winner of the writing contest at Suvudu, and then submitting my manuscript unsolicited to a new publisher...and lots of finger crossing therein.