What is the best way to get published?

Practice, practice, practice. (I know it’s the answer to another question, but it works here too.)

Get an agent.

http://www.writing.org/ has some good info.

That’s a better answer.

Thank you both! =]

I don’t mean to be flippant, but any way is the best way if it works.

I know people who have had successes
— approaching agents directly
— getting referred through a contact
— submitting to a publisher cold
— finding and following up on leads at writers’ conferences
— winning contests
— self-publishing and then getting the work picked up by a publishing house
— seeking out tiny new publishers with only one or two books on their lists
— publishing short stories as a path to novel publication

I know many more who have tried and tried but never found anyone to take an interest in their manuscripts.

I would suggest exposing yourself to the best sources of advice you can find—top writers’ magazines, conferences, writers’ clubs, agents’ websites—and following the recommendations that make the most sense to you. You will find absolutely opposite suggestions coming from established pros in all aspects of the publishing world. Listen carefully, and then find the way that feels right to you.

You know, you might want to think about trying to get published digitally. Amazon offers a service to get your eBook published through them and distributed as a Kindle Book or a .pdf.

Usually, you can’t get an agent until you are published, and you can’t get published until you have an agent. The real fact is, any agent who asks for money up front is someone you need to steer clear of. Self-publishing is okay, aka vanity publishing, but you have to do your own marketing. And of course, it is an out-of-pocket expense.

Like @Jeruba says, give everything a try. It’s worth a shot. An author I know told me that vanity publishing was a last resort, but then, he’s been a successful author for over fifty years. He got into it back when it was far easier. Nowadays, there are so many people trying to get published that you almost have to know someone or get extremely lucky to get published witha major house.

I have enough short stories to fill two books, but no one seems willing to give short fiction a try these days. Everyone wants non-fiction, or childrens books, or eck! fantasy based on LOTR or Harry Potter. I’d burn my humorous fiction before I’d go down either of those two roads.

Are you really wanting to know how to get published, or how to sell your book? You can self-publish on the internet, or by hiring someone to print any number of copies of your book. I suspect you actually want to find someone to sell your stuff, and that is a completely different question.

In addition to what I saw above, send manuscripts to every publishing company you can find that remotely fits your genre. It can only increase your odds.

@evelyns_pet_zebra : I wish there was more short fiction on the market! It’s getting harder to find. And the majority of the Harry Potter books are a hard slog to read, besides

@Peinrikudo : I’m not sure about publishing, but if it helps, one way to get a solid following is to start a fictionpress account. Quite a few writers have been picked up by publishers through that site. [www.fictionpress.com]

Step one is to write an entire, complete, publishable book. You’d be amazed at how many people tend to skip that part.

Please do not ever pay any agent, publisher, packager or anyone else a fee of any amount or any sort. EVER. I know it’s tempting and some might make a good argument for it, but don’t do it. If you’re tempted, find an experienced writer to talk you down. If you’re determined to self publish, then so be it, but remember self-published and e-books rarely find readers in large numbers.

Run every agency and publisher agreement by the Authors Guild.

Most of all, have fun!

There isn’t really a best way. So the best way is to remain patient if you’re serious about it. I’ve summarized my experience on my website, in case you’re interested
http://www.meet-matt-browne.com/writing-fht.html

@mattbrowne Wow. That is really wonderful and extensive. Thank you for putting something like that up.

@Pol_is_aware – You’re welcome! Feedback is appreciated. I’m always keen on continuously improving my website.