So you've overcome the biggest hurdle - sitting down and writing until you finish your book. You've polished it and you want to share your story ....so how do you go about it.

Submitting to a publisher
Publishers receive thousands of unsolicited manuscripts a year and take less than one percent. Some prefer a sample chapter and a brief synopsis, others prefer the whole manuscript. Find out what is required and the name of the person you want to send it to. If they say don't send manuscript it doesn't mean you can't send a synopsis.

You might like to find out how long the publisher will take to look at your manuscript. Most publishers will publish only if the writer has 'proved themselves" by publishing work in magazines and journals. Another good way to establish yourself is by entering competitions.

Make sure your work is professionally presented and carefully proofread.

Agents
If an agent asks for a reading fee - give them a miss. A list of literary agents can be found on the net.


Self publishing
Memoirs and biographies are unlikely to be published by mainstream publishers. A small print run can be inexpensive and can be handed round to family and friends.
It is worth considering employing a graphic designer to improve the appearance of your book. Design and presentation services are offered by many book printers and specialists in self publishing whose names and numbers can be found on the net.
Gary Allen, perhaps Australia's largest distributor of non-fiction, says he receives between 20 and 30 calls a week from self-publishers seeking a distributor. He takes on about 15 of those 1000 hopefuls a year.

Internet Publishing
There aren't many alternatives to the submission/rejection grind, but the increasingly popular 'electronic slush pile', where a sample of your work can be posted on the web for the wired world to see is worth considering and there's also the option of self publishing...

People have many different motives for getting published and not all of them are about money. But saying that, if you are in it for the dough the evidence is plain; write a best seller and you can make a Squillion!