Do publishers take the time to look at works from writers who have no qualifications or experience in the industry?
We are currently in the process of writing a debut novel. Although we are still in the early stages of writing, we both feel we have the creativity and perseverance to see this through.
What we don't have however, are any kind of qualifications or experience in this industry. We both left school with a 'C' grade in English (for those who don't know the UK grading guidelines, 'C' basically means crap, but not quite a fail). We have never attended any creative writing courses or seminars, nor do we possess the vast vocabulary that many seasoned writers seem to naturally possess.
I suppose the question is a simple and straightforward;
Forgetting about how good the book actually is, will our lack of experience and knowledge in the industry be a hindrance when it comes to publishing, and if so, how do 'newbies' get around this?
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Lack of qualifications is not as much of a hindrance as lack of ability, I'd say. If you get to the stage of a publisher starting to read your manuscript then your spelling and grammar had best be impeccable.
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/9057. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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My suggestion would be to find an agent.
The agent will have the experience, knowledge, and connections which you don't, and may be able to steer you towards publishing houses which are more generous. Also, the agent may give you feedback on your work to improve its chances of publication.
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