You may be in the lucky position of having a publisher.
Or if you persevere, the day is not far off when you can tell your friends 'I've found a publisher'.
Perhaps you may want to take the option of self-publishing.
Whatever the status of your work, my theme here is relevant to you.
I want to write about the couple of paragraphs which go on the back cover of the book - the 'blurb'.
This is some of the most important writing that you need to do.
In this blurb, you have got to attract the attention of the casual reader, in a bookshop or on Amazon or wherever, in just a few carefully selected words.
The blurb is like the first impression that someone makes on you.
A good firm handshake and a warm smile sets you off on the right track.
And you must bear in mind your readership when writing your blurb.
Does your book have 'cross-over', that is, is it read by both teenagers (say) and adults? It is at any rate important for me what the blurb says.
When I stand in an airport with a three hour flight in front of me, the bleakest prospect that I can imagine is that I do not have a decent book to read.
The nicest prospect is that I have a really good exciting story that makes me forget that I am 6 miles up in the air with only half an inch of aluminium between me and eternity.
I pull a book down and read the blurb and then maybe I read the first few paragraphs of the book - to see if the print is legible and the style okay, with a good plunge into the story.
I only open the book if the blurb looks fun.
I have a feeling that this is what a lot of other people do.
If you observe people at the book stand, they pick up a book, glance at the cover and then immediately turn it over.
So what makes a decent blurb? First, it must not be a spoiler.
If the back of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina tells you that she...
, well, I won't spoil it for you, if you have not read it.
In passing, introductions written by some silly critics who thinks that the story is not important are a menace in respect of spoiling the story.
I never read them.
Second, the blurb should use the bikini technique.
This technique is one whereby you draw attention to the important parts without revealing what they are, if you will forgive the analogy.
Third, the blurb should truly reflect the nature of the book.
If it does not, you are unlikely to be pleased if you buy it and therefore unlikely to recommend it to a friend.
The trouble is that almost any story when 'blurbed' can end up sounding like the Famous Five or the Boy's Own Journal.
Imagine a marketing blurb for Macbeth.
'This great tale of witchcraft plunges in with three foul creatures around a bubbling cauldron calling down hell and damnation on the hero of the tale, Macbeth.
The author tells of how Macbeth is spurred on to plots of murder by his wife in his attempt to gain the throne of Scotland and immortality, and of how, conscious stricken, he is haunted by ghosts and hounded by the witches.
How will he, with the aid of his psychopathic wife, combat his enemies? Can he succeed in his death-defying quest of kingship, can he evade a terrible fate even if he makes it to the throne? Read how the story unfolds in this, another electrifying tale by the man who brought you Julius Caesar, Othello and King Lear.
' Or in a different style: 'This wonderful tales tells of how Macbeth aspires to be King of Scotland.
The story is peopled by fascinating characters with all the ingredients to make it a page turner.
The work is laced with exciting personalities, with witches brewing spells, hilarious soldiers' banter and blood-bathed visions.
Macbeth's wife eggs him furiously on.
Can he make it and can he survive as his enemies mass against him? This famous author has hit the jackpot again and Macbeth will surely make it to the top of the Stratford-on-Avon bestseller list.
' My point is this: when you write your blurb, you want to capture the atmosphere of the story without the story line intruding - or intruding as little as possible.
The Macbeth blurb would be much better like this: 'This is a story of a quest for power and the morality of such a quest.
The hero who seeks to be king of Scotland of a thousand years ago is hemmed in by his conscience.
He knows that the route to his ambition can only be accomplished through murder and destruction.
The whole book turns on the tension between this knowledge, expressed through the hero, and an almost psychopathic ambition, personified by his wife.
This theme twists and turns as the plot develops, culminating in awful and, it seems, inevitable tragedy for all the chief players.
Meanwhile the story is punctuated by the supernatural intervention of three witches who heighten the drama and force the pace of the narrative.
' I would not be so presumptuous as to say that this is a very good (or even a particularly good) psychological description of Macbeth.
There are large numbers of Shakespeare scholars who could certainly do much, much better.
However a blurb such as this one gives a far clearer idea of what the story is about - it is the psychodrama to end all psychodramas - than some rather daft synopsis (like the first two) which wriggle around so as not give the game away, making it sound like an adventure story plus murder mystery.
My feeling is therefore that when writing a blurb you have to sit back and ask yourself, what is my book really about? What universal themes can be found there for the reader? Romance maybe, the power of jealousy (Othello!), greed and conscience (The Merchant of Venice?), the morality of power (Julius Caesar), humour, the absurd? You must capture the imagination of the casual browser in a few well-turned lines.
This is really difficult.
If you are lucky, you may have a brilliant editor who can give you really good advice.
But it is nevertheless a good idea to write two or three completely different blurbs, show them to friends and ask them which would really attract them to your book.
Set aside a good deal of time to write the blurb.
Do not rush it off at the last moment.
Remember that it is the only thing that you write that many of the public will read.
And you want the number who limit themselves to the blurb only to be as small as possible.
Or if you persevere, the day is not far off when you can tell your friends 'I've found a publisher'.
Perhaps you may want to take the option of self-publishing.
Whatever the status of your work, my theme here is relevant to you.
I want to write about the couple of paragraphs which go on the back cover of the book - the 'blurb'.
This is some of the most important writing that you need to do.
In this blurb, you have got to attract the attention of the casual reader, in a bookshop or on Amazon or wherever, in just a few carefully selected words.
The blurb is like the first impression that someone makes on you.
A good firm handshake and a warm smile sets you off on the right track.
And you must bear in mind your readership when writing your blurb.
Does your book have 'cross-over', that is, is it read by both teenagers (say) and adults? It is at any rate important for me what the blurb says.
When I stand in an airport with a three hour flight in front of me, the bleakest prospect that I can imagine is that I do not have a decent book to read.
The nicest prospect is that I have a really good exciting story that makes me forget that I am 6 miles up in the air with only half an inch of aluminium between me and eternity.
I pull a book down and read the blurb and then maybe I read the first few paragraphs of the book - to see if the print is legible and the style okay, with a good plunge into the story.
I only open the book if the blurb looks fun.
I have a feeling that this is what a lot of other people do.
If you observe people at the book stand, they pick up a book, glance at the cover and then immediately turn it over.
So what makes a decent blurb? First, it must not be a spoiler.
If the back of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina tells you that she...
, well, I won't spoil it for you, if you have not read it.
In passing, introductions written by some silly critics who thinks that the story is not important are a menace in respect of spoiling the story.
I never read them.
Second, the blurb should use the bikini technique.
This technique is one whereby you draw attention to the important parts without revealing what they are, if you will forgive the analogy.
Third, the blurb should truly reflect the nature of the book.
If it does not, you are unlikely to be pleased if you buy it and therefore unlikely to recommend it to a friend.
The trouble is that almost any story when 'blurbed' can end up sounding like the Famous Five or the Boy's Own Journal.
Imagine a marketing blurb for Macbeth.
'This great tale of witchcraft plunges in with three foul creatures around a bubbling cauldron calling down hell and damnation on the hero of the tale, Macbeth.
The author tells of how Macbeth is spurred on to plots of murder by his wife in his attempt to gain the throne of Scotland and immortality, and of how, conscious stricken, he is haunted by ghosts and hounded by the witches.
How will he, with the aid of his psychopathic wife, combat his enemies? Can he succeed in his death-defying quest of kingship, can he evade a terrible fate even if he makes it to the throne? Read how the story unfolds in this, another electrifying tale by the man who brought you Julius Caesar, Othello and King Lear.
' Or in a different style: 'This wonderful tales tells of how Macbeth aspires to be King of Scotland.
The story is peopled by fascinating characters with all the ingredients to make it a page turner.
The work is laced with exciting personalities, with witches brewing spells, hilarious soldiers' banter and blood-bathed visions.
Macbeth's wife eggs him furiously on.
Can he make it and can he survive as his enemies mass against him? This famous author has hit the jackpot again and Macbeth will surely make it to the top of the Stratford-on-Avon bestseller list.
' My point is this: when you write your blurb, you want to capture the atmosphere of the story without the story line intruding - or intruding as little as possible.
The Macbeth blurb would be much better like this: 'This is a story of a quest for power and the morality of such a quest.
The hero who seeks to be king of Scotland of a thousand years ago is hemmed in by his conscience.
He knows that the route to his ambition can only be accomplished through murder and destruction.
The whole book turns on the tension between this knowledge, expressed through the hero, and an almost psychopathic ambition, personified by his wife.
This theme twists and turns as the plot develops, culminating in awful and, it seems, inevitable tragedy for all the chief players.
Meanwhile the story is punctuated by the supernatural intervention of three witches who heighten the drama and force the pace of the narrative.
' I would not be so presumptuous as to say that this is a very good (or even a particularly good) psychological description of Macbeth.
There are large numbers of Shakespeare scholars who could certainly do much, much better.
However a blurb such as this one gives a far clearer idea of what the story is about - it is the psychodrama to end all psychodramas - than some rather daft synopsis (like the first two) which wriggle around so as not give the game away, making it sound like an adventure story plus murder mystery.
My feeling is therefore that when writing a blurb you have to sit back and ask yourself, what is my book really about? What universal themes can be found there for the reader? Romance maybe, the power of jealousy (Othello!), greed and conscience (The Merchant of Venice?), the morality of power (Julius Caesar), humour, the absurd? You must capture the imagination of the casual browser in a few well-turned lines.
This is really difficult.
If you are lucky, you may have a brilliant editor who can give you really good advice.
But it is nevertheless a good idea to write two or three completely different blurbs, show them to friends and ask them which would really attract them to your book.
Set aside a good deal of time to write the blurb.
Do not rush it off at the last moment.
Remember that it is the only thing that you write that many of the public will read.
And you want the number who limit themselves to the blurb only to be as small as possible.