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INeed email addresses of reputable Australian publishing industry contacts for book

I am currently writing my first novel and I am wanting someone in the publishing industry to review my work and perhaps be a mentor for me. I was badly burned by the internet based Poetry and Literary Agency who offered to be my ägent"and sell my work to publishers for a fee. I have a genuine need for advice - I have a book synopsis and want to have my poetry published as well but do not have the money to pay an agent to represent me. What should I do? does anyone have any insider contacts or advice to help get me started - I have a Readers Digest membership, I have a book synopsis partially finished and 30 completed poems that have won many awards. How do you get a book published if you have limited funds, most publishers wont accept unsolicited mail. ONLY GENUINE AUSTRALIAN BOOK PUBLISHING CONTACTS AND PLEASE LIST THE BOOKS THE COMPANY HAVE PUBLISHED AS I WILL LOOK THE BOOKS UP AS A REFERENCE BEFORE CONTACTING. Raskel

Public Comments

1. It sucks when you get burned by a literary agency, but online there are just so many. There are sources that you can use in the future to guide you. Preditors and Editors is one. Absolute Write Water Cooler Bewares and Background Checks is another. If you join Absolute Write, you will find some Aussies there who may be able to help you. I am not sure if there is an Au version of Writers Market or Literary Marketplace, but there must be, and perhaps someone there can give you the name. If you go there, join the poetry forum. Poetinahat who runs the forum is from Au. I am sure he will be a big help to you. And tell him I said hi. Pax-C
2. First of all, you never pay agents to represent you. Reputable agents only get paid when they sell your book to a publisher. Agents who charge fees to get you published are scam artists. Second, finish the novel before approaching agents with it. Agents only want to see finished work. They don't want to see your synopsis until you have a manuscript to go with it. Third, learn how to do this kind of research yourself. Google is your friend. There is tons of information freely available online about getting published. It is not hard to find; look for it. Also, use libraries or hit your local bookstore in search of reference materials. Here in the US, there's a book called the Writers' Market that comes out every year; it contains current listings of literary agents and the types of books they handle. There might be an Australian equivalent. Go find it, and use it. Knowing how to find and use these resources is part of your job as a writer. Publishing insiders are not going to hold your hand through the process of getting you into print. They aren't looking to mentor anyone; they are looking for writers who have finished work that they can sell. There are simply too many people out there writing novels and poems and dreaming of literary careers--far more than will ever get into print--and quite a lot of them are good at what they do. So there is nobody out there looking to nurture your special talent and help you get published--except, of course, you. That's the hell of writing for a living; you're on your own. Finish your novel, shop it around to agents who specialize in that sort of thing, and start writing another novel while you're working on getting representation. And stay away from the scam agents who charge you money.
3. ANY TIME you want to know something, run a search for it... I ran a search for you on google.com and got 12,000 results, and here are just four of the results Australian Literary Agents’ Association - Literary contactsNikki Davies has worked in many areas of the publishing industry including a .... The Children’s Book Council of Australia National Office 416 Magill Road ... austlitagentsassoc.com.au/contacts.html Warnings and Cautions for Writers--Literary AgentsAgents have industry contacts and inside knowledge that most writers don't ...... Bookseller & Publisher provides info on the Australian publishing market. ... www.sfwa.org/BEWARE/agents.html The Safest Way to Search for an Agent--an article by Victoria StraussThis doesn't necessarily indicate that the agent isn't reputable--some countries don't .... Contacts and an inside knowledge of the publishing industry are ... www.sff.net/people/VictoriaStrauss/agentsearch.html VISTA International - Media CoverageAny reputable vendor should be willing to work with you to develop a system that ... 2007 VISTA, a division of Publishing Technology - The leader in book ... www.vistacomp.com/media_coverage/bp_200410.html -