I wrote a book and because I'm 14 I have no idea what to do next! My family doesn't have a lot of money, but I want the oppertunity to try to get my book published.

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Getting your book published should not cost you any money except for postage. Find an agent who accepts your type of work, send it to them, and wait. If they accept it, they'll find you a publisher.

Getting published isn't easy, and it takes tough skin - you face heavy criticism as well as constant rejections. And even if you make it you face the possible humiliation of a failed book. Sorry to be dark and gloomy but it's the truth and I’m hoping you learnt all this beforehand and you've decided to go ahead? Secondly you don't NEED an agent, but most publishers will only work with agents, they find it more professional and easy to work with. To find an agent you need to write a query letter, which should introduce you to the agent. Explain that you are looking for representation for your completed book. Describe the book in general terms (i.e., it's a science fiction novel), but don't summarize the plot. Mention any publishing history (if you have one, if not, say nothing) or any background information that might indicate a relevant area of expertise (if there's nothing directly relevant, leave this out, too). Keep the query letter short (if it's more than one page, it's way too long). Be sure to include a self-addressed stamped envelope for a reply. Send it off. -- Send this to a group of agents at one time and await the replies but always be patient. If you get more than one reply then you are entitled to choose out of the successful replies you have got. Also, never tell an agent you've sent additional query letters to other agents, they hate competition and are likely to back out if you tell them. An agent will help you seek a publisher and will be able to get your book noticed by many bigger publishers which would have probably ignored you without an agent. Once your agent has got you noticed by a publisher, you'll first send off something I can only remember as a sort of (introduction letter) I've forgotten the official name. But it basically outlines your plot and details of your novel (Who you think will buy it, why you think it's going to be good, etc...) If a publisher reads this and decides to try out the book, you send out a bit of the manuscript (which is normally the first couple of chapters) at this stage it's important that the manuscript is bordering on the edge of perfection - any publisher who sees a common mistake is likely to be put off by it. An agent can sometimes get you an editor, but by all means find an editor by your own accord - you pay a fee for them to read your manuscript and take out all the errors and correct them. Following that you will go through extensive conversations with your publisher (how to share out profits, direction of the book, etc...) normally your side is argued by an agent And YES it's painful but publishers can tell you to change something in a book, be it a character’s name or the ending of the novel. And one thing I learned from working in the business - never assume the agent is working for you or with you. He/she just happens to be someone fighting for the same thing as you. P.S. Many writers call this 'cheating' but I don't think there's such thing here. Basically many authors have got away with finding a publisher and sending them the whole story. No agent, no introduction letter. And the book has sometimes been accepted. Saves the hassle, right? And it might be worth a try. But the route most travelled is often the safest bet. Also you'd need to apply for patents on your pieces so that other people can't copy your ideas -- a patent does cost a bit of money though, however prices vary depending on the likelihood that other people would want to copy that idea. This shouldn't cost you a penny, well, apart from postage when you sending manuscripts, etc... But you shouldn't pay for the actual publishing, publishers pay you! This website is very useful in helping find an agent and/or publisher. http://www.writersandartists.co.uk/

Authors are made – not born at the first sign of christening and as long as you can write and pull off a manuscript at an early age of what, 6, you can be a published author. Self-publishing is one venue for authors who wanted to test how their book will fare in the market. To get into a contract, yes, you must have someone legal to assist you with it. Self-publishing will entail you to make a deposit before going through production and any financial transaction done should be legitimate. How can you NOT publish? I have known of authors who started as early as 6 to 10- years old. With parent’s consent, supervision and resources, these children are already raking exposure in the publishing industry as young as they are now. Who knows? :) Just be patient :) Collect a lot of information until you are ready.