HAPPY BIRTHDAY PEN2PUBLICATION & NEWS FOR WRITERS

Today is the first birthday of Pen2Publication, my writing consultancy. I have a few observations. And two things that surprised me. If you get to the end of the post, I even have some NEWS for you...

During the year I've taken on 29 clients, turned down some others, and delivered over 170,000 words in reports. Almost two novels' worth! (Crikey, think how pleased my agent would have been, if only...) I've had one client who didn't get back to me after receiving her report, but every one of the others has been effusive in acceptance of my often tough words. In fact, the first thing that surprised me was the courage and positivity with which they have all received their reports. A full P2P manuscript report is usually around 7,000 words, and most of those words focus on what's wrong. I skip with unseemly haste through the positive stuff and linger ouchingly on the negative so that the client understands fully what he or she needs to do. It's very, very tough to receive such feedback and I would like to say how much I admire them for being able to take it and, more importantly, act on it so keenly. I prepare all clients very carefully beforehand and don't take anyone who I think is going to be resistant or ignorant about the hard work involved in good writing. For my clients' dedication and courage, I salute them.

Comments have included:

"Thanks so much for your insightful, thorough and hugely helpful report. I thought I'd better check in so that you know I haven't killed myself!"

"Thanks so much again for what seems like an entire course in creative writing's worth in one report!"

"To be honest, Nicola, I cried. I cried with relief that now, at last, I know what's wrong. And you've shown me how to deal with it."

"I have re-read many websites, blogs, covering the points your critique made. I had read most of them before, but seeing your pointed comments placed alongside my own work had a marked effect. It was as if I was reading the previously studied advice for the first time."

"I am deeply impressed by the detail of your report and annotations."

"You don't hold back!"

No, I don't. There wouldn't be any point, would there? You don't pay for someone to pat you on the back, say how marvellous you are and then to shy away from saying why you aren't published and won't be if you don't find and rectify the faults. On the other hand, I don't have to try very hard to find the faults and let me tell you the second thing that surprised me about this work:

Pretty much everyone is making the same few mistakes.

So, one might think, why don't I just list those mistakes, here and now, for everyone to see? Then, surely, writers can save themselves a whole load of money by not having to go to consultancies like P2P?

Actually, I've written about them all already on this blog. But I'll say it again: you make mistakes with voice, structure, narrative thrust, over-writing, believability and pace. I've done posts on them all. But being told these things in the abstract is not enough. What I do within a P2P consultation is highlighted by one of the comments above:

"...seeing your pointed comments placed alongside my own work, had a marked effect. It was as if I was reading the previously studied advice for the first time."

Because if I tell you what to do in a blog post, doling out the theory, it simply is not as pointful and useful as if I show you, by taking your work and showing how it falls short of what you can and must do. What I do with a P2P report is annotate the MS, so that the writer's own writing reveals clear examples of the points I make in the report itself.

See, showing is better than telling.

Here comes the news...

I haven't written this post because I'm looking for more clients - far from it, actually. As you'll see if you hop over to P2P, I'm not taking new clients at the moment. (That's not the news.) At best, I only take on 2-3 a month and will take fewer from now on, as I am getting behind on my own writing. (No, that's not news either.) Next year, I'll be doing lots of Write to be Published workshops. I'll be announcing this properly soon, when I launch the brand new website, but I am inviting you over there now, as special preview guests.That's part of the news. (Oh, and do tell me about any typos - it's not fully ready yet.)

But the main news is that on the events section of the WTBP site you will see that the very first Write to be Published event actually aims to answer the very question that a P2P manuscript appraisal does:

WHAT IS WRONG WITH MY MANUSCRIPT? 

Do you want to know what's wrong with yours? Well, if you can get to Edinburgh on March 22nd and spend the evening with me at this event in a luxury hotel, refreshments (including wine) and chocolate included, as well as a goody bag and free book, I aim to try to show you. You are being told before anyone else, so sign up now before the rush!

There's also another event you'll see, on April 4th: Get Ready to be Published. Everything except the writing. With those two events, you're pretty much set.

But I do realise that many of you can't get to Edinburgh or afford the fees for a private consultancy, so the blog goes on, unabated. Just try to stop me...

WALK LIKE AN EDITOR (AND AGENT)

One skill that authors need to learn is the ability to see into the minds of the editors and agents who will read their proposals. (Another skill is the ability to understand sales and marketing departments, but I'm afraid this skill eludes me. There are some lovely people in them but their minds are beautiful mysteries.)

Since I am neither an editor or an agent, I bring you the words of some real-life ones, so that you can begin to hone your editor-whispering skills.

First, The Top Ten Questions Dutton Editors Ask Themselves. They are somewhat vague, but still a very good starting point. Absorb them till you think like that about your own work.

Second, for something even vaguer, but essential because it's about that all important gut-instinct, here is wonderful blogger and US lit agent, Rachelle Gardner on why she says yes or no to a book. It's worth highlighting the essential part of the post:

"You know how sometimes you're reading a book and you don't want to put it down, and you're really frustrated that it's time to go make dinner or put the kids to bed, and you just want everyone to leave you alone so you can read your book? And whenever you're doing something else, you just want to be finished so you can get back to reading your book?

"But other times you're reading a book, and it's easy to put down. You find yourself distracted. You go check your email, or see what's on TV. Or fall asleep. Not that you can really define anything bad about the book, it's simply not holding your attention. And when you have some time to read, you debate whether to go back to that book or not."

I believe that if we remember that the agent or editor has to love it that much, just like any reader, we will a) improve our work by working harder to capture and hold our readers and b) understand better why a tecnnically good piece of work may be rejected. One thing I tell my clients at Pen2Publication is that we should read our work aloud, imagining that our audience consists of people desperate to go to the beach / pub / bathroom.

Finally, here are two fascinating ones. Lit agent, Janet Reid, lists the reasons why she turns down MSS, with stats. And editor Betsy Mitchell [I think that's the right name!] reveals her own list of reasons for rejection. Some of these reasons are worth a whole blog post each. They may get one, later.

One the the most interesting reasons, I thought, was this one: "Writing quite good, but this isn't the story to launch an author with."

The reason that caught my eye is that it's another facet of the point I've often made: we don't just have to write well - we have to write the right book. Not just the right book for the market, but the right book with which to launch a career, to make a splash, to attract attention.

Open your eyes, writers: think like an editor or agent and you're more likely to hook them. Editors and agents are trying to think like readers, so what you actually have to do is think like an editor or agent thinking like a reader.

If only sales and marketing departments consisted of these readers, things would be so very simple.

FAILURE TO BE PUBLISHED: HARSH REALITY

This may seem lazy but I'm going to re-post an old post. This blog has become so big that it can be hard to find the bits you need at the right time. [I will be doing some house-keeping over Christmas]. This post below is one I want to re-offer, partly because many of you are new to the blog and may have missed it, partly because I know there's at least one person out there who needs to be reminded about it, and partly because a brand-new reader has just emailed me to say that after a morning of trawling through my words, this was one that stuck in her mind. [Thank you Kirsty, and do stay with us  -  I really enjoyed meeting you yesterday and was hugely impressed by your questions and attitude!]

Here it is [slightly shortened]  -  and, for the benefit of any of you who wonder why you've followed all my advice and still aren't published, please note that Point 3 is in your hands, not mine...

WHAT DID I TAKE SO LONG TO BECOME PUBLISHED?

First, for those who missed the tragic enormity of this failure, it took me twenty-one years of failing to get a novel published. ALL my adult life failing to achieve the one thing I really wanted: to be a novelist. That's some bruising failure. And bruised I was. Badly. It affected my health and happiness and my sense of self. Luckily [for them] few people knew about my constant attempts at fame and fortune. Unluckily [for him] my husband did. He's still here. Still waiting for me to earn a lot of money, I guess. I'm trying.

I did get some "stuff" published during that time, but it wasn't enough. Educational books and stacks of magazine articles. I still get money from a magazine I wrote for ten years ago which keeps using my articles and pays me every time, with me sitting at home doing sod all - would you believe that today I actually sold "36th rights" for three articles?? Who needs to be a novelist when you get paid 36 times for something you can't even remember writing?

And there was the odd moment of relative success [relative to abject failure], like appearing in Reader's Digest with my photo and being recognised on a bus, and a story winning an expensive pen in the Ian St James awards, and a couple of times almost making it through an aquisitions meeting. But almost is not enough.

Anyway, reasons for my abject failure:

1. I thought I was better than I was. I didn't know what mistakes I was making. This was in pre-blog days, when people like me [as in me now, not me then - me then would have been pretty useless] weren't sharing and telling me what shocking errors I was making.
2. I wasn't thinking of my readers. Couldn't give a toss about them - yep, it was all for me. Moi, moi, moi. Self-indulgent, beauteous prose, right up my own backside, just gorgeous, over-written plotless stuff that gave me shivers of pride, and gave any potential reader a severe case of "where the hell's the plot gone or going and I mean why should we CARE about your drivellingly unlikely character who murdered her husband just because of some arcane psychological problem to do with Samuel Johnson which we are supposed to guess through the boring fog of your however-erudite turgidity?
3. I hadn't written the right book. As in a book with a concept which would grab the agent / publisher with its stupendous hook, draw them into a tightly-written and either original or genre-specific plot, written by an author exuding wisdom and knowledge of the market. (Actually, I thought woman who murders husband because he's fat was quite good hook-wise, but hey, that was then.) See here for my post on this topic. (Not murders of fat husbands: I mean writing the right book.)
   
4. I wasn't following the rules of submissions to publishers, despite the fact that I roll my eyes at you lot for sending toffees to agents and being similarly foolish. In fact, once I even .... but no, I can't tell you that. It's too embarrassing.

And so followed the rejection letters. Because yes, I've had a few. There were occasional ones that said lovely things but gave suggestions contradicting previous ones (like "we feel it's too short" after "we feel it's too long" and "the plot is somewhat avant garde" after "the plot is somewhat traditional"); there were the "not right for our list" ones (unhelpful but true); there was my favourite (though not at the time) which consisted of my rubbish covering letter with the word NO! scrawled across it in pencil and returned to me in an envelope without a stamp even though I HAD included return postage; and there was the one which arrived back the day after I'd posted it, something which defies the laws of both postage and Newtonian motion and I can only assume that the postman was an Orion employee sent to destroy the slush pile before it occurred.

So, if you are now in the position I was in then - one of soul-searing awfulness, when you feel that life will be utterly meaningless if you don't get that contract, when your whole belief in yourself is shaken daily - I feel your pain, I really do.


Thing is, I wasn't good enough. And maybe ... sorry ... you aren't either. But maybe, by listening and learning and improving, you can become good enough. But remember too that it's not just about being good enough - it's about writing the right book at the right time and sending it to the right publisher at the right time. I've said it before. I could even become boring. (If you need a reminder, use the label "right book" on the list of labels to the right.)

The trick, and the one which this blog tries to help with, is to work out whether:

1. you are good enough but haven't written the right book yet
2. you are good enough and have possibly written the right book really beautifully but haven't sent it to the right person in the right way
3. you aren't good enough but could become so, with time, practice and/or help
   
4. you aren't good enough and won't ever be published satisfactorily
   

Thought for the day: actually, a lot of published writers aren't good enough either. Some of you may well be better than some of them. It all boils down to what a publisher thinks will sell. And I've already done a post on Why is crap published? But you're not writing crap, are you? Please say you're not. Though I have to be brutally honest and say that if you ask any agent or editor they will tell you that the vast bulk of the slush pile is crap, of a meaningfully finger-in-the-throat boggingness.

After that brutality and after all these weeks of listening to me seem to know it all, you deserve to know that embarrassing thing I did. I can trust you now. Please don't laugh.

Here goes. Deep breath. Will you still respect me? I was young then. Young and really stupid.

The thing is ...

I
once
wrote
a
covering
letter
in
rhyme
...

People! Don't do it!

ADDED ON DEC 6th:
I cannot say this often enough: writing the right book is far more important than anything else. The right book is a book that a publisher thinks can sell sufficiently [which does not have to mean millions]. If you focus too much on whether the font should be Georgia or TNR, or whether it should be stapled or paper-clipped, you are focusing on the wrong things. Write the right damn book in the right damn way and send it to the right damn publishers in the rightish way and it will eventually be published. And don't tell me you followed all the rules and failed so the rules must be wrong. Nope, because you missed the most important rule: writing the right book. And my whole point in banging out crabbit words on this blog for nearly a year is this:

I do not want you to take as long as I did. But I cannot write the book for you.

Maybe I need to say more about what makes the right book. At last, the Crabbit Old Bat has a brainwave!

Meanwhile, if any of you want individual feedback on your own books or Works in Progress, there is Pen2Publication. I can do quite a lot to show you if you have or haven't written a potentially right book".

FROM PITCH TO PUBLICATION by Carole Blake

I know I seem to be here but I am in fact away. I am in London researching a novel. This involves pacing around and absorbing the smells and the feel of the air on my skin. In my novel, I am unlikely to tell you the smells and the feel of the air on my skin but I need to know them. Ideas will come, characters will begin to speak, the story will grow legs. Well, that's the plan. Either that or I'll end up having coffee with friends and shopping in Liberty's. 

Meanwhile, I have a present for you if you have a UK address or would like to nominate a UK resident to receive it instead of you. I will send a copy of Carole Blake's book, From Pitch to Publication: Everything You Need to Know to Get Your Novel Published, to a randomly chosen person out of those who comment below. [Unless your comment is rude, in which case you will be disqualified.]

Carole Blake, of course, is a leading literary agent, director of the Blake Friedmann agency, a very good person to have as your agent (no, she's not mine, in case you're wondering, but then I'm lucky enough to have another very good person as my agent) and a very bad person to sent a dud submission to or to pester inappropriately by waving an MS in front of her face. She wears great shoes. The only thing I can find to condemn in her is that she doesn't like chocolate much. This is a bit weird, but her book is excellent despite her having written it without the aid of our friendly cocoa bean.

If you are not lucky enough to win one, I suggest you buy it. Not only does it cover all the practicalities of preparing and sending your submission, and dealing with rejection and acceptance, but it also gives you a great insight into how and why agents and publishers think the way they do. It's also a fantastic way of learning all the business aspects of publishing. The description of what happens during a book auction is fascinating - and will, in one fell chapter, stop you wondering exactly how agents help authors in ways in which most of us simply cannot help ourselves. Carole's agency, [at the time of her writing the book], deals with commercial fiction and she gives great insights into what makes a book sell. Too many authors assume a book will sell just because they think it's brilliant; too few actually go to the trouble of working out why anyone would want it to be one of the books they might choose to read that year, out of all the thousands and thousands to choose from. From Pitch to Publication will get you thinking about this. And no, I haven't been sent a free copy, in case you're wondering. I have my very own, bought with my very own pennies, and I will buy another for the lucky winner  -  you wouldn't want mine as it's all thumbed and has a few flakes of chocolate on page 84.

This book is, of course, not to be confused with Pen2Publication, which is a completely different kettle of trout. Luckily, Carole's book and my consultancy are not in competition, otherwise we could have seen stilettos at dawn. I would have won, naturally, because she's a softie and I'm crabbit.

Go comment. I'll be back to check that you've been suitably sycophantic, because there's really no such thing as randomness, according to mathematicians. They'd better be right, because I've just written a book about it...

______________________________________

WHOSE WRITING ADVICE WILL YOU TRUST?

See, I haven't deserted you. I know that Pen2Publication launches today and you might think I should be drowning in virtual champagne, but a) virtual champagne has never rocked my soul and b) I take my blogging duties way too seriously for that. As you can see from this picture.

Sorry about that. A decadent scene, but entirely false, of course.

Anyway.

Let's talk about trust. And experts. And opinions. And trusting experts' opinions.

I've been thinking about this a lot, because when I have my Pen2Publication hat on it matters to me very much that anyone reading my judgement on their work will know how to accept my words, even if they don't like them. Will they believe they're going to trust me because they're expecting me to say how brilliant their work is, and then when I imply that it's verging on the mildly crappy, will they say, "Pah! So much for her stupid advice! Anyway, it's just an opinion. I'll ignore her."

[By the way, for clarity, I will not use the phrase "mildly crappy". I promise. I will find a much more professional way to tell you.]

But this is my problem, isn't it? Why am I wasting blog space airing my fears? Simple: because all of us have to decide whose opinion we trust. Doesn't matter whether you're paying for something, or reading this blog, or showing work to your critique group, or asking the opinion of friends, agent or editor: you have to decide whose opinion is most likely to be right. And what to do when that trusted opinion tells you what you don't want to hear.

Take me. [Not in that sense, please.] Whom do I trust? It depends what I've written. There's no point in reading a piece of literary fiction to my dog, because my dog only appreciates food. Not only, therefore, is she not sufficiently knowledgeable about lit fic to give me a valid opinion, but also she is liable to give me a dishonest or over-positive opinion because she wants me to give her more food.

So, I have to decide who might be the best person for this piece of writing. I will show work to different people depending on what the writing is. Specifically:

• for non-fic articles for magazines, journals and newspapers  -  my husband, because he hates the idea of me exposing myself in public [not in that sense... well, yes, OK, in that sense, too] by making some silly mistake or seeming like an idiot, so his motive is to protect me.
• for letters ranting at companies that have not treated me with the respect I deserve  -  my husband, to protect me from legal action
  
• for an extract from a WiP  -  my editor if it's under contract; my agent at earlier stages (to protect me from my scary editor); whichever of my daughters (20 and 23) I think is more appropriate for the piece  -  because they all want the best for me and know what they're talking about.
  
• for a potentially controversial blog piece  -  Jane Smith of How Publishing Really Works. [Though, as I write this, she's apparently sitting in a radio studio wearing 6 inch heels and leopard print leggings so I may have to knock her off the trusted list...]
  

There are some things to note in that list, because they appear to contradict advice I've given about not using your children's, family's or friends' opinions to judge whether your work is good enough.

First, I choose these people very very carefully, trusting their knowledge and knowing that they will be honest.

Second - and this is equally important - I have learnt how to listen to and what to take from a piece of criticism. I can now mediate the advice and filter it correctly. So, when my agent or editor [the two most trusted experts in my writing life] say something negative or suggest changes, I filter that through all the things I've learnt about my writing habits and the reactions I get from "real" readers, and I can work out whether and to what extent they're right. Because no one, however "expert", is right all the time. As a published author, I have plenty of public feedback against which to measure my writing; I'm not operating in a vacuum. Unpublished writers are very much in that vacuum. Horrible places, vaccuums  -  you can't breathe in them.

The problem for unpublished or new writers is that every piece of negative criticism feels raw, sometimes shocking, and often confusing because it contradicts that entrenched [and necessary] belief that one's work is wonderful.

So, what's the answer? If you're unpublished and so don't have the public "official" feedback, how do you know whose opinion to trust, whether from a paid-for service or a crit group, or whatever?

1. First  -  the person must be Knowledgable and Honest. You will have to judge this very carefully and ask yourself why this person's view is worth listening to.
   
2. Second  -  if you have decided that the person or group is knowledgeable and honest, you must work out how you are going to use the advice positively. This does not always mean slavishly following it but it does mean opening your heart to the possibility that they are right and that following the advice may make your book much, much better.

Talking about better, I cannot better this excellent advice from Emma Darwin writing about How to Get the Most out of an Editorial Service. She's talking about taking paid-for advice but the same applies to any other forms of advice you might get. Regard any chance to get knowledgeable and honest advice as an opportunity not to be missed  -  it's what I didn't have during my years struggling to be published.

So, choose your advisors carefully but, once you have chosen them, trust them, though not necessarily slavishly. Ask yourself: if you trusted them, why should you ignore them when you don't like the answer? Was it that you didn't really want their honesty, just their adulation?

PEN2PUBLICATION LAUNCHES

Tomorrow, Monday 23rd November, Pen2Publication opens its doors for business. Amazingly, I have some clients already  -  quick-footed blog-readers getting in under my radar and signing up before I'm open. I bet you're the people who sleep on the street outside Harrods before the sale begins!

Anyway, you can now visit the website  -  www.pen2publication.co.uk  -  where you'll find all the information you need about what I'm doing and whether it might be something you're interested in.

I must emphasise that this will not affect the advice given on my blog at all. The blog is where I will continue to hang out, lounging around with sparkly wine in one hand, chocolate in the other, and gorgeous shoes on my feet, dishing out free advice to anyone who cares to listen.

So, how is Pen2Publication different? [Apart from the fact that you pay for it...] Well, since free public advice can only be general, it can't properly address your specific situation. It certainly can't take into account whether your writing is any good. Pen2Publication offers a range of professional services which allow you to discover important truths about your own potential for publication and help you move towards your goal. And I have some great people helping me, too.

There are, of course, no promises of publication at the end of it. I do make two promises, however:

• When you are my client, you will receive my full attention, honesty and expertise.
• Your writing, and therefore your chance of publication, will improve.

Something else: I'm not doing a big sales pitch for this. I've no desire to persuade anyone to sign up. It has to be entirely your choice and I will do nothing to persuade you [as one of my potential clients has discovered to her surprise]. I am here if you want me and I look forward to helping anyone who wants my help.

Hooray for low-key sales pitches!

A DILEMMA OF AGENTS

Unpublished writers are always being advised to get an agent. You're constantly told how important it is, and how the agent must be a good agent, and how to spot crappy ones and attract wondrous ones [hooray for mine!]. I have myself waxed* lengthily about the virtues of wondrous agents.

[For clarity: I didn't mean that I have myself waxed...]

Frankly, you must be sick to death of hearing about the glorious importance of agents. And here's another article saying the same thing, and very rightly and persuasively, too.

There's a problem with us banging on about this, though. In fact, there are at least two problems.

Problem 1: It's not easy to get one.

Problem 2: For some types of writing/writer, it's absolutely impossible, to the extent that even those of us who say agents are necessary will agree that you shouldn't bother to try. We'll shake our heads and say, "Oooooh, nooooo, an agent won't look at you, I'm afraid." And then you quite understandably want to knock our contradictory heads together.

Before we come to solutions [hooray for solutions], it may help to understand the reasons for both these problems:

• agents only earn a % of your income, so while you're wondering how the hell you can survive on a £3000 advance, they're wondering the same about a much smaller amount. Therefore, they can't be expected to take you on unless they've good reason to expect not just a book but a career out of you. Also, all the work they do for you won't be recompensed for ages. [You might say the same about your own writing, but that's your choice; it is also their choice.]
  
• So, if you're a one-book wonder or, er, in the twilight zone of your writing life, you may not be a viable proposition. [I know this sounds harsh. I'm simply stating what has to go through an agent's mind, as opposed to a publisher's. A publisher can still be very interested in you. And in certain circumstances an agent may be, too. I'm talking about likelihoods, not certainties.]
  
• And if your genre is a low-earning one (such as memoir, poetry, academic or specialist writing), again, you're simply not worth the effort. Don't take this personally: agents have to earn a  living.

So, solutions. In other words, if you are someone who can't have an agent, by virtue of the type of writing you do, or if for some other reason you decide to do without an agent, how can you make sure you don't sign your life away and miss out on all the wonderful opportunities that good agents find for authors?

LEARN ABOUT HOW PUBLISHING WORKS

If you're to persuade a publisher to take your book, you must see the world through their eyes, know how they think, know why they do what they do. How? Luckily, I have a few suggestions. Otherwise that would be a pretty silly point to make.

• read this blog. Oh, you already are. Well, keep reading it, then.
• read these blogs too, all of them, every single post: Editorial Ass, How Publishing Really Works, Writer Beware, Stroppy Author, Editorial Anonymous, The Behler Blog, and agent Rachelle Gardner's blog Both the latter two are US based but also useful for UK and other writers.
• learn all this stuff before you ever submit anything  -  of course you could strike lucky as a beginner, but it's most unlikely

READ THE RIGHT BOOKS

Carole Blake's book, From Pitch to Publication. 

Carole is a director of Blake Friedman, leading UK literary agency.


The Writer's Handbook  -
a must for all writers both before and after publication


KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
Research your rights and responsibilities with regard to things like copyright, intellectual property right, digital rights, ebooks, territories. Every writer should know about the first two; unagented writers need to learn about the others. Why? Because otherwise, when you're offered a contract (happy day!) how will you know whether it's acceptable or the best you could have?

JOIN THE RIGHT ORGANISATIONS
Fortunately, being offered a contract usually allows you at least associate membership of the Society of Authors (in the UK  -  and also, I believe, the separate organisations in NZ and Aus). This means that the experts there will look at your contract and advise you  -  free. No unagented writer should pass up this opportunity.

Other organisations which can be useful, at least for meeting others who may know more than you, are SCBWI (The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators), PEN, Scottish Book Trust, Book Trust, Literature Training, NAWE (National Association of Writers in Education) and regional writing groups. Some of them (eg Literature Training, Book Trust and Scottish Book Trust) don't require membership and are there to offer advice to all interested people.


FOLLOW PROFESSIONAL ADVICE
There's a vast amount of advice on the internet or available from friends and acquaintances. Some of it is fantastic in the sense that it's excellent; some of it is fantastic in the sense that it's based on fantasy. The human temptation is to follow the advice that we like the sound of  -  it's called confirmation bias. We ignore what we don't like at our peril because the truth is often unpleasant or difficult. So, be ruthless in your analysis of what advice you will choose to follow.

As you know, I am starting a literary consultancy, Pen2Publication, in order to offer professional (ie not free) advice. I am doing this because I think that if you want good individual advice you have to pay for it. I and my fellow bloggers, devoted as we are to your success, can only give general advice and can't be expected to analyse each individual situation in our own time. And good advice does need to analyse the individual writer's situation and writing. So, if you want the best advice for you, and you don't have an agent, you will need to pay for it. Unless Mother Theresa has reincarnated herself without my knowing. Mind you, I don't think she'd be the best person to advice on publication.

FIND A PUBLISHING PARTNER(S)
This is an idea I had five minutes ago. It struck me that when I was struggling to become published, I knew no one who was trying to do the same, and certainly no one who had succeeded. So, I had no concept of what was acceptable or normal. Nowadays, it's easy to find other writers in the same position as you, or a little way ahead. The blogosphere is full of them. So, get down with the bloggers and Twitterers, find fellow writers who seem to have the same goals as you and join together to support each other and share information.

One of the best ways to make the right contacts for this and to get advice coming your way would be to blog. I blogged about blogging here and Twittering here. I love Twitter and it's a veritable joy to see conversations going on between several of you who are there too, sharing info and support in a fabulous way.

IN SHORT
I suppose that all of this can best be summed up like this: get informed and get connected. It's important for all authors to do this, but for the unagented it's utterly essential.