Writting & being published

I know that my husband has been told by many publishers that he has to have an agent and the agents told him he has to be published. He is going to self-publish to start. Then, when he's gotten going, he will worry about an agent or publisher. A pen name is fine. It helps keep the annoying family members and friends from knowing if you are a success and bugging you for money. Have a couple of your friends read your stuff, then give you feedback. You might need to punch up your writing, you might not. Don't be afraid to keep what you wrote.

Sites such as Lulu.com allow one to self publish their books. LuLu handles transactions, the making of the books, and shipping of the books. No publisher required.

Well I am like you, I am writing a Novel and I too wont to get published, even though I too am a little scared of people reading and not liking it. Usually I don't let anyone read my works until they are finished, however the book I am currently writing, a friend of mine wanted to read it, one of the characters in the book is based on this friend so even though I was nervous I let her do so. She is still reading it, however, she told me that she doesn't like to read but she can't stop reading mine. Anyway I looked into How to get published and well, you can find a agent here http://www.writers-free-reference.com/agents/ That may help you out not sure, please let me know how you do, as I am also seeking to get published. I think a pen name is fine, and I think I am going to use one because there is another author with my name already published.

You will need an agent and the book the Writer's Market will help you find the appropriate agent for your genre. Using a pen name is very popular. A lot of authors use different names when they write in different genres so if a different genre fails it won't be associated to the original author. I am going to use a pen name simply because people will know me better by that name and I believe it is what my father wanted. Please don't be afraid of whether your writing is good enough. Fear holds everyone back. You should try to find a writing group so you can get some honest critiquing. Good luck!