MEDIABISTRO.com has a great article about the difficulties and pitfalls of getting your novel published:

How to Find an Agent for Your Urban Fantasy Novel’

Debut novelist Allison Pang (pictured, via her Twitter avatar) recently sold her urban fantasy novel, Shadow of the Incubus–along with two sequels to the book. Pocket Books executive editor Lauren McKenna acquired the book in a four-way auction. The deal was negotiated by Colleen Lindsay from FinePrint Literary Management.

GalleyCat caught up with Pang, getting some exclusive advice about pitching an urban fantasy novel (or any novel, for that matter). “The only real advice I can give is to write the absolute best book you can and don’t send it out before it’s ready,” explained Pang. “Souring an agent on a story can be hard to come back from. Make sure the agent you’re submitting to is actively looking for what you’ve written–Twitter, Google, Facebook and agent blogs are important tools that should absolutely be utilized.”

She continued: “Read other urban fantasy books to make sure your vision is as fresh as it can be. In a heavily saturated market of vampires, werewolves and sword-wielding heroines, it can be difficult to appear unique and you want to make sure your book has every possible chance to stand out.”

Read more suggestions and tips on mediabistro.com

I think it’s wonderful when a newly published author takes the time to give tips/suggestions to other struggling authors. It’s important for them to mentor those who are trying to get published.

Do you feel published authors should help up and coming authors? Why or why not?