By MARION F. WILKE

Q: I am a newborn author, and I would like to know what exactly are the roles of the author, the publisher and the agent. I have been writing since the age of 10, but I am still not too sure on all that is supposed to go on in the writing world.

A: Congratulations on having discovered your Muse.

Briefly, the author is the one who writes the book, magazine article, children’s book or whatever. The author also is responsible for producing any rewrites requested by the editor and for taking the editor’s suggestions to heart. The editor prepares a manuscript for publication, making sure that everything from punctuation to grammar to context are merged to make the copy readable, understandable and clear.

The publisher is the employer of the editor. When the copy is ready to be printed, it is the publisher who decides how many copies will be made available. Remember, the publisher like the author is in business, too, and he/she must make educated guesses involving estimated demand, costs of publication and how to “sell” the product to the audience.

The agent represents the author to the publisher and works out details of the contract. Sort of a peddler of manuscripts, the agent is paid by the author for “selling” the material to a publisher. You should be aware that agents usually only deal with authors who already have an established career in writing. It is rare for an agent to agree to work with a non-published writer.

To get you started on your writing career, I would recommend the latest version of The Writer’s Handbook.” It costs about $30 but it is an invaluable resource.

The 2004 version I have features essays by 50 writers, focusing on professional basics, the craft of writing, professional development and ideas/inspiration.

The essays are first-hand accounts on how the writers work. There are articles on tools for selling your book, self-publishing, how to get your short story published, top five fiction mistakes. And under the writing craft section there are articles on multi-dimensional charaters, children’s picture books, secreats to writing fantasy and writing personal essays.

Professional development includes authors’ suggestions for finding article ideas, local markets, technical writing outlets and how to retool you article for other markets. The writers of the ideas and inspiration section deals with how they write, the art of storytelling and writing about crime and intrigue.

And the best of all: There are 3,000 markets listed for your work!

Listed are nonfiction magazines, fiction and poetry magazines and book publishers, the latter in three categories.

You can find out the basics such as addresses, phone numbers, email contact, circulation, and the editor’s name. Also listed are a description of the publication, content desired, number of words requested, range of payment, art work, whether or not queries are required and if e-quiries are accepted, whether or not unsolicited manuscripts are accepted, response time and when payment is issued.

This is a book that no writer should be without. Happy writing!

Marion F. Wilke is a counselor for Northern Illinois SCORE.