I’ve been spending a lot of time this week researching publishers’ submission guidelines for the revision of my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. Things change fairly rapidly in this field and it has been just three years since my last such quest for information.
For the revision, I want to know the percentage of publishers who are accepting email submissions, the number who want to receive a book proposal, etc. I can tell you that most still prefer to receive submissions via regular mail, but larger numbers are okay with email submissions now than in 2007. And more publishers seem to be putting stronger restrictions and requests in their guidelines. For example, some are adamant that you have a strong platform in your genre/topic before contacting them with a project in mind. It seems that more publishers specify the importance of author participation in promoting their own books.
Anyone who takes the time to read publishers’ submission guidelines should have no doubts about what the publisher wants. And I can’t stress enough, the importance of doing so.
I get the impression from some of the authors who contact me that they study the guidelines of a few publishers and assume that these apply to all publishers. They couldn’t be more wrong! While, certainly, you’ll find similarities in some guidelines—pretty much all publishers want to see a professional, fully edited presentation, for example—there are also aspects of submission guidelines that vary considerably.
One publisher might want to see a query letter first. Others request the complete manuscript. And many, today, want to see a book proposal and they may require different types of information in that proposal.
If you want to land a traditional publisher, your first step should be to choose the right one. In fact many publishers today practically beg eager authors to check their line of books to make sure that theirs fits in. And it does you no good to overstep the boundaries.
For example, if the publisher’s catalog features only books for serious train and aviation enthusiasts and you don’t see evidence that they have ever published a children’s book on trains, do NOT assume that they will consider yours. If the publisher has been producing science fiction and fantasy young adult novels for eons, why would you ask them to publish your adult romance or your book on how to write young adult fantasies?
And your second step toward successfully landing a traditional publisher is to adhere to his or her submission guidelines. If they want to see a proposal including a brief synopsis, a market analysis involving four similar books, your platform and your marketing ideas sent via the post office along with a self-addressed-stamped envelope, then that’s exactly what you must send them.
You still might be rejected, but it won’t be because you sent the wrong manuscript to the wrong publisher or because you didn’t follow the submission guidelines. In fact, you’ll have a better chance of landing a publishing contract than those who do not take the time to study and follow each individual publisher’s requirements. There are hundreds of publishers in many categories. There were around 1,000 publishers listed in the 2010 Writer’s Market.
For more about this subject and many others, read my article archives, check out my list of resources and look at my display of books for authors: http://www.matilijapress.com
Newsflash: My most popular book during these past few months has been How to Write a Successful Book Proposal in 8 Days or Less. Amazon has ordered copies of that book almost every week since since July.
To learn about my services, visit: http://www.patriciafry.com
To ask me a question related to your writing project email me at PLFry620@yahoo.com.