Writing tip #4: Follow submission guidelines.
The end is near. The end of the month. The end of the
year. It’s amazing how fast time flies. I started buying Christmas presents
weeks ago. And now we’re a month away from Christmas Eve.
Four years ago, I received about the best Christmas present
ever—a publishing offer. It marked the end to an intensive six months of manuscript submissions—researching publishers, writing query letters,
receiving rejection notes—and marked the official beginning of my writing
journey.
Writing a book is an accomplishment. Not everyone will
write a book in their lifetime. We all have a story within us, but it takes a
certain amount of drive and desire to capture it with the written word. Most
authors write with the intention of publishing. There are options—self-publishing,
indie publishers, the “Big Five” (Penguin Random House, HarperCollins—who owns
romance heavy-hitter Harlequin® Books, Macmillian, Simon & Schuster, and
Hachette)—in the wonderful world of publishing. For us newbies, who don’t want
to self-publish, indie publishers offer the best opportunity.
•
Research perspective
publishers (i.e. don’t submit your adult romance novel to a children’s book
publisher).
•
Follow their submission
guidelines (i.e. if they ask for a query letter and blurb, then don’t send them
the first chapter).
•
Don’t submit your
manuscript to more than one publisher unless the publisher has indicated they
accept simultaneous submissions.
Select the most appropriate publishers for your book. Take
the time to personalize each submission request. Supply all the requested
information (in the correct format). Put your best foot forward. Think of your book as a job and your submission
as a job interview. And, keep in mind, the ability
to follow simple instructions is a surprisingly effective way of getting a
publisher’s attention.
“The waiting is the
hardest part.”
- Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
