6 Tips for Submitting your Manuscript to Publishers

 

If you are considering submitting a manuscript for publication these tips will help you to achieve the success you are looking for and will reduce the chance of your work ending up in the rejection pile.

1. Do your Research

Before submitting a manuscript to any publishing house you will first want to know:

• if they are currently accepting manuscript
• whether they accept unsolicited manuscripts (those submitted by authors, not agents)
• if your work fits with the content they are currently looking to publish
• what manuscript format they require
• their submissions policies

Once you have identified a specific publishing house to submit your work to you will be able to find all of this information under the “submissions” section of their websites.

If finding the right publisher/s for your work seems like a daunting task and you are unfamiliar with all the ones available to you, you can find them in the books below. These resources include all the information you will need in a way that is organized and complete. These are a must-have for every writer who is seriously seeking publication and they will save you lots of time and open up many new opportunities that you did not know even existed.

2. Network

Take the time to get to know other authors in your genre. This can be done by:

• joining writing groups
• visiting and participating in online writing communities and forums
• attending writing conferences
• participating in workshops in your community and online
• using social media such as Facebook or Twitter to connect with other writers

You will learn valuable information from other published authors. Their advice and connections may go a long way when it comes to getting your own work published. We have personally found that just as misery loves company, so does success! Once a person finds success in the publishing world, they cannot wait to share their advice, experience and joy and to help others obtain this same success! So if you have not done so already, reach out! You’ll be glad you did.

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3. Format your Manuscript

Prior to submitting your manuscript to any publishing company, it is first necessary to make sure that it is formatted to their specifications. You can find their requirements on their websites. If there are no specific requirements listed you can be sure that the standard formatting is sufficient. When formatting your book make sure to adhere to the proper font, text size, margins, spacing, headers, footers and page numbers.

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4. Submit it to Editing Services

You want to make sure that when you are submitting your manuscript to a publishing house it is as flawless as possible. It is very distracting for editors when they are reading a manuscript when typos, misspellings and grammatical errors keep popping out at them. To ensure you are sending a polished work, consider hiring an editing service to catch these errors so that they are not present to distract the editor and take away from the overall quality of your work.

5. Tailor your Cover Letter

Make sure that when you are submitting your cover letter you are addressing the person that will be reading your manuscript – this is not the place to write “To whom it may concern.” Take the time to show each individual publishing company that you know who they are, understand their needs and how your work specifically provides them with exactly what they are looking for.

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6. Know the Standard Policies for Manuscript Submissions

More and more publishing companies are getting with the times and allowing for online submission of manuscripts, either directly through their website or through email. This saves time, money and paper. However other publishing companies still prefer (and require) the traditional method of using traditional mail. It is important to know which policy your publishing company of choice is using and to format your manuscript accordingly. You will be able to find out which policy they are using on their websites under their “submissions” sections.

To learn more about how to submit your manuscript, whether it is via the Internet or post office the following articles will provide you with what you need to be prepared to do either:

By using these 6 tips you will be able to find the appropriate publisher for your manuscript and tailor it to their requirements, setting you up for success and a real shot at being offered a contract.

Culle from Think Written

Publishers’ Insights You Should Know Before Writing Your Manuscript

 

There are publishers’ insights you should know before writing your manuscript, especially if you intend publishing your book for commercial purposes. Certainly, it is expected that your creativity should reflect in your writing, but you will need more than just your creativity to get ahead of the pack.

Below are the publishers’ insights you should know before writing your manuscript

Figure out what readers want:

If you are not writing for yourself, then you must figure out what readers want before writing, especially if you are writing for commercial purposes. You should find out the genre that gets talked about the most. More so, look out for what fascinates readers in the selected genre. Find out how to write a bestseller

Be your judge:

Ask yourself questions when writing. If you had visited a bookstore, would you have selected the same book you are writing over the books authored by other people? Once you can answer this question honestly, then you’ll be sure you are on the right path.

Research on the book genres that sell fast:

Take a market research dive into book stores. Visit print book stores as well as popular digital book stores such as Amazon, GoodReads, and others. Find out the genre that sells fast on each platform. That way, you would know the particular genre that sells fast, and consider writing spinning a good tale in that genre.

Find out books that earn a profitable income:

Some books are generally expensive compared to others. Academic books  tend to be more expensive due to the substantial amount of research put into place.  More so, depending on location and level of relevance, some books are likely to cost more than others. For instance, while a health book or journal on how to treat and prevent a certain endemic disease might sell at a higher price in the regions where the disease is most prevalent due to demand, it might not be as expensive in areas the disease is less prevalent.

ALSO READ  Being Able to Publish Without Editing Doesn’t Mean You Should

Having all these publishers’ insights in mind will help you with the self-awareness on how well your book would perform in the market.

What Publishers Hate

 

Whether it's unprofessional errors in your manuscript or your poor conduct as a person, there are some blunders that instantly throw you into the reject pile. Read this article to find out what publishers hate that quite a lot of writers do.

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People often ask me to give an opinion on their writing. In most cases, when I agree to take a look at the first section or chapters, I’m astounded (and frequently offended) at how unprofessional their work is – full of spelling mistakes, typos, horrible punctuation or no punctuation whatsoever. I’ve been writing for 31 years, and I wouldn’t show one of my first drafts to my dog, yet I’m often sent work with such gross errors that it’s clear the author hasn’t even bothered to read the story through before sending it out. Not only is this insulting to the person asked to give up his or her own time to read this story, it’s counterproductive because it instantly creates a negative impression.

If you’re asking an author or other professional to read your work, don’t send them a first draft and ask, ‘I just want to know if I can write.’ All first drafts are bad, as Hemingway famously said, and no editor or publisher will take your first draft and edit it into shape. All professional writers have learned the craft of storytelling by working out how to edit their own work. There are oodles of great books around on writing and storytelling. I’ve listed some of the best below.

Each of the big publishers receives 3,000 – 5,000 fiction manuscripts a year, yet only 5 – 10 of those will be accepted for publication. Most of those manuscripts are rejected on the first few paragraphs and some aren’t read at all. To give yourself a chance of publication, your story has to be great and the manuscript bulletproof, otherwise it’s likely to go straight in the bin. If you want to know more about how the writing and publishing industry works, see my detailed article HERE.

Every publisher puts their submission guidelines on their website. And every day, the manuscripts pouring in reveal a complete ignorance of these guidelines. Clearly, many writers have a professional death wish. On the basis that every writer who can be encouraged to fail should be so encouraged, here are the best ways to get your manuscript junked.

How to Have Your Manuscript Rejected Instantly

Any author who is too lazy or arrogant to learn the basics of their craft will be rejected out of hand. Here’s how to do it:

• The cover letter and manuscript are full of spelling mistakes and typos;
• Sentences are written in mangled English. If you want to be a writer, you have to learn how to write. Seems simple enough;
• Incompetent use of punctuation, or no punctuation;
• The whole manuscript is in one paragraph;
• The manuscript and covering letter are written in capital letters. Using CAPITALS isn’t just utterly wrong, it’s regarded as shouting at the recipient;
• The manuscript is sent in the body of an email;
• The writing is grossly offensive, libellous or obscene;
• The story is an obvious retelling of Twilight, Harry Potter or some other well-known novel, TV series, movie, graphic novel or computer game.

How to Irritate the Publisher and Create a Really Bad Impression

To create a really bad impression on the editor who’s reading your work, and reduce your chances of getting it published, I recommend that you:

• Ignore the submission guidelines on the publisher’s website;
• Don’t bother to research the kinds of work the publisher publishes. Eg, send adult fiction to a publisher who only publishes children’s stories; or a novel to a publisher who only publishes non-fiction (and so on);
• Send an unedited first draft full of story errors, repetition and inconsistencies.
• In your story, write down every rambling idea that comes into your head, whether relevant to the story or not, and refuse to take anything out;
• Send your manuscript by email when the publisher requires it to be in print, or vice versa;
• Send a long, vague cover letter, full of irrelevant information, or quotes from your mother or your friends about how much they loved this book. Cover letters should be no more than one page and should include:
  • A one-paragraph description of the book, including its title, genre, word count and expected audience (eg, readers of epic fantasy, supernatural romance or true crime).
  • A few lines about yourself, including any interesting details of your life or experience, particularly if they’re relevant to the book you’re writing;
  • Relevant publishing credits (other books or stories you’ve had published – unpublished writing isn’t relevant).
  • Use quotes only if from a reputable source, eg a well-known author or reviewer. Quotes will never get your book published; the most they can do is encourage the publisher to look at it more closely.
  • Include a brief synopsis. 300 words is plenty. If the publisher wants more, they’ll ask for it.
• Use incorrect manuscript format, eg weird fonts, coloured font, tiny font, single spacing, line break between each paragraph, paragraphs not indented, text formatted into two columns etc. Manuscripts are formatted the same way that novels are, not the way that business letters and reports are formatted. Manuscript format means wide margins (about 4 cm) all around; double-spaced; a common serif font like Times or Century, 12 point; the first paragraph of each chapter or section beginning at the margin and all succeeding paragraphs indented.
• Make boastful comparisons between your own work and the work of Tolkien, JK Rowling, George RR Martin or any other prominent author. If your work is that good (and it never is), the publisher will notice it very quickly;
• Be assertive or pushy about how great your story is, eg with statements like, ‘This book is going to make your name.’ The boasting of an untried amateur is a huge turn-off.
• Send an enormous outline of the story with the covering letter. The outline should at most be a page and a half and should include the ending.
• Send random sample chapters. Sample chapters should be sequential and begin with Chapter 1.
• Include gifts with the manuscript. Gifts are likely to be seen as bribes and will create a very bad impression.
• Pester the publisher for a quick response. As I mentioned, publishers get thousands of manuscripts a year and it can take months to check them. Patience is a virtue every author needs in bucket loads.

Ready to start your publishing journey? Reach out to us here at SOI Publishing. Let's make your book the next bestseller.

 

 

Culled from Ian Irvine

4 Ways to Successfully Self-Edit Your Manuscript

 

You’ve finished the first draft of your nonfiction book or an article for publication. It’s time to hand your manuscript over to an editor, right?

Wrong.

Recently, I met a prospective author who was working on her first book. “So,” she asked, “an editor like you can help me fix up my first draft, right?”

On the one hand, she’s right: a part of my job is, indeed, working with authors to help improve their books. On the other hand, this author’s question reveals a common misconception about the editor-author relationship—that the writer finishes their writing and then hands the work over to an editor to make it into something publishable.

Editors provide sound advice and love to work with authors but can help more if the writers take some necessary steps to revise their work before approaching an editor. Simply said, you must self-edit your work first.

In between the end of your writing process and an editor’s intervention, there are steps you can take to help self-edit your work and bring it one step closer to something that’s ready to go out to readers. Let’s review a few strategies for self-editing that can be useful to you as you get ready to move from writing to editing and, then, publishing.

How to Self-Edit Your Manuscript - Before You Hand it Over to an Editor

1 Take some time away.

Even though you might have edited your work as you worked on the manuscript, when finished, you need to consider it as a whole. After you complete the first draft, take at least twenty-four hours (for a shorter piece) to a week (for a longer piece) entirely away from that work. This allows you to clear from your mind the original thought process you used when you were writing. Then you can just focus on the work itself as a less-familiar piece of writing.

Many writers are afraid to do this because they worry that the writing will seem terrible to them upon re-reading. That’s why you self-edit! Plus, it’s equally as common that you’ll be pleasantly surprised upon a later re-reading and think, “Did I really write this? It’s so good!”

2 Read out loud.

This is a time-worn staple of self-editing advice and for a good reason. Nothing helps to give you a new perception of your own writing like actually hearing it read out loud. If you stumble over a sentence, lose track of the story, or find yourself being bored by a paragraph—you’ll know to flag that for revision.

3 Put your feelings away.

Writing is an emotional process; it’s easy to feel like each individual piece is a stand-in for your overall intelligence, skill, or creativity. Admitting that a sentence isn’t clear or that a section of the piece is off-topic or boring can be painful and feel like you’re admitting to having less ability as a writer than you think or claim to have. It can be equally hard to accept that a turn of phrase you thought was poetic or brilliant before now seems silly or over-the-top.

However, it’s important to remember that the revision process is another opportunity to show your chops as a writer. When you hesitate to make a change or explain away a negative feeling you get from some part of your writing, ask yourself if this is a writerly response or an emotional one. Learn to recognize your emotions as a writer and navigate around them as you self-edit your work.

4 Imagine you’re your own worst critic.

This self-editing strategy works well for those who have learned to separate their writerly instincts from their emotional ones. Read your piece and think of what a very critical reviewer or reader would think. Will they find the tone too sentimental? Will they find the progression of events in the narrative implausible? Make a note of these pitfalls and then look back at the piece of writing to see if these issues could be addressed.

Often, it’s entirely possible to challenge yourself to revise in a way that will satisfy the most skeptical. And the result will make your work better, even though the process of pointing out these flaws to yourself might be painful.

At a minimum, I want to see a second draft—not a first draft—from prospective authors. I want to feel like the writing has been read through and worked on before it got to me. This shows a willingness to develop the writing and an ability to separate their attachment to the work from the needs of the reader.

After all, the reader is the most important part of the equation, and both self-editing and professional editing should work together to get a piece of writing ready for that reader’s comprehension and enjoyment. With these self-editing strategies, you’ll be prepared to do your part in that process.

Once through, you can submit your work to a professional editor. Contact The Ready Writers for professional editing tailored to your manuscript's specific needs.

Culled from Write Non Fiction