GETTING YOUR BOOK PUBLISHED
Now that your manuscript is completed and thoroughly polished you will find yourself at the next big step in your career as an author, that’s getting your book published, many will decide to go down the route of self-publishing and therefore go straight to the many companies who offer this service to upload their work ready for sale.
Of course, this avenue is appealing to many authors, and it's designed to be very straightforward to start off with, the downside to self-publication is what follows, which is that everything will be left to the author to complete, the edit, formatting and the book cover design will all have to be organized by you the author.
The alternative and what was always the more traditional route is getting a publishing house to bring your work to the bookstores, here we cover some tips and ideas designed to help you achieve that goal.
1) Make sure that your work is up to standard, it needs to have been proofread and polished as much as you possibly can.
2) It's worth considering the use of a literary agent to represent you, they will normally charge a fee of between 15% and 20% and will represent you to the publishing houses where they think your work will best belong. It is said that in some cases finding a good agent can be harder than getting a book deal with a publisher alone, but you have to take into account that they will only take on authors they know they’ll be able to sell (and thus make their fee on). You can find a list of the current agents in the latest edition of the Writers and Artists Yearbook which is available in most bookstores and of course online.
3) For those who are going it alone, be aware that publishers do have slush piles, when unsolicited manuscripts are sent in they can end up in here, yes some authors do get plucked from them and go on to a book deal that secures their success, but it is only a lucky few that it happens with, for the majority of authors they get published because of the hard work they put into both in the manuscript and their own promotion.
4) Next, you'll need to do some research, go to your local bookstore and to the section which holds your genre of book, looking inside of the book cover and you should see the publishing house, take a note of the houses which publish these books ready to research those particular companies.
5) Now that you have your list of suitable publishers you can research their websites and even phone them to ascertain who will be the best contact for you and if they’re accepting submissions at that present time.
6) It's very important that you follow the instructions that a publishing house gives you for submissions, send it to the wrong person, department or in the wrong format and you’ll struggle to get any further with that specific publisher.
7) The actual presentation will now be key, a lot of submission guidelines have been designed to make it easy for the house to pick the correct books without reading the entire manuscript, they’ll ask you to submit several chapters along with a synopsis and covering letter for your work. The pitch will start with your covering letter, so take your time with it and ensure it covers the book in a way which will sell it successfully to your chosen publisher.
8) The title of your book is so important, and it pays to choose it wisely, a boring or uninspiring book title can in some cases go against you, so do your research and pick with care, you need to sell your work in its title as well as in the story itself.
9) Finally, be prepared for some rejection, most of the biggest names in publishing have faced countless rejection letters, it’s not the end of the world WHEN you get one, just be big enough to take note of any feedback given and if it keeps reoccurring make the necessary adjustments needed, keep going and never give up.
Of course, this avenue is appealing to many authors, and it's designed to be very straightforward to start off with, the downside to self-publication is what follows, which is that everything will be left to the author to complete, the edit, formatting and the book cover design will all have to be organized by you the author.
The alternative and what was always the more traditional route is getting a publishing house to bring your work to the bookstores, here we cover some tips and ideas designed to help you achieve that goal.
1) Make sure that your work is up to standard, it needs to have been proofread and polished as much as you possibly can.
2) It's worth considering the use of a literary agent to represent you, they will normally charge a fee of between 15% and 20% and will represent you to the publishing houses where they think your work will best belong. It is said that in some cases finding a good agent can be harder than getting a book deal with a publisher alone, but you have to take into account that they will only take on authors they know they’ll be able to sell (and thus make their fee on). You can find a list of the current agents in the latest edition of the Writers and Artists Yearbook which is available in most bookstores and of course online.
3) For those who are going it alone, be aware that publishers do have slush piles, when unsolicited manuscripts are sent in they can end up in here, yes some authors do get plucked from them and go on to a book deal that secures their success, but it is only a lucky few that it happens with, for the majority of authors they get published because of the hard work they put into both in the manuscript and their own promotion.
4) Next, you'll need to do some research, go to your local bookstore and to the section which holds your genre of book, looking inside of the book cover and you should see the publishing house, take a note of the houses which publish these books ready to research those particular companies.
5) Now that you have your list of suitable publishers you can research their websites and even phone them to ascertain who will be the best contact for you and if they’re accepting submissions at that present time.
6) It's very important that you follow the instructions that a publishing house gives you for submissions, send it to the wrong person, department or in the wrong format and you’ll struggle to get any further with that specific publisher.
7) The actual presentation will now be key, a lot of submission guidelines have been designed to make it easy for the house to pick the correct books without reading the entire manuscript, they’ll ask you to submit several chapters along with a synopsis and covering letter for your work. The pitch will start with your covering letter, so take your time with it and ensure it covers the book in a way which will sell it successfully to your chosen publisher.
8) The title of your book is so important, and it pays to choose it wisely, a boring or uninspiring book title can in some cases go against you, so do your research and pick with care, you need to sell your work in its title as well as in the story itself.
9) Finally, be prepared for some rejection, most of the biggest names in publishing have faced countless rejection letters, it’s not the end of the world WHEN you get one, just be big enough to take note of any feedback given and if it keeps reoccurring make the necessary adjustments needed, keep going and never give up.
