Questions 2 Ask Publishers: Part 1
Things to Know
First things first. There are a few things you will need to do before you get to a place of considering publishers It has strongly been suggested to buy the 'Novel and Short Story Writer's Market,' 2016 edition, which can be purchased on Amazon. Additionally I have been told this valuable tool will answer more questions than you can think of asking.
Important things to know before approaching any publishers:
1. Have your book completely finished, revised and edited because unless the Manuscript is completed, because I have been told by other authors, no one will even look at an incomplete manuscript, let alone discuss it
a) For Adventure by Train, Philippa and I are working on Chapter 11, but rethinking our chapter system. We are actually considering dropping the traditional chapters and changing our system to parts or sections
2. Find out which publishers will accept un-agented manuscripts.
a) Directories regarding three categories - Traditional Publishers requiring Agents, Publishers who do not require Agents and Self-publishing companies - will be answered in the next blog post
3. Know what your genre is even if it is a mixed genre because most publishing companies work with specific genres
a) Adventure by Train fits into many genre's - Fantasy, Romance, Adventure, Narrative, Christian, Fiction
4. The answer to this question depends on the country in which you are trying to publish your book
a) As co-writers Philippa and I are looking at publishing in Canada and New Zealand, but would like to be able to publish in other countries too
5. Publishers have different rules for fiction and nonfiction. Someone writing a non-fiction book can take nothing more than a proposal and present it.
a) Adventure by Train is based on fiction with real businesses, ministries and services
Once your book is ready
When you are ready to send it off, spend some time perfecting a good query letter.
A final piece of advice
Submit your best work. If you send in a rough draft, it will most likely be rejected. You are competing with hundreds of other writers and you have to make your book stand out.
Photo by - http://www.tlac.ca/services/self-publishing/
