As A Matter Of Course…
Throughout the process of writing your book, you’re probably – at least in the back of your mind – contemplating how to publish it. Back in the day, there was only one real option: a publishing company. Sure, you could print up a bunch of copies on your one and sell them, but that wasn’t considered publishing. It was printing.
Now, of course, is a whole ‘nother story (pun intended). ANYone and everyone can publish a book. This is great, and not so great. Many authors and publishing companies complain that this muddies the literary waters and will cheapen the art because, well, anyone -talented or not – can publish a book.
BUT… that’s not our concern here in this post. The last I’ll say on the above is this: Calm down, folks. There’s room for everyone. Art is subjective. What one person loves, another may hate. It is what it is. If you are a writer worrying about Imposter Syndrome, read THIS and then move forward.
Now That Your Book Is Completed…
I’ve discussed the pros and cons of both self and traditional publishing HERE, so, we’re going to skip that. For this article, we’ll cover the “how” of traditional publishing. Below, I’ll share how to find a publisher, how to determine their legitimacy, and what to be aware of.
Finding a Publisher
As you may or may not know, there is, what they call in the industry the Big Five. This refers to:
Hachette Book Group. HarperCollins. Macmillan Publishers. Penguin Random House. Simon and Schuster.
An author cannot submit to these companies without a Literary Agent
If this is your vision and goal – to be publishing with one of these publishing houses – you must query literary agents. Author submissions – no matter how great the story may be – will not be opened. However, all of these houses have a long line of imprints that may accept author queries.
If you are not dead set on the Big Five, you’re in (better) luck. There are now hundreds of smaller publishing houses (and even some bigger ones) who’ll accept manuscripts for consideration from authors directly. A great place to find them is through authorspublish.com
Simply type in your email and they’ll send you weekly emails with publishing companies, magazines, and literary journals looking for submissions. Here is also a website listing publishing companies. Another resource is good old social media. Search publishers and follow them. They often post their open calls for submissions.
Let’s Get Technical
When submitting your work to a publishing house, you MUST follow their instructions/guidelines EXACTLY. If they say Times New Roman, 12 pt font, do NOT send them your MS in Calibri 11 pt. If they say to send the first three chapters in the body of your email, and not as an attachment, DO NOT ATTACH your first three chapters… or send them more than what they asked for, even if the best part comes in at chapter four. The only exception is when your chapters are short, and they will make a note of that in their terms.
Typically (there are exceptions) they’ll request, in this order:
Times New Roman, 12 pt font, single-spaced.
Word count & genre.
Brief letter of query where you’ll summarize (including ending) your story, what (if any) current popular books on the market it’s comparable to, and a little about you.
First three to five chapters.
You’ll either send these as one (or several) attatchments, or within the body of the email itself, or within their generated drop-in form. Regardless of their specifications, it will be made clear by each individual company.
About Those Query Letters…
Sigh. I’ve yet to meet a single soul who enjoys writing them. Honestly? The suck. Tedious, stressful, frustrating. But if they’re done right and done well, you’ve got a shot. Aside from the number one rule – follow instructions – the next best things I can tell you are: Be authentic. Let your true self come out. Be succinct. How you write in your query letter is their indication of how you write as an author. It’s important to convey exactly what you’re about, how you view your work, and that you have a clear idea of where it fits in the universe. Be confident, not cocky i.e. : “I believe that the underlying message of the story truly speaks to the current climate of our society right now,” and NOT, “If you pass on this amazing, awesome story, you’re crazy. It’s the best thing since Pride and Prejudice.”
For sample query letters and templates, click HERE.
Here is an open call for submissions from my publisher, Limitless, HERE
Word To The Wary & Wise…
We’ve all heard the phrase Buyer Beware. Well, here’s another: Writer Beware. There are a lot of unscrupulous people out there looking to make a fast buck off of you. Just as anyone can write a book these days, anyone with a computer can call themselves a publisher.
A true publishing company WILL CHARGE YOU EXACTLY $0.00 to publish your book. They will edit, design a cover, publish, market, and promote at no cost to you, the author. The only thing you’ll pay for is copies of your book that you want to sell at book signing events. They will not REQUIRE you to do this, but it is only logical you would. (A bigger publishing company will probably send you some complimentary copies)
I hope this helps and, as always, reach out to me if you have further questions! xo Elsa
