Finding a publisher for your manuscript can be a long, frustrating process. Here are some tips to improve the chances of getting published. The first step in getting published is to find out who to approach with a manuscript and how to approach them.
Submission to a Literary Agent
More and more, the people to send the submissions to are literary agents rather than publishers. “Publishers depend on agents to vet material by unknown writers,” according to Dean Cooke, a Toronto literary agent. The agent markets the manuscripts to editors they think would be interested. “If [the manuscript] is coming from an agent, it’s assumed to be worth taking a look at,” says Cooke, who represents authors such as John Irving and Sarah Waters in Canada.
Publishing houses have cut back severely on their editorial staff. Every year, publishers receive an overwhelming number of unsolicited submissions, and they no longer have time to read and respond to them. Traditionally, interns or editorial assistants were assigned to read the slush pile. Exceptional manuscripts were noted and passed on. But this process, which includes logging and recording submissions, has become too time-consuming for many publishers.
Writing a Great Query Letter
Authors generally sell their work by first sending out query letters. Query letters are brief commercials for their work and the authors themselves. A well-written query letter attracts the attention an editor or agent who then requests a copy of the manuscript.
According to Cooke, the best way to approach a literary agent is with an effective query letter. Great query letters are not gimmicky, fluorescent or perfumed (all of which he has received). In a query letter, the writer should demonstrate that he has educated himself about the publishing business. Writers should state previous publications and workshops or courses they have taken. They can also cite industry professionals they have studied with. These are the writer’s credentials. “Most writers push the novel then bury the qualifications,” he says.
Cooke uses the analogy of dentistry. When looking for a dentist, you want someone who is a trained professional; you wouldn’t choose someone who says, “I’ve always wanted to be a dentist.” And yet phrases such as “I was born to be a writer” are common in the letters he sees.
At Cooke’s agency, all query letters are read, even though the vast majority of unsolicited manuscripts are probably not publishable. But still, there is that chance of finding a gem, and so his agency continues to accept unsolicited submissions.
Submitting Directly to a Publisher
However, it is possible become a published author by sending a manuscript to a publisher directly. And the manuscript does not have to be lost in the slush pile. This type of search involves a more targeted, focused approach.
The first step for an emerging writer is to find the books of current authors who write in a similar style or in the same genre. In the acknowledgements section, the author will usually thank the editor. Scan the acknowledgements for the editor's name. This is the person to target.
The reasoning is that this particular editor would be more open and appreciative of the new writer's work. Editors have likes and dislikes and differing tastes, just like anyone else. If the editor helped create a book that is similar to the new writer's manuscript, then the editor would likely enjoy similar writing. As well, the writer demonstrates his due diligence about the industry by finding an editor who might share the same sensibility.
By doing the homework about getting a manuscript published, a writer demonstrates that he is a professional who is knowledgeable about the publishing industry. That is the type of author publishers want to work with, and the manuscript might end up being a book at the nearest Chapters or Barnes and Noble sooner than imagined.
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