1. Read the Submission Guidelines of prospective publishers.

READ, don’t skim. Make notes if you need to, then FOLLOW them to the letter.

Sounds like it should be a simple thing--so simple I shouldn’t even have to write it, but it’s a major pet peeve with most of us publishers. We spend a fair amount of time trying to articulate what we are looking for, and that might not be the same thing as the next publisher. There are two things to really pay attention to: WHAT the publisher wants, and HOW the publisher wants it. Get one of those two wrong and you’ll find yourself automatically in the reject pile. Each publisher will have slightly different requirements. That means you may find yourself tweaking your manuscript over and over for the submission process. That is simply part of the "job", so accept it and do it. It shouldn’t be too onerous. (publishers are fairly consistent in how to submit, generally speaking--there shouldn't be anything too outrageous in their requirements. If there is it should raise a red flag.)

Let me repeat: FOLLOW the publishers instructions to the letter!

We get manuscripts all the time that are completely inappropriate for what we publish. Science textbooks, religious dogma, poetry, kids books... all sorts of things that are just not what we do. So all it does is waste our time sending an automatic rejection. Plus publishers sometimes change their needs to fill a hole in their program, so last week they may have been accepting book type X and today they are not. That’s simply part of the process. Some publishers only allow submissions at a particular time of year, or not at all. Respect their guidelines.

Publishers are looking for something specific. That’s not to say we won’t sign up something outside of our general guidelines if there are valid reasons for publishing it. But generally speaking, what we want is what we want, for whatever reason. In a way you have to view it as a competition. Your book is not unique (the story may be, but the fact that you have a book that fits within a specific category means it’s not unique as a product), so while you will want it to stand out on merit, you don’t want it to stand out because it’s inappropriate. Then it just becomes target practice.

Each publisher has specific needs as to HOW they want a manuscript submitted. Even if those requirements seem odd (you know the type... "before submitting your manuscript, please stand and tap your heels together three times while repeating "I am a great author"), DO IT. Follow instructions to the letter. Do NOT deviate. If the publisher wants the submission printed out in a purple cursive font, then do it. Or don’t and suffer an immediate rejection. Most publishers get so many submissions they are quite satisfied to reject a manuscript for non-conformity to all requirements. Now that’s not to say that most have odd requirements. Most don’t. Usually it’s just format type, email or hardcopy, or font sizes etc. Fairly straightforward. But follow those rules because that’s what they are--I know they are called "guidelines" but they are rules.

The key to remember when submitting to a publisher is that you are submitting a proposal for partnership, because that’s what a publishing contract gets you--a partnership with the publisher. Gone are the days when you signed off and then did nothing more than write the book. Now you are a partner in the success of the book. You need to have that mind-set right at the start. If you do, then odds are better that you will survive the submission process.

(Reminder: these are numbered, but are really in no particular order).

Stay tuned for the next installment... Word Count!