publish « Robin Writes

I’m going to start right off with a bang:

Things To Do When Querying a Publisher

Pay attention to dates. If a publisher is NOT accepting submissions, your ms might go directly into the “no” file.

Follow directions. If those directions say to send as an attachment, do so. If the directions say “NO HEADERS,” go with that. If you can’t read directions, your ms is going into that “no” file.

Likewise, if the submissions page says the publisher only accepts mss of 70K words or more, don’t send your novella or anything else that has fewer words. I don’t mean five fewer, or even 500. Don’t send a ms that is 50K, or it goes into the same file as the ones above.

Don’t send ONLY the ms. How is the publisher supposed to know what the book is about? Read the whole thing? You’re kidding, right? Most small presses have one or two or maybe a couple more people read submissions; besides that, they’re doing a lot of other things as well. There is simply NO TIME for something like this.

Don’t keep emailing and asking about your ms. Sure, you can check with the publisher if a month or so has passed, but once is enough. Many small presses simply don’t respond if the ms isn’t right for them—like literary agents. Sure, it’s not very polite, and authors complain all the time, and I even agree with them. Unless I’m the one who’s supposed to respond. There aren’t enough hours in the day.

Know your terminology. Don’t tell a publisher you want them to “represent” your work; publishers aren’t agents, we publish. Period.

Don’t send a fancy cover letter. Don’t tell me you’ve “perused” my website and have “aspirations.” Nothing screams 1) ESL or 2) I compulsively use dictionary.com quite like trying to sound intelligent. And failing. Especially when words such as these are used incorrectly. I’m looking for a book in which I don’t have to make corrections within every single sentence.

Don’t tell me you’re submitting on someone’s “behave.” Error aside—and not typos, I can tell the difference—if you have an agent who’s not performing up to your standards, it could be due to your book—it might stink. Or your judgment is off base. Or, of course, you’re getting screwed, in which case just find another agent.

NOTE: not everyone who “says” he’s an agent actually is one. Ditto for a “publicist.”

I have, ahem, over 100 submissions sitting in my file. At least half of those will be rejected automatically because of some of these things—or all of these things. Sometimes, though, rejections have to do with timing. If I receive ten children’s books, I’m obviously not going to accept all ten. Your book might be really good, but there might be two that are better . . .

NOTE: do not continue to resubmit if you haven’t received a response. There’s a reason. It might be the time element (mine), or the timing, or you think you didn’t follow directions the first time, or you’re wondering if I actually received it. I probably did. Email doesn’t get lost very often.

There you have it. Follow directions, make sure your ms is “clean,” and tell a good story. And be patient. With large publishers, it can take years before a book is released. Cut small press a little slack on the response time, and don’t be afraid to follow-up. Once. 🙂

Are you a card-carrying member of a writers’ group? Well, actually, most don’t issue “cards,” per se, at least not the ones I know. Or, maybe, I just didn’t get one . . . hmmm.

But you SHOULD be a member. Of a group, somewhere. And there are many to choose from:

Some meet weekly; more often, once a month. Some only have events once a year, maybe twice. Others have different things going on each month. These, of course, are usually live groups versus Internet hangouts, which also have value.

And it’s important to belong to at least one—which of course depends on your needs—because writing is such a solitary pursuit. Although, if you were to look at my FB newsfeed (or maybe your own), you might think otherwise. Huh.

Writers’ groups have different purposes: to critique, to encourage, to provide a sounding board, to be social, to showcase members’ work. Which one(s) you choose is up to you. But, um, be choosy. It’s not quantity but quality that counts.

You want an active group(s). One(s) that give value. And, preferably, one(s) whose members have some talent. You know what I’m talking about . . . there are those groups who are filled with SPAM—and not only online groups . . .

Speaking of writers, another topic I want to briefly touch upon is this:

Stop marketing to other writers!

What? Yes, you heard me. Those “like for a like events” that promise more “likes” on FB? How many of those folks actually read your stuff? Don’t ask me, I have no idea. Sure, there’s value in networking, but be particular about who YOU follow. Twitter, too, can be a real SPAMfest.

In other words, the numbers don’t matter unless they translate into relationships or sales. Either/or.

You need to spend your time marketing to READERS. Pick your “ideal” reader and aim your promos to that one person—others, just like that ONE person, will soon find you.

Think about this:

You go to a conference, and an author shows you his book; he says he’ll buy yours if you buy his. Sweet—you got a sale! No, you didn’t. It’s a ploy, albeit an unknowing one. In effect, you traded books. Do him a favor: if you WANT TO READ that book, buy it. And review it, of course.

Which brings me back to the beginning—writers’ group(s) are essential for networking and feedback and socializing, but don’t make it a book exchange.