Getting Published By Margaret Tanner
So you want to get published.
You have written a fabulous novel, your mother loved it and your girlfriend said it was the best story she had ever read.
Now, who is the lucky publisher? You know everyone will want it. The dollar sign lights up in your eyes. Six figure advance, well maybe you would take five for starters. You are already debating what you will wear to your first book launch.
Who will play the lead role when your masterpiece is made into a movie?
These are the questions you ask yourself.
Believe you me I have tried just about every gimmick known to man (or woman) as the case may be.
I have had so many near misses, I could write a book about it. A publisher accepted my book then was taken over by another publisher who didn’t want my work. I got myself an agent who unfortunately died. I finally got published and my book was out for a couple of months then the company went out of business.
What do you do? Lie in a corner in the foetal position. Kick, scream etc.
NO, throw yourself a pity party if you like, have a few chockies/drinks and get on with it.
I have sent manuscripts to the large category romance publishers. The bigger the better I thought and received rejection letters, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. I could paper the side wall of my house with them. Along the way I entered and won, or was commended in, unpublished manuscript awards so I was reassured that I had some talent.
In desperation I once sent a manuscript that had been rejected a few months earlier off under my maiden name, giving my mother’s address. It was returned. Then I decided to send the manuscript off again and pretended to be my husband. I wrote a little introductory note saying I was a male nightshift worker at an international airport, (which he was).
A couple of months later the manuscript was returned from the junior editor saying she quite liked the storyline, I really did write like a woman, but they had read something similar only a few weeks previously.
My blood was up; the bit was between my teeth. I had to get my story out of the “slush” pile and on to the Senior Editors desk. But how?
It was a few weeks before Christmas, so a friend of ours who was a sales representative proposed a daring plan that couldn’t fail. He said. “Wrap the manuscript up in Christmas paper, put a fancy ribbon on it and send it off addressed to the senior editor. No junior editor would dare open the boss’ Christmas present.” What a master stroke I thought, the man was an absolute genius.
Well, a couple of months later, said present winged its way back to me, my pretty ribbons intact, sticky tape untouched by human hand. The note was brief and to the point. Thank you for the gift, but we don’t accept presents, wishing you Merry Christmas etc. etc. The devastation was killing. I felt like the world had ended.
Then I got smart.
I asked myself the questions I will now ask you.
Is my book the best it can possibly be?
Have I gone to conferences, or joined a writing group, listened to and acted on advice from published authors.
Have I had it critiqued by a fellow author, or even paid for a professional critique?
Is it neatly presented? Formatted the way the publisher wants it to be. No typos or spelling errors?
Have I sent it to the correct publisher, if it is erotica, don’t send it to a publisher of religious books, because no matter how good it is they won’t publish it.
In other words know your market. If you can get an agent great, but it is hard for an unknown writer to get picked up by a reputable agent, and a dodgy agent is worse than not having one at all.
I joined a local writers group, attended conferences, and honed my skill. Checked the markets and discovered that my historical romance books didn’t fit into the category romance publishing field. I needed to widen my search base and I tried the internet, and found a couple of publishers who published the kind of stories I wrote. Success quickly followed.
All my hard work (and without the devious manoeuvres) eventually paid off. I now have three books published by Whiskey Creek Press and four books with The Wild Rose Press.
Perseverance is the key. Don’t ever give up on your dream of publication.
You have written a fabulous novel, your mother loved it and your girlfriend said it was the best story she had ever read.
Now, who is the lucky publisher? You know everyone will want it. The dollar sign lights up in your eyes. Six figure advance, well maybe you would take five for starters. You are already debating what you will wear to your first book launch.
Who will play the lead role when your masterpiece is made into a movie?
These are the questions you ask yourself.
Believe you me I have tried just about every gimmick known to man (or woman) as the case may be.
I have had so many near misses, I could write a book about it. A publisher accepted my book then was taken over by another publisher who didn’t want my work. I got myself an agent who unfortunately died. I finally got published and my book was out for a couple of months then the company went out of business.
What do you do? Lie in a corner in the foetal position. Kick, scream etc.
NO, throw yourself a pity party if you like, have a few chockies/drinks and get on with it.
I have sent manuscripts to the large category romance publishers. The bigger the better I thought and received rejection letters, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. I could paper the side wall of my house with them. Along the way I entered and won, or was commended in, unpublished manuscript awards so I was reassured that I had some talent.
In desperation I once sent a manuscript that had been rejected a few months earlier off under my maiden name, giving my mother’s address. It was returned. Then I decided to send the manuscript off again and pretended to be my husband. I wrote a little introductory note saying I was a male nightshift worker at an international airport, (which he was).
A couple of months later the manuscript was returned from the junior editor saying she quite liked the storyline, I really did write like a woman, but they had read something similar only a few weeks previously.
My blood was up; the bit was between my teeth. I had to get my story out of the “slush” pile and on to the Senior Editors desk. But how?
It was a few weeks before Christmas, so a friend of ours who was a sales representative proposed a daring plan that couldn’t fail. He said. “Wrap the manuscript up in Christmas paper, put a fancy ribbon on it and send it off addressed to the senior editor. No junior editor would dare open the boss’ Christmas present.” What a master stroke I thought, the man was an absolute genius.
Well, a couple of months later, said present winged its way back to me, my pretty ribbons intact, sticky tape untouched by human hand. The note was brief and to the point. Thank you for the gift, but we don’t accept presents, wishing you Merry Christmas etc. etc. The devastation was killing. I felt like the world had ended.
Then I got smart.
I asked myself the questions I will now ask you.
Is my book the best it can possibly be?
Have I gone to conferences, or joined a writing group, listened to and acted on advice from published authors.
Have I had it critiqued by a fellow author, or even paid for a professional critique?
Is it neatly presented? Formatted the way the publisher wants it to be. No typos or spelling errors?
Have I sent it to the correct publisher, if it is erotica, don’t send it to a publisher of religious books, because no matter how good it is they won’t publish it.
In other words know your market. If you can get an agent great, but it is hard for an unknown writer to get picked up by a reputable agent, and a dodgy agent is worse than not having one at all.
I joined a local writers group, attended conferences, and honed my skill. Checked the markets and discovered that my historical romance books didn’t fit into the category romance publishing field. I needed to widen my search base and I tried the internet, and found a couple of publishers who published the kind of stories I wrote. Success quickly followed.
All my hard work (and without the devious manoeuvres) eventually paid off. I now have three books published by Whiskey Creek Press and four books with The Wild Rose Press.
Perseverance is the key. Don’t ever give up on your dream of publication.
