In this post, I take a deep dive into selecting and submitting to a publisher.
I should say right off the bat that I am far from being an expert in this subject. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the people who have spoken to me about their experiences. I also owe a massive thanks to the authors of the many well research articles already written on the subject. More about that at the end.
In this post we will cover:
- First, understand the choices you have
- Learn how traditional publishing houses work
- Real publishers never ask for money
- Determine your project’s genre or category
- Go big or go specialist
- Establish a platform to prove market clout
- Should I hire an editor or proofreader?
- Do I need an agent?
- Your submission materials
- Make contact with the publisher or agent
- Do not (necessarily) take the first offer
- The power of free samples
- Further reading on finding a publisher
First, understand the choices you have
While, yes, the traditional publishers are unlikely to go anywhere, you have other options. New authors might not have many publishers competing for their writing project but that does not mean you have to settle for scraps. You might be the exception but it pays to know what your options are.
For example, you might feel more at home with self-publishing. This will mean paying an editor, doing your own marketing, and a lot of other little things. Today’s print-on-demand world has streamlined the process of getting your book into print. Even so, doing your due diligence and getting proofreading, professional editing, and cover design will help you stand out as a quality self-published author.
Even if self-publishing is not for you, there is cooperative publishing, small publishers, niche publishers, and many other options. Not to mention the possibility of getting an agent.
I strongly recommend getting hold of a copy of the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook (or the children’s yearbook if that is your audience). This will be your best friend as you research what options are open to you.
Learn how traditional publishing houses work
It pays to know how the bigger publishing houses work. This is an extension of understanding the choices you have.
You need to understand that publishers are looking to maximise a return on investment. That means that the first offer they make might not be the best offer available. We will look at negotiating strategies and risks in a little while.
Publishers look at trends and new fads in their genre and category areas. If vampire romance is big at the moment, they are going to be more interested in getting some of that market share. That doesn’t mean write to today’s trends which will be over before you have finished. It means that timing (and luck) play a big part in things. Luck favours the prepared. So be prepared.
Micro-niches, and new markets open up all the time. If you put in the time to research and get a feel for them, you will have an easier time selling your project.
Real publishers never ask for money
This is a very important point to remember. There are many so-called publishers who will charge you money to print your book. This is not how real publishers work.
Real publishers will pay you money. The amount they offer depends on how invested they are and the level of faith they have that your project will sell well.
If a “publisher” asks you for money, tell them, “thanks but no thanks,” and walk away. At best this is a printing house and, at worse, a scam. If you want to pay for a package of services and self-publish, maybe this is for you but I caution careful investigation because scams abound.
Determine your project’s genre or category
This might seem like an overly obvious thing to say but you need to have a clear idea of exactly where your book fits in the spectrum of genres. This goes for fiction as well as non-fiction. Know what type of book your project is.
No matter how “genre-busting” you think your book is, it still needs a single genre in which it can compete well. Find that category for your project and invest the time being sure you have nailed it.
If you get stuck, seek beta readers and ask them what genre they thought the book was in. The chances are, they will say similar things. Whatever their replies, this is where your readers will look so position yourself there.
Knowing your genre or category will help you select a publisher that knows what they are doing with your type of book.
Jane Friedman has an overview of the major fiction genres and a breakdown in US sales volumes for non-fiction from 2015 to 2016 in her post, “How to get your book published“. UK sales figures are likely to follow a similar overall trend but with some differences.
Go big or go specialist
When it comes to getting a publisher, you either want a big publisher with many specialist imprints or a smaller publisher that specialises only in one type of book – your book.
A small publisher that publishes all sorts of books will quite likely lack the genre-specific reach to give your book the push it needs. This may limit the number of sales they can generate. A general publisher on the small scale may also be at risk of going under from poorer sales. On the other hand, a specialist small publishing house side-steps many of these problems. Often with a better understanding of their chosen genre.
The industry advice, that I have encountered, is fairly consistent in saying that you want a specialist – imprint or publisher. Specialisation means reaching exactly the readers that will love your book.
On the down side, smaller publishing houses are, well, small. This may mean while they are able to take a risk on more unknown authors, they might lack the pull with big chains that the larger publishers enjoy. Like anything, choosing a big publisher or a specialist one is a balancing act.
Establish a platform to prove market clout
Getting a publisher interested is what all this talk about platforms comes into play. Being able to boast of a decent sized and engaged audience will make you more attractive to a publisher. An engaged audience is automatic sales for free. Something that is vital for non-fiction but helpful for fiction too.
Publishers are looking to get a good return on their investment in you and your book. An active platform shows that you have already made some investment, have a ready market, and have enough faith in your work to put the time in. This might not be enough by itself but it can tip the scales in your favour.
If you can reach out to a couple of hundred interested readers, that is a couple of hundred readers buying your book. That is in addition to those that the publisher can bring to the table. No matter how good a marketer your publisher is, you can always reach some more readers yourself. Your publisher will love it and your initial advances may get bigger with subsequent books.
Find out more about Author Platforms on our rapidly growing guide to Author Platforms.
Should I hire an editor or proofreader?
It is possible to find reasonably priced expert proofreaders and editors. If you are going via the self-publishing route then you almost certainly want to invest in an expert to help you polish your work to a professional standard.
What about if you are going via traditional -publishing? That’s harder to say. A well-polished work may be easier to sell but, assuming your publisher is of a reasonable size, they are likely to have in-house editors and proofreaders. A smaller operation may put more work on you – especially proofreading.
This is a choice only you can make. Consider the cost of investing against the benefits you expect to get from doing so. If the benefits outweigh the costs, go for it.
Do I need an agent?
This question has no single answer. It depends on what you want and how you want to be published. It might be an advantage to have an agent if you want a big contract from the largest publishing houses. You might have more success with a specialist small publisher by going directly to them.
How do you know what is right for you? That’s what knowing your options and pinning down your genre will do for you. You will have a clearer picture if you know exactly what you are offering and who has the market reach to sell it for you.
The more niche and specialised your writing project, the less likely it is to be worth an agent’s time. For narrowly focused genres and categories, there may only be one or two really good choices that are able to sell your book to a wide enough market.
Derek Murphy on how to choose a publisher (and get your book published)
Your submission materials
You have done your homework, you have a good idea of who you want to approach. What now?
Now it is time to make your approach.
You will want to draft your cover letter and a novel synopsis or book proposal. Jane Friedman has a guide to synopsis writing and another on book proposals. It is worth taking the time to write and refine both.
Your cover letter is your first contact with an agent or an editor so it is vital that it makes the right impression. It is important that you come across as professional. Cut out all fluff and filler and get to the point. Allow the editor or agent to quickly understand:
- Who you are
- What you are offering
- How your book is different
- Prior writing experience
- Anything else you bring to the table
Do your homework first. You should find out if the publisher (or agent) want your entire manuscript or sample chapters; if sample chapters, which ones. Look on their website to find out what they are looking for in a cover letter or a synopsis.
You only get one first impression. Make yours count.
Make contact with the publisher or agent
According to Jane Friedman, few if any agents or editors accept full manuscripts on first contact. Which is why your query letter matters. It has to sell the idea of your book in a way that makes an agent or editor want to read yours rather than anyone else’s.
No matter how good your project is, the chances are that you will face rejections. Do not take this personally. Some writers spend years getting rejected over and over again until their project finds the right home to bloom in.
Rejection letters may mean that you need a better query letter. They may also help you see what about your work needs improving. While you are shopping it arround, start work on your next project. It will probably be even better due to all you learned with the first project.
The divide between published and unpublished authors is mostly a matter of perseverance.
Do not (necessarily) take the first offer
When you first get an offer it may be tempting to think you have made it and sign right away.
Not so fast, hotshot.
Take a look at the offer. Do you like the advance? Is the percentage for royalties something you can live with? Is this a one time deal, or will you be looking to sell more books with this publisher? Be sure that the contract meets your needs.
When you accept a publishing deal, be sure it is one that you are happy with and that offers the best value for your work.
Remember, you have the right to say, “no” and walk away if the deal is not one you are willing to accept.
You can (maybe) negotiate
It may be possible to approach other publishers and leverage the existing offer to get a better deal. There is no rule that you have to accept the offer right away – or at all. Agents know this and can often use that competition (and their own contacts) to get the best result. What is to stop you doing the same?
Squeezing a publisher for a bigger advance takes guts. You do risk losing the offer but you also show that you have faith in your own work. That confidence (however shaky it might really be) should work for you. Just keep your best poker face on during negotiations.
A good deal means an acceptable advance, favourable royalty percentage, and fair retention of your rights. You will have to give up some control and a fair share of the profits but you will likely see more book sales to compensate.
Be aware though that you are taking a risk. Some editors may have a “take it or leave it” attitude; others might be put off if they feel they are being played. Be too aggressive and the publishers may lose interest. Undersell and you may leave money on the table. A negotiation is a balancing act. If you do not feel comfortable doing this side of things consider an agent or settle for the best deal on offer.
The power of free samples
One of the more effective ways to get people to buy your product is to give them something for nothing. This, experts agree, causes us to unconsciously wish to reciprocate (say, buy something in return).
One approach that authors have found to work well, is to offer the first chapter or even the first volume in a series for free. After getting the reader hooked, they then direct them to where they can purchase more.
Some authors actually include the first chapter of another book at the back of each novel. This keeps the reader wanting to buy more books.
Whether or not a free first taste approach can work to snag a publisher or agent remains open to debate. I have no facts either way. What I do know is that it certainly seems to work with readers.
Jane Friedman makes the case that offering your work online does not hurt sales but rather helps them. Andy Weir’s book The Martian was first published on his website, then self-published as an ebook before an agent contacted him which resulted in a book deal and a film deal within the same week.
Who first offered free samples.
If the process of offering things for free interests you, this video will definitely appeal.
Further reading on finding a publisher
I want to give a shout out to some of top sources of information for this post.
- Derek Murphy‘s videos were helpful in planning this post.
- Jane Friedman‘s blog posts are educational and engrossing.
- Allen, a great guy and my inspiration for my researching this topic.
In addition to my main sources, these posts make good additional reading on the subject of landing a publisher deal.
- The Pros & Cons of Working with a Small Publisher, Writer’s Digest
- 10 things to consider when choosing a publisher, Publishing Talk
- Waterstone’s guide to how to get published
I am far from done researching the topic of getting published. In fact, I have a few experimental projects coming up in the next few years. Expect me to revisit this topic when I have learned more about it.
Meanwhile, is there anything you can add that I have missed out? Are you a published author the traditional or self-publishing way? Use the comments and let me know your thoughts.