Publishers and Agents
Let us assume you have learned your craft and created a manuscript you are proud of. You have gone over every page a dozen times and had someone other than your favorite relative read the final result and comment on it. You have considered those comments, made changes if necessary, and are now ready to take the next giant step.
Almost every budding new writer goes through the lengthy exercise of trying to find a publisher, agent, or both. They often ask the question, which should I try to get first? My short answer is, “why not attempt to find both?” Do your research and send out inquiries to suitable publishers and to agents who deal in your genre. Based on my limited experience, they are equally difficult to link up with.
Over the years I’ve had two published authors recommend me to their agents, with either no response, or a complete rejection.
I’ve sent out countless manuscripts, had three publishers like the product, and then sit on it for up to two years. In one case, after much prodding from me, a manuscript was finally rejected as, “not suitable for them.” In the other two cases, I was finally accepted by a fourth publisher, and was able to advise that the manuscript the others had been sitting on was no longer on the market.
How did I find my publisher? I had a face-to-face meeting at a convention and an opportunity to pitch my product. That gets the manuscript on the desk of someone actually looking forward to seeing it. But be ready with your “elevator pitch.” You have limited time to present what you have written and why you are qualified. You will probably be required to outline how you plan to promote your work. Advertising budgets are limited.
So be well prepared. I had some practice. Before I had my successful meeting with a publisher I’d sat across the table from two other publishing houses and one agent and had the opportunity to talk about my writing and my qualifications. They asked difficult questions. I’d a background in business writing, already won a national short story contest, and had a short story published in an anthology.
The alternative is to self-publish. There are several ways to go this route, including Amazon or firms such as McNally Robinson in Winnipeg. You will have to hire an editor, design a cover, and probably have to gain some technical knowledge. You will definitely have to learn the skills of marketing.
Avoid a vanity press where they take your money, make un-kept promises, do limited editing, and are even more limited in the way of book promotion.
But after all of this there is nothing like the feeling you get when you finally see your manuscript in print.
Almost every budding new writer goes through the lengthy exercise of trying to find a publisher, agent, or both. They often ask the question, which should I try to get first? My short answer is, “why not attempt to find both?” Do your research and send out inquiries to suitable publishers and to agents who deal in your genre. Based on my limited experience, they are equally difficult to link up with.
Over the years I’ve had two published authors recommend me to their agents, with either no response, or a complete rejection.
I’ve sent out countless manuscripts, had three publishers like the product, and then sit on it for up to two years. In one case, after much prodding from me, a manuscript was finally rejected as, “not suitable for them.” In the other two cases, I was finally accepted by a fourth publisher, and was able to advise that the manuscript the others had been sitting on was no longer on the market.
How did I find my publisher? I had a face-to-face meeting at a convention and an opportunity to pitch my product. That gets the manuscript on the desk of someone actually looking forward to seeing it. But be ready with your “elevator pitch.” You have limited time to present what you have written and why you are qualified. You will probably be required to outline how you plan to promote your work. Advertising budgets are limited.
So be well prepared. I had some practice. Before I had my successful meeting with a publisher I’d sat across the table from two other publishing houses and one agent and had the opportunity to talk about my writing and my qualifications. They asked difficult questions. I’d a background in business writing, already won a national short story contest, and had a short story published in an anthology.
The alternative is to self-publish. There are several ways to go this route, including Amazon or firms such as McNally Robinson in Winnipeg. You will have to hire an editor, design a cover, and probably have to gain some technical knowledge. You will definitely have to learn the skills of marketing.
Avoid a vanity press where they take your money, make un-kept promises, do limited editing, and are even more limited in the way of book promotion.
But after all of this there is nothing like the feeling you get when you finally see your manuscript in print.
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