You have just poured your heart and soul into your novel, shown it to your family and friends who all loved it, and now you are ready to let the world have a chance to read your wonderful novel. Unfortunately, there is one major hurdle in the way- you need to convince a publisher that people want to read your wonderful novel. Winning over a good book publishing company, and getting a book deal is one of the hardest things a writer has to do, often more difficult than writing the book itself. But don’t despair because good writers, new or established, get picked up by book publishing companies all the time. There are several things you can do to improve your chances of winning over the top book publishers.
1. Get a great agent
Over 80 percent of the accepted submissions at leading book publishing companies are agented submissions. Getting a good agent is also hard work, but once you have landed an agent who is willing to represent you, your work is mostly done. Agents will help you to target your submission to the best publisher or editor for your particular type of book, and also help you to polish up your book. Agents have contacts in the publishing industry which is essential for new authors, and agents are also motivated to land you a good book deal, as they work on commission.
2. Write a great query, proposal and synopsis
This cannot be stressed enough. Publishers and agents will often read just the query letter before deciding to proceed further and ask for the manuscript. Use your best and most persuasive writing to prepare these important documents. You need to spend enough time and effort on making sure that your submission package is the best representation of your writing.
3. Have a good following through social media
For new and unknown writers, the publisher takes a risk because there is no way to know if people will buy and read your books. You can help alleviate their concerns by building up a good blog, having a few published articles or short stories, and having a readership or following on social media. Authors whose writing (even on blogs or websites) has been well received are more likely to be accepted by publishers.
4. Have a completed manuscript to show them
Many writers mistakenly assume that they can floor a publisher with the first three chapters, get the book deal, then languish for months waiting for the muse, and then finally finish the book in a couple of years’ time. For a new writer, it is essential that your manuscript be complete, edited, polished and through a couple of rounds of reviews from family and friends, before you even think of submitting it to book publishing companies. Even for established authors, leading book publishing companies expect to see at least a good representation of how the final product will be, before they will sign another deal.
5. Show your professionalism
Gone are the days when publishers accepted talent or creativity as an excuse for authors to be sloppy and unprofessional. Some of the best-selling and highly talented authors of today are also among those who are the most disciplined and professional. You can make a great first impression on book publishing companies by showing your professionalism in your submission. Make sure that you do your research and that your book or genre is suitable for the publishing house. Follow the publisher’s guidelines, and write the query and proposal as per requirements.
Image credit: ptwo on flickr and reproduced under Creative Commons 2.0
CS Rajan is a freelance writer who loves to write on various topics, and is currently working on her first novel.