From a Publisher's Standpoint

Not to long ago, on a social media platform just a click away, Jack Wylder moseyed on in to the WriterDojo to lay down some wisdom. This is that post, reproduced with his permission, full of advice on how to Not Be That Guy.

I just got an email from a hopeful author and wanted to share some submission tips from a publisher standpoint. This submission I received was sent to more than 90 publishers at the same time. Every recipient could see everyone else’s email address. It struck me as a good opportunity to talk about what publishers look for before they even begin reading your pitch.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when submitting your work:

• Research the publisher first. Make sure they actually publish your genre and are currently accepting submissions. Most of the emails this dude used were from publishers who do NOT look at anything that didn’t come through an agent they have an existing relationship with.

• Read the submission guidelines. They exist for a reason. Following them tells us you’re professional and easy to work with. Not following them signals that even if your book is great, you are likely going to be a huge pain in the ass to deal with.

• Send your submission to the correct person or submissions address. Do not just email every address you can find. Some of these addresses were just... oof. (TorPublicity @ Tor.com. Seriously?)

• Avoid mass mailings. A submission sent to dozens of publishers at once tells us very quickly that absolutely no research went into choosing where to submit. You probably found this list somewhere online and just hoped for the best. If you don’t care, why should we?

• Never make your recipient list public. If you’re emailing multiple people, use BCC. Better yet, send individual emails. No publisher wants to see a list of 90 other publishers who received the same message.

• Personalize your query. A sentence explaining why you chose that particular publisher goes a long way. It shows you’ve done your homework.

• Know your audience before you submit. It is not the publisher’s job to decide whether your book belongs on our list. That research should be done before you send it to us. Grimdark “polar bears are dying and the world sucks” fiction probably shouldn’t be sent to Baen or Raconteur.

• Describe your book on its own merits. Comparisons can be useful, but your pitch should make us excited about your story, not someone else’s. ‘It’s Harry Potter-like’ is overdone and does NOT get us excited.

• Proofread your query. Your email is your first writing sample. Typos and formatting mistakes create an impression before we’ve read a single page of your manuscript.

• Treat your query like a business introduction. Publishing is a professional relationship. As we always say on the podcast, writing is a business and should be treated as such. The way you present yourself matters.

Every publisher wants to find great books that align with what our readers want. We really do. But your query is your first opportunity to show that you’re someone who takes the business side of writing seriously. A little research and a little extra effort can make a tremendous difference in how your submission is received.