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| Rachel Tolman Terry |
There have never been more publishing options
available to writers than there are today, which can be both exciting and
overwhelming. I'm going to talk today about getting your foot through the door
with traditional publishers; the way to do that is by pitching your manuscript
to agents and editors. The big six publishing companies generally won't look at
manuscripts that aren't represented by agents. Agents act as their first line
of defense, weeding out manuscripts and authors so the big publishing companies
aren't swamped with unsolicited manuscripts. Most smaller publishing companies
will look at manuscripts that are sent directly from authors.
I worked as an acquisitions editor for several years,
and I've been represented by two different agents, so I've seen how the process
works. I've sent out plenty of query letters of my own, and I've also read
hundreds of letters and had to decide which ones to accept and which to reject.
I can tell you that it's not easy to be on either side of the desk, but the
process seems to work.
The process is essentially the same for sending
your manuscript directly to a smaller publisher and for securing representation
through a literary agent. Either way, you'll need to take the following steps.
1.
Polish your manuscript.
2.
Update your online presence.
3.
Do your market research.
4.
Write your pitch (query) letter.
5.
Send it out.
6.
Send it out again. Repeat.
Let's take an in-depth look at each of these steps.
1. Polish your manuscript. If you're at the point that you're thinking about
publishing, I'm assuming your manuscript is looking good. But just to make
sure, go through it again with relentless, unforgiving eagle eyes. If editing
is not your strong point, find someone else to edit it, whether you pay someone
or swap editing jobs with a writer friend. It's tough to polish off your own
writing, but it has to be done before you take any more steps toward
publication.
1. Update your online presence. Once upon a time, publishing houses had big
marketing budgets. They spent lots of money on glossy posters, book tours, and
fancy catalogs. Those days are gone, and today, publishers expect their authors
to do the lion's share of marketing. That means you need a substantial online
presence. So dust off your Twitter account, start writing blog posts, and get
your voice out there. If you give public speeches, record them and put them on
YouTube because publishers love to see eloquent writers who are willing to get
out there and tackle in-person marketing opportunities. Some people love this
part of publishing, and others wish they could just stay tucked behind their
laptops, writing and writing. If you want to sell books, either through your
own Indie imprint or through Random House, you're going to have to learn to
market.
3.
Do your market research. Blindly sending pitch
letters out into the cyber-universe can be a waste of time, but if you take
some time to research the agents or publishers, you'll have far better luck.
That's because you'll be pitching your manuscript to agents and publishers who
actually specialize in your genre. It's a waste of time (for you and the editor or agent) to send your
collection of poetry to an editor who only publishes biographies. You can usually find this information, along
with instructions on how and where to send your queries, on the publisher's or
agent's website. Double check the spelling of the person's name, and know
whether you're addressing a man or a woman (sometimes it's hard to tell just
from names). I find it's best to use a spreadsheet to keep track of this
information while I'm doing my market research.
4. Write your pitch letter. Also called a query letter, a
pitch letter is your chance to get an editor's or agent's attention. In less
than a page, you need to offer a small, tempting taste of the book, explain the
grand scheme (how long it is, whether it's one of a series, what kinds of
readers would be interested in it, and how it will be marketed), and leave the
reader hungry to read the actual manuscript. At the end of the letter, you also
need to explain why you are the best person on earth to write this book. End
with, "Thanks for taking the time to consider my work. I look forward to
hearing from you," or something equally polite. For a great article about
writing an agent query letter, take a look at this site. [link to http://www.agentquery.com/writer_hq.aspx]
5. Send it out. It takes courage and faith to send your query
letters out. Most of them will be rejected, and that's okay. Editors and agents
often have very specific ideas of what they're looking for based on current
market trends, and yours might not fit. When I signed with my agent, I sent out
17 query letters. Two agents replied that they'd like to see my manuscript, and
only one offered me a contract. But one is all you need.
6. Keep sending it out. Maybe every single publisher or editor
rejects your letter or just plain doesn't respond. Is it time to give up? Of
course not. You can handle this situation in several ways. You can continue
your market research right away and find some more people to send your query
letter to. You can make some changes in your query letter and try and improve
it. You can lay that project aside for a while and get to work on something
else until you feel ready to dive back into it. You can publish your book
through CreateSpace and send the published book to publishers to see if they'd
like to take it on. As I said at the beginning, the publishing options today
are vastly superior and more diverse than they were just five years ago.
There's never been a more exciting time to be a writer. Whichever road you
take, be persistent enough to continue, confident enough to represent yourself
well, and humble enough to take criticism, and you'll be just fine.
About Rachel
Rachel Tolman Terry started freelance writing shortly after
graduating from Brigham Young University with a B.A. in English. She has
written articles for magazines such as BackHome, Health Money &
Travel, Parent:Wise Austin, The Old Schoolhouse, and Practical
Homeschooling. She worked as Acquisitions Editor and Managing Editor for
Mapletree Publishing Company and has ghostwritten books and web content
for many years. She recently published an LDS novel, Sister WhoDat, NY
Agent, which is available at Amazon.
Rachel recently moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, with her
husband and three children. Since moving, the Terrys have acquired one
rabbit and three chickens, which provide hours and hours of backyard
entertainment.
Twitter
@_rachelterry_
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