Exclusivity or multiple submission?
Re submissions: I used to observe the one publisher at
a time "rule" but most publishers these days take months and months
to respond to unsolicited manuscripts, even from writers in their
"stables". For this reason, it has become necessary nowadays for
writers to devise different submission strategies. Depending on the manuscript,
and the publisher, this is my approach:
1. If the manuscript is likely to be awkward to place,
(because there are only a few publishers for that genre), I submit to one
publisher at a time, expressing an exclusivity period - that is, "You have
exclusive rights to assess this manuscript for the next eight weeks, until 3
July, 2012, after which time I will submit it elsewhere if you have not
expressed interest"
If the publisher has not responded by the date
specified, then I phone (or email) them two or three days after the date and
remind them their exclusive period has expired. Generally, they have a reply
for you. If not, then politely let them know that you are now submitting
elsewhere.
2. If I think the manuscript will be taken because it
is "right" for the market in general, I submit simultaneously to up
to 10 publishers, but advise each of them that it is a multiple submission.
Some publishers - and Penguin is one - do not like this method. One such
publisher held one of my submissions for nine months and when I rang to
enquire, the commissioning editor replied, "Oh, I forgot to let you know
that we're not interested". Now, with that publisher, I offer a
short (4-6 week) exclusivity period.
Re multiple submissions, if there are more than one
publisher who want to contract, this is cause for celebration, and thus one can
"auction" the work to the publisher offering the best contractual
deal.
3. With regards to non-fiction, I never write the book
then seek the publisher. What I do instead is to create a publishing proposal
which supplies the reasons why the book (or series) will make lots of money.
Publishers exist to make money, and books are their product, so if you can
shine the light on their potential profits, they are sure to be interested.
Generally, I submit proposals to 2-3 publishers at a time (basically because I
don't want too many to know about my new book concept.)
Manuscript submission
The manuscript “musts”
As a manuscript assessor, I have been surprised by the
high number of writers who send manuscripts to me without observing many of the
submission “musts”. First, all manuscript pages should be numbered. The
manuscript itself should be typed in double-space with paragraphs indented (not
left-aligned). All manuscripts should be prefaced with a title page. This page
requires the following information: story title, number of words, author’s name
(including © sign), the author's contact details, including postal address,
phone number and email. If you have a website, include this as well.
The cover letter
Your manuscript should be accompanied by a cover
letter. This should be a simple introduction to the editor explaining what you
are enclosing. If you have previously published, give brief details of what,
where and when. (I include a separate sheet listing my 130+ book titles and
publishing information.) If your work requires specialist information which you
have, then disclose this (for example, you were a jockey and have written a
book on horse racing.)
The publisher’s response
You should never expect a publisher to tell you why
your work is being rejected: that is not his job. If a publisher does go to the
trouble of expressing some interest, or in commenting on your work, then you
can be reasonably certain that there is some interest in it. You can either
ignore the comments or submit elsewhere, or you can respond to the comments by
re-writing and re-submitting. When you re-submit, address your envelope and
letter to the editor whose comments you received and remind her that you have
taken her comments on board and are re-submitting.
By the way, if you want comments on your work, pay for
a professional manuscript assessment.
The précis
Sometimes publishers ask for a précis of
the submitted novel. A précis is really an abbreviated version of what your
book is about. For some reason, many writers find it difficult to write. The
main thing is to keep your precise short and simple. Never write more than a
page or two. Write it as though you are telling a friend what your book is
generally about. You don’t need to go into details: tell who your main
character is, what motivates him, why he can’t get what he wants or needs, how
he acts in order to overcome the obstacle, and whether or not he succeeds.
Manuscript
rejection It
will help you if you know that every writer – even the most famous – has had
his or her work rejected at some time. For reasons which you have no control
over, you can have written a simply brilliant novel and still have it rejected.
You may have sent it to the wrong publishing house, it may have been returned
unread, the reader might be incompetent, the publisher may be over-extended and
unable to accept more manuscripts, and so on.
- Did you target the wrong market?
- Did you submit a story that is the wrong length?
- Does your story need further polishing?
- Does the plot need work?
- Do the characters need work?
- Do you need to contact (or start) a writing group to help you work
out what you might be doing wrong?
- Do you need feedback from a critique service?
As a writer, your work is going to meet with rejection
- from editors, agents, and sometimes from critics who pen negative reviews. You
are going to hear things you don't like from those offering critiques. You are
going to get a 'no' when you send in samples of your writing to secure a grant
or a writer's residency. Rejection is going to teach you; it might even
challenge your desire to continue to write. You might have to ask yourself if
you have the resilience to bounce back after rejection - or if you would be
happier with another hobby or job. Is your desire to write strong enough to
withstand rejection? Are you willing to put in the time necessary to polish
your craft and market your work?
Once, in my writing career, I had 47 consecutive
rejections of submitted manuscripts. That same year, however, I had seven
acceptances! And remember, I have now had over 130 books published, so I must
be doing something right (yes, Di – it’s called persevering.)
© Dianne Bates
Di offers a
twice monthly online magazine for those in the Australian children’s industry.
Go to www.buzzwordsmagazine.com to
receive a free copy. If you decide to subscribe ($48 for 24 issues pa), Di will
send you a copy of her article, 'How to Get Both Feet Past Publishers' Locked
Doors.'
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