The First Time is Always Scary

A friend of mine recently asked me if there were any special requirements for submitting to an e-publisher. I gave her the same advice that someone was kind enough to give me.

Know who you’re dealing with. Don’t just check out their websites, check out any information you should know. How long have they been in business? What’s their background? Do you know authors who work with them? Are you familiar with the books they publish? After investigating all of this, do you think they’d be a good fit for your expectations?

And how do you investigate this? Check out the sites who rate the publishers such as Preditors and Editors. Some websites will tell you how long they’ve been in business and if they don’t, check them out on the internet. If you want to know about the books they publish, check out their free reads or buy a book or two to see how they are edited. If you like what you see, the next step is to check out their submission policy.

Your submission is their first impression of you as an author. Be professional and follow their guidelines. Check to make sure that your submission is properly formatted and saved to a file that they’ve requested. Word (doc.) and Rich Text Format (rtf.) are practically default but always check. Most guidelines will inform you of line spacing, acceptable fonts, the length of the submission and what contact information should be sent on the Title page. The guidelines may also suggest a specific way of naming your file. The most logical way to get your work in front of an editor in a timely manner is to make it as stress free as possible and follow the guidelines.

If you have been invited by an editor to send a full instead of a partial submission, mention this in your submission’s cover e-mail and send the required attachments.

You’ve followed the guidelines, the e-publisher has sent a response that your submission has been received and then, as with traditional publishing, you wait. The guidelines usually mention how long it should be before you receive a notification of an acceptance or rejection. Response times vary but when you do get a response, you still have some decisions to make.

If you’re rejected, it doesn’t mean that your story isn’t any good. It might mean that the publisher doesn’t think it would be a good fit for them at the time. If they’ve sent you suggestions on how to revise your story so that they might be interested and an invitation to resubmit, it’s a rejection that could ultimately turn into a sale.

If you’re manuscript is accepted, celebrate! And as a professional courtesy, whether you are accepted or rejected, respond to the email and thank the publisher for considering or accepting your book.

Someone else may have different advice to share and I invite any and all to contribute to the discussion today. Because somewhere there might be an author who may need the advice that someone was kind enough to give you. Pay it forward and share:)

Until next month,

Paris Brandon

http://parisbrandon.com

Head Over Heels—Finalist in the Novella category of Passionate Ink’s, Passionate Plume contest.

http://www.jasminejade.com/ps-8181-138-head-over-heels.aspx