Path To Publication

What has luck got to do with it?

In a word, everything.  I could have kept copies and lists of all my paper and on-line submissions, but in the end, I decided that would be too depressing and weigh me down; so I cannot give you an exact count the number of submissions I sent out; though by the time I had written round prospective publishers and agents, the total number must have been around sixty.  Luckily, I found my darling agent in the right place at the right time and on the lookout for a book like mine.  I call that lucky.  The success I had so long hoped for, came along -as is so often the case – when I least expected it.

Everyone can help luck to smile on them by researching the market with care.  It takes courage to send out submissions, but even so, we always have time to make sure that our enquiries are word perfect, grammatically accurate, polite and to the point.  There are always ways in which we can refine our searches, and be clear that we have made an attempt to assess whether our work and the agent we have in mind are a good match.

Are you thinking about trying your luck with the larger agencies?  Then find out who in the most likely agencies is looking for work of your genre and actively hoping to expand their lists.  Search for agents who are interested in new writers or emerging talent or for agents who are looking to build their lists.  Address your submission to them by name.

The Writers’ Workshop has a comprehensive list of agents which you can select from, according to your genre and preferences.  For example, you may want to search for small agencies who are looking for science fiction only, are interested in new writers and actively seeking manuscripts.  I found my agent by working through the list there; and I have found The Writers’ Workshop to be a mine of useful information and ideas, and their lists and articles are updated regularly.

The best of luck, and thanks for reading!

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Submission Habits

As I got into the habit of doing submissions, I would find that I worked best with a ‘cluster’ habit, sending out perhaps two, then waiting about ten days or a fortnight before attempting a fresh pair. If you find it easier to work more systematically, I suggest aiming to do three submissions a month, or one a week.

No matter what their published guidelines may indicate, no agency nowadays seriously expects us to submit to only one agency at a time. At that rate, with an average response time of two months for each submission, we would only manage about six submissions a year, and if our ambition only reaches that far, we are unlikely to progress, unless our research into each agency or publisher is exhaustive and encompasses meetings, working breakfasts, networking within the industry… If you have the contacts, lucky you.

Of course, we will never confess, “Yours is the seventh agency I have applied to today.” If an agent likes what we have sent, they will get back to us quickly. Meantime, simply do what feels most comfortable, and maintain a diplomatic silence. You, as much as the next person, have every right to see yourself as a professional running your own business, so don’t waste time with pangs of conscience. Keep it simple and keep your options open. Discretion is the key.

With fewer traditional avenues to explore, it becomes increasingly important to research our available options carefully. There is a considerable risk that we blow our chances by being too enthusiastic, too soon: it is a pity that, in the youth of our enthusiasm, we will feel a pressing need to send out our precious papers to our most promising leads far too early, before our writing has been tempered by experience. If you read no further, at least let me suggest that you should leave your most promising possibilities and matches for later. Wait at least a year – and in the meantime practise submitting – until you have what you believe is your best package. It is a rare agent or publisher who relishes the prospect of rejecting a manuscript twice.

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What is a Submission?

A submission is our sales package, which should be short, to the point and compelling, (though what makes compelling reading, is naturally subjective). If an agent asks for “the first three chapters or ten thousand words” this means, the first three chapters (up to ten thousand words). In that instance, we would send the first three chapters, or as much of the first three chapters as will take us to ten thousand words. Clue: Get your first three chapters into ten thousand words. Occasionally, a generous agent or publisher will ask for the first fifty pages. These have to be strong, convincing and impeccably written, as this will be our first and last chance to impress. Given that agencies receive hundreds of submissions each week, they are looking for any excuse to press the delete button.

The first element of a submission is our cover letter, which ideally will fit onto one page. Hopefully, it will contain an appealing taster of the story, plus some mention of our credentials and expertise as a writer.

The second element is our proposal, also called a synopsis, which is a fancy word for “summary of the entire plot” which will probably include a brief summary – a précis of the plot or subject matter in one or two sentences – plus a few longer paragraphs offering more details, and some indication of why it deserves the agent’s special attention. The synopsis summarises our work. It is a piece of writing that evolves as our work does, and may only resemble something passably business-like after many different reincarnations. We aim to fit everything pertinent that you wish to mention on one page of A4, double spaced; which works out at about three hundred words of text, plus headings.

Before we sit down to write anything, it pays to consider what else in the market our work compares with, any marketable advantages we perceive our work having, why it is unique and why we are uniquely qualified to write it. If we have any involvement in writers’ circles or on-line communities, hopefully we have been mulling these questions over for some time and can answer them fairly confidently. If not, perhaps we might leave aside doing submissions until we have a clearer idea of what particular flavours we can bring to the market. Knowing what our particular contribution is, informs our conviction.

It took me months to formulate a neat cover letter and a neat synopsis, and even now, there are some things I should probably mention and others I would be better to omit. I have received two rejection letters recently, so clearly, there are things I can work on. I did gain some very useful feedback, which I shall consider and incorporate.

The cover letter and synopsis are pieces of writing that evolve as our work does, and may only resemble something passably business-like after many different reincarnations. I take time to work at them, aiming again to fit everything pertinent I wish to mention on single pages of A4, double spaced; which works out at about three hundred words of text, plus headings.

Thanks for reading

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So! We’ve written most of our magnum opus and edited it until we are certain we can do no better. How long might it be before we can see some return on our investment of time, energy and resources? How long before we can nod our heads and say, ‘Yes, now I am a writer!’ The first time I heard the dreaded words, ‘ten years’ my mind refused to take them in, but that, indeed, is the timescale I am now looking at. I’m so glad to be nearing the end of one of the busiest and most rewarding decades of my life.

If when I first sat down to write, with only a grin and enthusiasm for company, someone had suggested that I would spend the best part of ten years coming to grips with the course I so blithely set, I would have run screaming in the opposite direction. Actually, I would probably have laughed incredulously and carried on. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.

Realistically, from firing up our determination to forge a writing career and putting your ideas down on paper, to being published, we can be looking at anything from four to ten years. Yes, it does take years to find our voice, refine our writing and our style and get round to sending out submissions; and it can take more years to secure a publishing deal. On the plus side, this means we have plenty of time to perfect our work, and we can probably have several projects on the go at once, which helps to keep our interest fresh.

The down side, apart from the potential for becoming discouraged, is that having too many projects underway can dilute our determination. I prefer to work with no more than two projects at any one time, particularly when we are new to writing; perhaps that might be our strongest piece that we are currently writing, editing and refining, plus another project that we periodically reflect on, revise and add to as the mood takes us, and which we turn to for a change of scene.

My next few blog posts will be focussing on submissions. Thanks for reading!

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