Submitting your book for publication

Just a brief note today to address a question many new writers are unsure of - what exactly will a publisher expect you to submit, and how much of your book do they need to make a judgement on its viability?

The answer is, many publishers these days are happy to receive a sample chapter or two plus an outline of the rest of the book, especially for a non-fiction book. In fact, a clear outline of your non-fiction book idea may be sufficient to interest them. Expect to be asked to demonstrate your expertise, though, before they even think of committing themselves. Of course, if you are already an acknowledged expert, a publisher may even approach you.

With fiction the situation is a little different. While some publishers will accept the first few chapters plus outline, there are still many who will expect you to show enough commitment to write the entire book before you submit anything. What you must never do is send a few sample pages - publishers seem to hate that!

Manuscripts should always be anything but manuscripts - that is, they should be typewritten or more often word-processor produced and double-spaced. Please don't forget to tell them who you are by enclosing a covering letter.

As for poetry, there seem to be wide variations, but a general rule is to send five or six (some specify six) poems, single-sided as a sample of your work. These should be single-spaced in the form in which you'd like them to appear when (if) published. Always add your contact details to each sheet in case they become separated and send a cover letter with more details about yourself as well.

Multiple submissions seem to be generally accepted now. When you remember that it can be months before you hear anything from each submission, that is just as well. Even so, there are a few die-hard submissions editors who object to writers sending to more than one publisher at a time. The best idea is probably to make multiple submissions but make it clear that you are doing so.

Who knows, if a publisher really likes your work that may even strengthen your negotiating position. I can't promise it will, but it might!