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Write From Home
Kim Wilson P.O. Box 4145 Hamilton, NJ 08610 Tel: (609) 888-1683 Fax: (609) 888-1672 E-mail: kim@writefromhome.com
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5 Things You Should Know Before
Contacting A Book Publisher Out of excitement many aspiring authors make numerous mistakes when approaching a publisher. Not only do these mistakes mark an author as an amateur they also waste time, both the authors and publishers. To help you maximize your chances of having your manuscript accepted here are a few guidelines you should follow. 1. Make a list of publishers that publish the type of book you've written. Don't contact a publisher of children's books if your manuscript is in the adult nonfiction self-help category. 2. Some publishers only accept query's and proposals from agents. Make sure the publishers on your list works with un-agented authors. 3. Before contacting a publisher read their submission guidelines. Many publishers (especially in nonfiction) would rather you query them asking if they would like to see your proposal. Unless otherwise stated, don't send a publisher a full proposal or manuscript. Publishers and editors are very busy and often don't have the time to sit down and read an unsolicited book proposal or manuscript. 4. Unless otherwise specified by the publisher or editor, don't call and tell them about your book. Once again, they don't have the time to sit on the phone and discuss your book. Cold calling is not only an intrusion upon their time it's also considered rude. 5. If you send a publisher a query letter asking if they want to read your proposal, make sure your proposal is finished and ready to go. For example, when my agent received my query letter she asked me to overnight my proposal. This was no big deal because my proposal was completed. For a comprehensive detailed list of publishers I highly recommend you get the Writer's Guide to Book Editors, Publishers and Literary Agents 2002-2003 by Jeff Herman. In this book you can find an answer to almost any question you may have about a particular publisher, as well as literary agents. Once you have compiled your list and completed your proposal you can start querying publishers. Finding the right publisher can be a time-consuming task but don't give up. Some will immediately reject your letter, others may want to view your proposal then reject it, but sooner or later if you have a good book a publisher will respond in a positive manner. Whatever you do, don't give up. Persistence and determination often separates published from unpublished authors. Kim Wilson is the founder of Write From Home (http://www.writefromhome.com), a site dedicated to helping you manage kids and clips under one roof. Kim is also a full-time freelance writer and coauthor of Living Miracles: Stories of Hope from Parents of Premature Babies. You may contact Kim by visiting her Web site or sending e-mail to kim@writefromhome.com Permission granted to reprint this article providing you: 1. Include my byline. 2. Make no changes to the article. 3. Include the above resource box. 4. E-mail me: kim@writefromhome.com informing me where it will be published. |
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