Publisher's Page

How to Submit Your Book Proposal

You’ve worked for months to get your manuscript together, to wrangle those words into proper shape and tell your story just as you want it told. Now what?

Now you have to ask and answer some questions. Do you see your book being published? Do you see it on the shelf at the bookstore? Do you see yourself holding book readings and signings? If you do, then look around the room at your imagined signing. Who are the people there? In other words, who is your audience?

Before you approach a publisher with your book, think about who will buy it. Who will read it? Where will they read it? Is yours a book to curl up with on a rainy night at home? Is it good reference information to refer to in the office? Will it be taken on car or camping trips?

Armed with your newly identified information, you can begin to look for publishers who publish your kind of book. Not that your book is the same as someone else’s. Your publisher will want to know how and why your project is different or unique. But you will also want to choose a publisher who knows that market and sells in that market. Otherwise, your book may be rejected, or worse, accepted by someone who does not know how to get the book out to the right buying public.

How to find the right publisher? Go to bookstores and look up similar books. Prepare yourself by noticing how those books are different from your own. Who is the publisher? Which books look the most interesting on the shelf? Make a list of possible publishers and look them up.  Books In Print will tell you the names of the publisher’s editors in your field. Writer’s Market will tell you what those publishers are looking for. The publishers’ own Web sites will give you guidelines. For example, Atlatl is looking for technology, psychology, self-help, travel, business… Don’t bother wasting a stamp on us for your horror novel or your collection of sci-fi stories. We don’t publish fiction at this time.

Now that you know all about your book’s chances for success, you are ready to write a query letter. Depending on the publisher’s posted guidelines, draft your letter to tell what’s new, different, and exciting about your book. Keep it short, but include all the important details: What makes your book a best- or a good-seller? How many pages are in your manuscript? Do you expect to include any pictures, and if so, do you have those pictures or will the publisher have to incur royalty fees from stock photographers? How soon the manuscript will be ready for editing and production?

This is not the time to be coy or dishonest. If your book will wow only people in a certain line of work, now is the time to say so. You are not cutting yourself in the throat — merely suggesting the right way to focus the project. If your story has a surprise ending, tell the publisher. The publisher needs to know what that surprise is, in order to make a decision on publishing and marketing.

Keep in mind that your query letter is a job interview. It needs to be perfect. If the publisher’s guidelines indicate a wish to receive the whole manuscript, or a part of it, by all means, send that along with an outline or synopsis showing the direction the book will go.

Finally, send a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) for the return of your manuscript — or your contract. Publishers receive tons of mail. Your SASE will keep together your manuscript and the means to get your answer back to you. It will also assure that publisher of your professional understanding of the submission process.

Good Luck!