Part Two: How To Land the Ultimate Publishing Deal

To land any deal, especially the ultimate deal, you have to be prepared for any block of wood that may be hurled at you.  You have to be able to move out of the way, so you won’t get hit and know how to adjust your plan of action at any moments notice.

Is Your Work Good Enough

To find out if your work is good, you have to let other people read it, and then you can assess your work from their reaction.  The more people who read your work, the better and if you get positive reactions go ahead and go forward with your book publishing dreams.

If you get negative reactions, don’t get mad get proactive.  Take the criticism literally and fix what is wrong.  The more polished and professional your story is the better chance you have of it being picked up by a publisher.


Finding A Publisher

There are literally thousands of publishers all around the world.  So, what do you write fiction, sci-fi, children’s stories, biographies, or history?  First note that not every publisher publishes all written works. 

If you have favorite authors that you read, and the works are written in the same genre look and see whom there publishers are.  Online searches for publishers is also a great way to find a huge selection.

Once you have found a few publishers, check out their websites to find out if they are currently accepting submissions and to view there other guidelines.  You may also want to purchase a book from them written in your same genre to get and idea of what they are looking for.


Submitting Your Work

Whether you submit a complete work or just a sample, you have to follow their guidelines.  Since every publisher will have different guidelines, you will also need to keep track of your submissions. 

It may take a few months before you hear back from the publisher on if your work will be accepted or not. If your work is not accepted, don’t get discouraged, but use this lesson as a stepping stone to make you stronger.

Make all necessary corrections and resubmit your work, if possible.


Closing

It may take you only a few times to hundreds of submissions before a true publisher accepts your work.  Just remember, don’t let your guard down, don’t get comfortable, and don’t ever stop trying to get your works published.


This Week: Part Three – Creating A Perfect Book Proposal