There's a concept we need to get a handle on, "Publishing isn't a selection process . . . it is a survival process."
Really?- Yes, I believe the biggest secret to publishing is the ability to get the RIGHT PRODUCT to the RIGHT PERSON at the RIGHT PLACE at exactly the RIGHT TIME. There are bestseller quality manuscripts that will never be published because the only person who can write them never makes this elusive connection. They give up.
You see, the odds on all four of these ingredients being in place when we make a submission is not good, so even if we are pitching a wonderful project it is going to miss on one of these a lot of the time. That's when we hear the dreaded "Sorry, not a fit for us at the present time."
We all know some books that were printed that we wonder about. The only reason for that is that it was the right subject and it hit the person, place and time. Maybe we send a much better book on the same topic right after it has been purchased and is on its way to press. Since ours is much better they'll stop the presses and do ours instead, right?
Wrong, hitting all four of these correctly is the whole game, miss any one of the four and it's NO SALE, no matter how good the manuscript is. It's like a jigsaw puzzle that has several dozen pieces, and if one is missing the puzzle can't be finished - which means publishing doesn't happen. MOST OF THE TIME these pieces are not all there. We're hunting that elusive place where all the pieces fit.
So, how do we improve the odds? How do we rule out sending to the wrong places? How do we give our manuscript a better shot when it gets there? I believe it means being brutally honest about our work, and about how it is going to be looked at. This is no place for rose-colored glasses or unrealistic optimism. Sometimes we have trouble really hearing feedback we get on our project because we think we pretty well have it nailed, but do we?
Or does it need some work in order to be the "right product"? Have we really done the research necessary to insure we are sending to the "right person" at the "right place"? If we have, then telling them what we found out that makes us feel it to be true is very valuable in a pitch.
Then finally is our pitch itself helping or hurting us? Does it present us as a seasoned professional (even if we aren't we should look like one)? If you need a little help on your pitch or your proposal I do have a book on the topic entitled "A Writer's Survival Guide to Publication" that can walk you through the process a point at a time. You can find it at Amazon or in the bookstore at my website at www.terryburns.net - or there are a number of other good books on the subject.
7 comments:
Terry, I love that statement about surviving. I read it in a post you made awhile back and I think about it whenever I get discouraged. Thank you. I even quoted you in my blog recently.
I agree wholeheartedly. There is so much more to writing and getting published then meets the eye. Something that one who isn’t involved in attempting to do so, most likely has no clue about. But in the end it’s in God’s hands, though we must diligently do the work needed to get there.
Thanks for the reminder of what it takes.
Great words here. Especially about the rose colored glasses. That glowing tint wore off of mine, a good thing. :)
Great post Terry. Thanks for the subtle reminder that writing requires persistence. :)
Blessings,
Jodie Wolfe
Terry, I am currently reading your writing book. On page 101. LOVING it! Lots of great info. Can't wait to finish reading it :)
Keep up the good work.
Thank you, Martha, I hope you are indeed finding something useful there
All four of these are critical and an author's platform or following is critical, too. Would you put that under timing? (send the proposal once you have a platform?)
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