Advertising
Advertising

How to Get Your Book Published By the World’s Top Publishers

How to Get Your Book Published By the World’s Top Publishers

For the past 10 years, I have worked with some of the world’s top publishing houses. I’ve worked as an editor, writer, project manager, and business analyst. I’ve worked on print and digital titles, and on publishing and commercial strategy, and am lucky enough to have worked with the teams behind some of the world’s best-loved authors.

Along the way, I’ve picked up a whole bunch of experience about how to get a book published, and as several people have asked me recently how to find good editors or publishers, or if I could read their manuscript, I thought these notes would be of interest to any aspiring authors out there.

Right now, I’m going to share some insights about how to get your book published by a traditional publishing house, but please bear in mind that that’s just one possibility. Today, there are many options for publishing your work, including self-publishing. I’ll cover those in future posts – watch this space.

1. Write a proposal

For the biggest publishers out there, a proposal is essential to get an editor’s attention. You should write this before you start contacting any editors, as it will be the first thing they ask you for. If you have one ready and waiting, and it looks professional, they’re more likely to take you seriously.

The proposal should be around 10-20 pages, and should say something about you. It should include details of your book concept, a chapter breakdown, perhaps a full chapter or introduction, information on your blog (assuming you have one), your audience, any stats on existing readership, and plans for the future of your brand. It will also be important to include information on how your proposed book compares to other books on the market; how it’s different from what’s out there and what it competes with.

Advertising

Even if you’ve already written in its entirety the book you want to publish, you should still create a formal proposal document so that the editor or publisher has a clear overview of what it is you’re aiming to achieve with your book, and why you’ve written it. There’s no harm in submitting the full manuscript if you choose to do so, but you shouldn’t expect a publisher to have time to read every manuscript that crosses their desk. That’s why the proposal document is important.

Big publishers will only be looking to take on authors who have already created a personal ‘brand’ for themselves, and who are on a mission to change the world. The bigger the ambition, the better. Smaller publishers will be looking for niche ideas that follow existing trends or pick up on new ones.

2. Decide whether you need an agent

A lot of big publishers say on their company websites that you need an agent for your manuscript to be considered. I know for a fact that this isn’t always true; I’ve had editors tell me that they actually prefer a personal approach or recommendation from someone in their network. Personal recommendations from inside the company carry a lot of weight, even if people don’t work in the same department.

Having said that, agents are incredibly well-connected in the publishing world and know how to get the attention of publishing houses and negotiate publishing contacts to maximize the benefit to the author. Often, they negotiate hard for things like film rights, which, if you’re a first-time author, although exciting, can be a little scary, and may not be something you’d consider important at that point in time. An agent can help you to stand your ground when you might not realize that something is important. They may also secure a higher fee and royalty with a major publisher. The downside to this is, of course, is that you’ll have to pay them, often a percentage of your earnings. You’ll need to figure out whether you think their input is worth the fee.

3. Research your publishers

Before ever approaching a publisher, make sure you thoroughly understand their ‘list.’ A ‘list’ is the word publishers and editors use to refer to their back catalog, i.e. all the books they publish in a particular category or imprint.

Advertising

Make sure you know exactly which publishing house an imprint belongs to. You should be able to find this out through looking at their company website. Look at which books they have on their list.

Think hard about whether or not your book is a good match for a particular imprint. If you’re writing a business book, and the imprint you’re looking at is to do with personal development and spirituality, chances are it won’t be a good match. Similarly, if you notice a book on a publisher’s list that is very similar to the one you are writing, they may decide it’s too similar to go with, or may in fact specialize in that niche area, meaning your title will fit perfectly. Either way, make sure you have made an attempt to understand their publishing strategy before you approach them.

4. Research your contacts

Once you’ve figured out which imprints/publishers your book best fits with, reach out to your network and see if anyone you know has any contacts at all at those companies. It doesn’t matter whether that person works in Technology, Facilities or Management; the fact that they’re in the building is sometimes enough to get you the introduction you need. Ask them for their help, whether it be in contacting an editor, or finding out the process for new authors. You’ll be surprised how much people will want to help.

If you can’t find a contact within the company, try searching on Twitter and LinkedIn for contacts at the company. If you find a relevant contact, ask anyone connected to them who is already in your network for a warm introduction. If you don’t have any direct or indirect connections, write a tailored introduction asking them if they’d be prepared to connect. Make sure you show awareness of their work.

5. Make contact, and be personal

Once you’ve fully researched your publisher and their imprint, and have your proposal ready to send to them, the initial approach you make is important. When sharing your proposal for the first time – whether that be in writing or in conversation – make sure you make the approach as personal, and as tailored for your audience (i.e. your publisher) as possible. I’m not suggesting you stalk them on Facebook and find out the name of their dog, in order to drop it into casual conversation! I mean be aware of who you are talking to and imagine how your approach will appear from their perspective, with all their expertise, prejudice and experience. Editors and publishers will remember you if they believe you have a good understanding of their company and their list, and are more likely to take you seriously.

Advertising

6. Hustle

Don’t be afraid to pitch your idea to multiple publishers, or even to different imprints within the same publishing house. Follow the advice above and don’t send out scattergun or unresearched proposals to any editor you can find. The more good approaches to relevant and high quality publishers you make, the better your chances of success.

7. Practice rejection therapy

As we all know, JK Rowling’s Harry Potter manuscript was rejected by numerous publishing houses before it was accepted. And even after she became mega-famous, her manuscript written under the name of R Galbraith was rejected 12 times.

Of course, all of these points are guidelines for how to proceed and no guarantee of success. Even if you’ve written a great book, found a great agent and pitched your awesome proposal to the perfect publisher, and they love the manuscript, it doesn’t mean your book will be published. There are all kinds of things that are out of your – and sometimes even their – control. Here are a few examples:

  • The publisher may have used up all of their budget for the year
  • They may have already reached their commissioning targets
  • The in-house team may not have capacity to take anything else on right now
  • Their priorities may be changing due to a company restructure
  • The publisher may be be overhauling their strategy
  • They may have just signed another author with a very similar title
  • They may be ‘concentrating on their backlist’ this year (you can often understand this as ‘their budget has been cut’)
  • There may be a different team within the same company that is better suited to publishing their manuscript
  • The publisher may simply be too busy to follow up with you properly.

All of these things can mean that publishers miss out on great books, and authors miss out on publishing deals.

So you need to get used to rejection. It isn’t personal, and you mustn’t allow yourself to get disheartened by it. You may very well have a great book on your hands. You just have to keep on looking until you find the best publisher for it.

Advertising

The difference between a good book getting published and not getting published is very often dependent on the tenacity of the author.

Be tenacious.

Featured photo credit: https://pixabay.com via pixabay.com

More by this author

Claire Ransom

Founder of Wizzbox, Freelance Writer and Editor

How to Get Your Book Published By the World’s Top Publishers

Trending in Productivity

1 Have You Fallen Into the ‘Busy’ Trap? Here’s Your Way Out 2 How to Increase Brain Power, Boost Memory and Become 10X Smarter 3 Do You Want to Know the Secret to Living a Fulfilling Life? 4 6 People Management Tactics to Lead a Diverse Team to Success 5 How Much Do You Need to Give Up to Start Over?

Read Next

Advertising
Advertising

Last Updated on November 14, 2018

Have You Fallen Into the ‘Busy’ Trap? Here’s Your Way Out

Have You Fallen Into the ‘Busy’ Trap? Here’s Your Way Out

Do you find yourself constantly feeling busy? Or, maybe you feel like you have too much on your plate? Perhaps you have a to-do list with no end in sight, or many responsibilities to juggle on a daily basis at work. When you get home, you have household responsibilities to take care of, too, and it just seems like you never have much time for a breather.

Being busy is good, it’s better than not having anything to do and letting time slip away. But, what many people don’t realize is, being busy doesn’t always mean you’re being productive. The more time you take to complete something does not equal to more success. Many people end up falling into this trap as they pack their day with tasks and errands that may sometimes produce little outcome or output for the effort that they’ve put in.

For example, let’s say that your washing machine at home broke down and you need to fix it. Instead of calling the handyman to come, your husband decides he’s going to fix the machine. He ends up spending half a day figuring out the machine, and does eventually fix it. He did however have to make a trip to the tool shop to buy some extra tools and parts for the machine. Now, if you had called the handy man, it would probably have taken the handyman much less time, and he would have all the necessary tools and parts already, because that is his job. So in this instance, was your husband’s time and effort worth it? Oh, and because he took half the day fixing the machine, you now had to take over his duties of dropping the kids off at soccer and swim practice.

We Need Not Be That Busy

I hope you would agree, that it would have been ideal to delegate this task to the handyman. That would have saved you time and effort, so that you and your husband could focus on doing other things that were more important to you, like being there for your kids or spending time with each other. This is just one example of how we often impose busyness on ourselves without us even realizing it.

But, I’m going to show you just how you can gain quality time from external sources. Whatever big goals or ambitions that you may have, it’s normal for them to involve a lot more of your time than you first expect. I’m talking about things like starting a new business, changing careers, perhaps even moving to a new city. New challenges often involve things that are outside of our experience and expertise, so covering all the bases ourselves is sometimes not feasible as it takes too much time to learn and do everything.

Advertising

You Are Just One Person

At the end of the day, you are just one person, and you have a limited amount of time. So, you have to do things that are meaningful to you. While an overall goal may be meaningful, not all of the milestones needed to get there may be meaningful. Because we all have our strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes, not every task will be enjoyable or all fun & games. Some simply require pure willpower and discipline to grind through. And that is where delegation comes in.

What is Delegation?

You may hear this term a lot in the business or corporate world; it’s an effective way for managers to distribute (or sometimes avoid!) work. But, that’s not what I’m referring to. Instead, delegation means leveraging time from an outside source to give you opportunities to increase your quality time. By outside source, we simply mean that it’s not your own time that you’re spending.

What Should You Delegate?

To delegate effectively, it has to be done with deliberate intention. So the aim of delegation is to create more quality time for yourself. There are 3 types of tasks that you should generally delegate, called the Delegation Triangle.

The first are tasks you don’t enjoy doing. These are things that you know how to do, but don’t enjoy. Second, are tasks you shouldn’t do. These are things you know how to do and may even enjoy, but may not be the best use of your time. Third, are tasks you can’t do. These are things that need doing, but you don’t have the skills or expertise to follow through with them at this moment.

Have a look through your daily tasks and responsibilities, and see if you can fit them under these 3 categories.

Advertising

Pitfalls of Delegation

Using the Delegation Triangle, you can decide which tasks are worth delegating. In theory, it might look easy to sort actions at first glance; but often, it’s actually harder than you think! 

One such example, is diverting time on tasks you shouldn’t do. Let’s go back to the washing machine example. Your husband decides to fix it on his own instead of simply getting an expert to fix it. Why? Because it’s probably a challenge he enjoys, and it’s an accomplishment that would bring him satisfaction. However, if the value of the task is too low, you really ought to delegate it to others.

Sometimes, when you have a larger goal in mind, you might have to sacrifice some actions in return for making progress. Always think about the bigger picture! One thing that can help you avoid this pitfall is to keep your deadlines in mind whenever you set milestones for a project or task.

Deadlines are a commitment to yourself, and every bit of time is precious. So if an activity you’re focusing on is taking time away from progress towards your goal, it may be time to let go of it for now. You can always decide to pick it up again later.

Then there’s the other extreme of delegation. And that’s when you start delegating everything you dislike doing to external sources.Sometimes it’s tempting to abuse delegation and get carried away outsourcing everything on your “don’t like doing” list.

Advertising

Some people are too picky on what they’re going to do. But sometimes, if you don’t like doing so but you’re the only one who can do it, you still need to finish the job. At the end of the day, it does take your own hard work and effort to achieve the success you want.

So if you find that you’re constantly running into this problem of over delegating, then it may be time to re-evaluate your motivation, or reason for doing whatever it is that you’re doing.

Ask yourself, “Is this task contributing towards a meaningful objective that I want to achieve?” and “what kind of progress do I make each time I carry out the task myself?” If the task is both meaningful and creates progress, then the next step is to ask yourself questions that can help you create actions.

What obstacles are causing you to avoid this task? Is it because of low confidence in your ability? Do you think someone else can do a better job? Is it your level of focus? Or is there an alternative action you can take that can produce the same results?

Take Action Now

Take a look at your current tasks or to-do’s that you have planned this week. Which tasks are possible candidates that fall under the Delegation Triangle? Are there any that fall under the pitfalls mentioned above? Which tasks can you immediately identify that should be delegated out right now?

Advertising

I hope this exercise helps declutter your tasks and responsibilities a little and allows you to see how much more time you can be saving for more important things. But, this is not the end of delegation. After you’ve sorted out the tasks that can be delegated, the next step is to determine who it should be delegated to. Besides people like your co workers, or spouse/family members, did you know that there is a whole delegating industry out there?

If you’re keen to learn more about this delegating industry, and find out how you can decide who’s the best fit to do your delegated tasks, subscribe to our newsletter today. We will help you discover many more skills that will boost your productivity by leaps and bounds!

Featured photo credit: rawpixel via unsplash.com

Read Next
https://www.lifehack.org/528795/how-get-your-book-published-the-worlds-top-publishers
www.lifehack.org
crawl=CC-MAIN-2018-47
117686
application/http; msgtype=response
sha1:QBKDJLOXIMAI3BUR5EEBSS56JJYEPVGH
<urn:uuid:6e875cef-87e7-4dde-82c0-650af933bd0c>
2018-11-15T04:32:58Z
104.25.198.24
text/html
sha1:367VD2EU5YYQNQCKY3FSICSJO6OLUOK7
<urn:uuid:1583a950-c958-461c-8e0f-6c1cc17d38af>
https://www.lifehack.org/528795/how-get-your-book-published-the-worlds-top-publishers
response
<urn:uuid:710742c2-d126-4938-b116-c14e0be8f3ad>
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2018-47
publisher: Common Crawl
description: Wide crawl of the web for November 2018
operator: Common Crawl Admin (info@commoncrawl.org)
hostname: ip-10-237-21-139.ec2.internal
software: Apache Nutch 1.15 (modified, https://github.com/commoncrawl/nutch/)
robots: checked via crawler-commons 0.11-SNAPSHOT (https://github.com/crawler-commons/crawler-commons)
format: WARC File Format 1.1
conformsTo: http://iipc.github.io/warc-specifications/specifications/warc-format/warc-1.1/