How to publish your book

Bookstores are now crowded with editions of a wide variety of genres and formats. Books are written by stars and politicians. But do not give in to the feeling that there is no place left in the world for another new book. Who knows, suddenly you are the future creator of an exciting bestseller? After all, publishers are interested in finding authors who will sell well.

Instruction manual

1

Prepare your book for publishing. You will not have another chance to make a first impression on editors and publishers. Therefore, pre-proofread the text. If you are not 100% sure of your literacy, ask someone close to you to edit your book. You can also pay a professional corrector to bring the text to perfection.

Keep in mind that a huge stream of manuscripts comes to the publishers daily. Your book should stand out among others. To submit a book to a publisher, you need to create a synopsis and annotation.

Synopsis is a summary of the work, set out on 1-2 sheets. It should contain all the main events set forth succinctly and clearly. Make your synopsis so that it is clear who the heroes of the book are, in what circumstances events unfold.

Write a brief annotation, indicating in it what you consider the most striking and most important in your book. An abstract should arouse interest in the text, arouse the desire to read a book. The annotation should contain a hint or an indication of the intrigue of your work.

2

Create a letter template for distribution to publishers. The vast majority of modern publishing houses accept manuscripts by e-mail. Therefore, there is no need to mess with paper manuscripts and mail or courier shipments. In the letter, justify your appeal to the publisher.

Write why, in your opinion, the manuscript can be claimed by readers. Highlight the main idea of ​​your book, its main advantages. Next, indicate the genre in which the work is written, its volume.

If you have previously had any publications (published stories, newspaper publications, publications in online contests), indicate this in the letter. Also provide brief information about yourself: age, education, occupation, etc. Attach your synopsis, abstract and text to the letter.

Write down for yourself the addresses of publishers, which are indicated on their official websites on the Internet. Send your book to all available addresses. Record to which publishers and when you sent the book. This information will come in handy for you in the future.

3

Do not wait for publisher editors to respond to your letters. Of course, some of the editors consider it necessary to inform the author of their verdict. But it’s in your best interest to contact the publishers themselves. Call the publisher, give them your last name and first name, then check if they received your manuscript. It is possible that you sent the manuscript to an already non-existent address, or your letter got lost in the spam stream, or another editor is engaged in the direction you need. Ask for the email address of the person who is responsible for working with manuscripts related to your genre.

Also ask for his name, surname and work phone number. After that, send the letter to the specified address again. Be sure to make sure that the editor you need has received the manuscript text. Check with the editor when it is best to contact him to find out his verdict.

4

After you have sent the manuscripts to all editors you are interested in, made sure that the editors have received them, wait for the agreed time. Then call all the editors. Check if the manuscript is of interest to them. In case of strong interest, the editor may contact you himself, without waiting for your call. If you are interested in your book, do not rush to agree to the first sentence. First make sure that this sentence is the only one. If several publishers are immediately interested in your manuscript, ask them to voice the terms of publication. Ask for a copyright agreement. Carefully read the proposed contract. You must clearly understand in what form the book will be released, what your fee will be, under what conditions you sell the rights to the manuscript to the publisher. Having studied the proposals, agree to one that will suit you in all respects.

note

Do not hesitate to contact a lawyer if you are having difficulty reading the contracts. It is better if it is a specialist in the field of copyright. He will be able to clarify for you various nuances. For example, the contract should state during which period the publisher is obliged to publish the book, which author is entitled to royalties from overprints, etc. The contract should not be enslaving for the beginning author, and it is better to be safe again.