| One of the first things that you will need to do is | | | | and a book proposal. Many authors choose to |
| familiarize yourself with publishers. In addition to | | | | merge these two documents together. You can, |
| knowing where to send your book manuscript | | | | but, be careful. Cover letters and book proposals |
| and who it should be addressed to, you will want | | | | should be right to the point and not clouded with |
| to learn as much about the publisher in question | | | | too much information. |
| as possible. What type of themes are they | | | | You should also consider using the services of |
| looking for? Will your book be a good fit? Are | | | | professional literary agent and editor. They can be |
| there are rules or restrictions in terms of | | | | costly, but they are typically more than worth the |
| formatting that you need to abide by? Does the | | | | costs. No matter how good you are at |
| publisher in question only accept submissions from | | | | proofreading, you will likely miss some errors. A |
| agents? These are all important questions that | | | | second set of professional eyes are advised. As |
| you need to have answers to. | | | | for literary agents, they too have a number of |
| As for how you can go about finding book | | | | benefits. If the publishers that fit your book the |
| publishers, you will be pleased with all of your | | | | best only accept literary agents submissions, it |
| options. You can look at the books that you own, | | | | may be in your best interest to hire a |
| the books in your local library, or the books in | | | | professional literary agent. They can help get your |
| your local bookstores. Make note the publishers | | | | book into doors that you couldn't. |
| and perform a standard internet search with their | | | | As for follow-ups, they are okay, but also being |
| names. Next, look for a section for writer's | | | | sure to use your best judgment. Most publishers |
| guidelines. You can also perform a generalized | | | | outline on their websites how long it should take |
| standard internet search, such as with the phrase | | | | for you to receive a response, like in two to four |
| book publishers. There are also a number of | | | | months. If you do not receive a response by that |
| printed resources, like the popular Writer's Market | | | | time, consider placing a phone call or sending a |
| books, that you can use as well. | | | | letter to the publisher in question. For your own |
| As previously stated, you will want to learn what | | | | protection though, do not make contact before |
| rules and restrictions publishing companies may | | | | the estimated response time. |
| have. If you can't find this information online or in | | | | By taking the above mentioned points into |
| print, be sure to use your best judgment. Make | | | | consideration, you may be able to see your book |
| sure that your book manuscript and all other | | | | in print soon. As a reminder however, do not be |
| documents are easy to read, formatted properly, | | | | scared of rejection letters. They are common, |
| and clean. Also, be sure to include a cover letter | | | | but that does not mean that you should give up. |