Welcome to the Course on Avoiding the Mistakes That Scream Novice

SUBJECT LINE: [Course] LESSON 1: “Avoiding the Mistakes that Scream Novice” with Kathy Ide

Welcome to the course on “Avoiding the Mistakes that Scream Novice.”

I’m Kathy Ide, and I’m a full-time author and editor. I’ve been writing for publication since 1989 and doing professional freelance editing since 1998. I also speak at writers’ conferences all over the country, so I hear from a lot of publishers and agents about what kinds of things they see in the manuscripts they get. In this class, I’m going to share with you some of the things that will make an agent or acquisitions editor see you as a newbie instead of as a professional.

Since January has five Mondays, I’ll be posting lessons on Monday and Thursday the next five weeks:

Week One: Submission Mistakes Week Two: Content Mistakes Week Three: Technique Mistakes Week Four: Technical Mistakes Week Five: Attitude Mistakes

There won't be any homework to turn in with this course, but feel free to share your input on the various topics with the group. Or e-mail me at [email protected] if you have any questions you’d rather not share with the class.

LESSON 1: SUBMISSION MISTAKES

You send your manuscript to a publisher or agent with high hopes and heartfelt prayers. But what will that agent or acquisitions editor think when he or she opens your precious package?

The hard truth is that agents and publishers get a huge number of submissions every single day. And they can only accept a few books per year. So they have to be really picky. That means they’re just looking for a reason to say no to most of those manuscripts. If anything about a submission screams, “This writer is a novice,” they’ll be reaching for a form rejection letter.

This week we’ll talk about some of the things that can get your submission rejected before the agent or publisher even reads the manuscript’s first page.

1. Submitting to the wrong place

If you send your historical romance novel to a publisher that doesn’t do historical romance novels, you’re not only wasting your time and guaranteeing a rejection letter (if you get a response at all). You’re showing that you haven’t done your research on that publisher. If you send a nonfiction book to a publisher that recently published a book on the same topic, you haven’t done your research on the market.

Find out which publishers accept your genre, length (word count), writing style, etc. Check the publisher’s writers’ guidelines in the Christian Writer’s Market Guide or on the publisher’s website. Don’t send a publisher something that’s not what their guidelines say they want. (Unless you’ve talked to an acquisitions editor at a writers’ conference and he/she told you they’re thinking about expanding into your genre and he/she wants to see your submission for the new line.)

If the publisher’s guidelines say they don’t accept unsolicited or unagented submissions, don’t send one. If you’ve met an acquisitions editor at a writers’ conference, and he or she has invited you to send something, it’s no longer “unsolicited.” If you don’t have that “in,” either try to land an agent or submit to a different publisher.

2. Submitting the wrong things

If a publisher’s guidelines say they want you to start by sending a query letter, don’t send a proposal. If they request a proposal, don’t send the complete manuscript.

If the guidelines say they want manuscripts between 50,000 and 70,000 words, don’t send a manuscript that’s under or over that and expect the publisher to decide what to add or take out (or to make an exception to their guidelines just for you).

Don’t pitch more than one book at a time. In your proposal, you can mention that you have other ideas, projects, or manuscripts. But that should be a “P.S.” to your pitch.

Find out if they want the query letter, proposal, or manuscript in hard copy mailed to them or electronic file e-mailed to them. For electronic submissions, attach everything in a Word document. (Some publishers want .doc rather than .docx files. Check the guidelines for that, or play it safe and send a .doc.) Most publishers will want one file with everything in it, not separate files for each sample chapter, the synopsis, the marketing plan, etc. Be sure to write something in the body of the e-mail, identifying yourself and indicating what’s attached (and why you’re sending it—because the acquisitions editor requested it at a conference, because their guidelines indicate this is what they want, etc.).

Find out if the publisher has a preferred Bible version (and if so, make sure all of your quotations are in that version). If you have anything that may be considered controversial (content, topics, language used, etc.), make sure the publisher you’re submitting to is open to that. (For example, some publishers won’t accept the use of even “mild profanity” such as darn.)

Don’t send pictures, graphics, or cover ideas unless the publisher specifically requests them. They will have their own graphic artists and cover designers. Don’t try to be cutesy or clever in order to make a unique impression on the publisher. Sending chocolates, bookmarks, basically anything other than the pages of your submission is simply not professional. Nor is wrapping your pages in colored cellophane or tying them up with a pretty pink ribbon. Oh, those things will get the publisher’s attention, all right—but not the kind you want!

In short, send whatever they ask for. (Don’t even ask if it’s OK to send any other way.)

3. Submitting at the wrong time

For fiction and memoirs, publishers want the author to have completed the full manuscript, fully critiqued and edited, before even sending a query letter.

For nonfiction, you can submit a query letter or proposal even if you only have the chapter-by- chapter synopsis and a few sample chapters polished and ready.

4. Submitting to the wrong person

Never send a cover/query letter or e-mail “to whom it may concern” or “Dear Sir or Madam”— always address a specific individual by name (and be sure it’s the right person). Find out for sure whether this is a “Mr.” or a “Ms.” or a “Mrs.” Be sure you spell the person’s name and company name correctly. Use the current address (and spell all of that correctly, and use the accurate two- letter postal abbreviation for the state.)

5. Ignoring professional advice

For details on how to write a query letter or proposal, visit these websites (in addition to studying whatever guidelines are on the website of the agent or publisher you’re submitting to):

Mary DeMuth: www.marydemuth.com/store (tutorials on proposals for fiction and nonfiction)

Michael Hyatt, chairman (and former CEO) of Thomas Nelson Publishers: www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/Downloads/WritingABookProposal.pdf

“How to Write a Synopsis,” by Marg Gilks: www.writing-world.com/publish/synopsis.shtml

“Preparing a Killer Fiction Proposal,” a 29-page article with samples by Karen Wiesner (www.angelfire.com/stars4/kswiesner/proposalarticle.pdf)

W. Terry Whalin, 12-week online training program (http://WriteABookProposal.com)

Or check out these books: Book Proposals that Sell by W. Terry Whalin

Writing a Winning Book Proposal by Michael Hyatt

Your Novel Proposal: From Creation to Contract: The Complete Guide to Writing Query Letters, Synopses and Proposals for Agents and Editors, by Blythe Camenson and Marshall J. Cook

How to Write Irresistible Query Letters by Lisa Collier Cool

If you’ve submitted the wrong thing to the wrong person or place at the wrong time, feel free to share your “horror story” with the group.

Better yet, if you’ve found a good book or website on the topic of writing query letters or proposals, please pass on that valuable resource!

On Thursday, I’ll post a lesson on “Submitting in the Wrong Format.”