Glen and Karen Bledsoe --> articles --> Submissions --> 10 Common Submissions Mistakes
Articles Index: Site Index: What sounds like a good idea can sometimes be a major
mistake, and mistakes in submission may be merely
embarassing or may be early career-wreckers. Before you
make your first submission, study this list. While these
may not be the most common errors, they are common
enough and can be damaging. Some may waste your time and
money, while others can send your submission straight to
the "reject" pile, if not the trash bin! 1. Do NOT EVER pay ANYONE to "publish" your work
unless you really, really want to get into the
self-publishing business. If you do want to self-publish,
you must read as much literature as you can on
self-publishing, choose a good printer, learn about
filing for copyright and getting an ISBN number, and
develop a business, marketing, and distribution plan.
Otherwise, remember that publishers are supposed to pay
YOU for the privilege of making your work public. For
more on this topic, see our article, How
not to get burned. 2. Do NOT file for copyright on manuscripts that you
are submitting to publishers. U.S. copyright laws protect
works of U.S. writers the moment they are put into some
tangible form. If your work is accepted by a publisher,
the publisher will file for official copyright on your
behalf. If you file ahead of time, you're sending a clear
message to the editor: "I don't trust you. I think you
might steal my work." Stealing manuscripts and ideas is
so rare it's not worth worrying about (read The
Sobering Saga of Myrtle the Manuscript, by Tappan
King to see why editors never have to steal manuscripts).
Filing for copyright "just in case" can actually hurt
your chances of selling the manuscript because 1) it
immediately dates your work and 2) it makes for legal
complications if the work is accepted. For a deeper
explanation, see "Copyrights
and Meteorites" by Chuck Rothman on the Science
Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America site, as well as
our article, "The three
questions beginners ask most frequently." For more on
copyrighting, see the U.S.
Copyright Office site. (One more point: if you are
self-publishing, you can get a copyright directly from
the copyright office for a very reasonable price. You
don't need anyone to file on your behalf, as some
scammers will tell you.) 3. Do NOT make a mailing list of every publisher in
the U.S. and send out enormous blanket submissions.
Untargeted submissions are what make the slush piles so
huge. You will also doubtless be sending your manuscript
to many, many publishers that don't want it, publishers
that don't publish anything like what you've written. Why
send a children's picture book to a house that only
publishes literary fiction for adults, or travel books,
or hobby and how-to books? It's a waste of everyone's
time and resources. 4. Do NOT send the same manuscript to multiple
publishers at the same time if the publishers
specifically state that they do not accept multiple
submissions. Some do and some do not, so read their
guidelines carefully. You can, however, state in your
cover letter that you are giving the publisher an
exclusive submission for a reasonable period of time
(something close the usual length of their response
time), and then you will send the work on to another
publisher. You can also send out multiple queries, though
it is best to let the publisher know that you are doing
so. 5. Do NOT send unsolicited manuscripts to publishers
that do not accept unsolicited manuscripts. Send a query
if they will accept one. If they only accept agented
submissions, honor their wishes. Find an agent, or send
your manuscript elsewhere. 6. Do NOT print your manuscript on anything other than
standard 8 1/2" x 11" plain white paper (in the U.S. --
other countries have a slightly different standard size),
nor in any fancy font. Times or Courier are fine (some
houses, especially science fiction publishers, insist on
monospaced fonts such as Courier). Use 1" margins and
double spacing throughout. Colored paper, amusing fonts,
single spacing, and narrow margins are all no-no's, and
extremely hard on tired editors' eyes. Editors are
professionals, and they expect writers to be professional
as well. Remember, when you send in your manuscript, you
are making a business proposition. You wouldn't expect
top middle-level managers in a major corporation to send
business propositions typed up on teddy bear stationery,
would you? 7. Do NOT send bribes of any sort, especially food.
Manuscripts may sit unread for weeks on end, and the
state of your edible bribe by the end of that time may be
indescribable. Your manuscript will end up in the trash
bin, unopened -- if its ripening odor doesn't cause a
major evacuation in the meantime. If you're thinking that
cash would be better -- don't. Receipt of a cash bribe
can get an editor into serious trouble, and even if the
editor returns it, office gossip alone could do the
damage. Bribes in general are unprofessional. Don't give
in to the temptation. 8. Do NOT beg, plead, whine, tell your sad life story
and why getting published is your last hope, etc. Editors
have their own problems, some of which may be greater
than yours, yet they still drag themselves to work and
sift through slush every day. Your work must stand on its
own merits, not on the depth of your needs. Most
importantly, do not threaten, or you may end up in
serious legal trouble. Likewise, don't be cute. You may
be writing for children, but editors are not children. Do
not draw stick figures or cartoons on your letter. Do not
write the letter as though your character is writing to
the editor, asking to be published. Do not be anything
other than utterly professional. 9. Do NOT tell the editor how much your children/
grandchildren/ students/ kids you cornered in the park
etc. loved your story. Editors have heard this over and
over, and they know very well that the kids you know will
naturally love their story, because they like you. Will
kids you don't know and that you've never met like your
story? Will their parents? Librarians? Bookstore owners?
Those are the material questions for the editor. The
material question for you is, "Will an editor like this
story?" 10. Do NOT send illustrations unless 1) you are
already a professional, published illustrator in the
field of children's literature and 2) you know that the
publisher accepts story/illustration packages or you've
already talked the idea over with the editor you're
submitting to. Publishers prefer to choose their own
illustrators whose styles fit their publishing program
and whose reliability is known. Illustrating children's
books is a respectable art and can take years to learn.
You can't just churn out a few wobbly cartoons and call
it good. By Susan Rabiner If you try to understand the publishing
process from an editor's point of view, you'll reduce your
chances of making annoying mistakes.
W.W. Norton & Co., 2003
Glen and Karen Bledsoe --> articles --> Submissions --> 10 Common Submission Mistakes