How to Get Published

Well, maybe not. How to get a publisher to take you seriously, at least.

Here's another submission email from an author (Just the first paragraph, the full email is very long):

Please forgive me if I am not following your existing submission rules, but by some reason I could not find them. Maybe by my indolence, mostly. I hope that even I did not follow them and you are likely overloaded by similar freaks like me you will find time to review my proposition.

Spot the problem?

The writer (a poet) has used words like 'forgive', 'indolence', 'freaks' etc. These are not good words to use. Let me explain why.

When you ask someone to like your poetry or come to your poetry reading, you might call yourself a freak and it might be funny for some people.

When you ask a publisher to invest in you, you are asking them to make a business decision. It is not easy to work with someone who puts themselves down, and it does not give a publisher faith or confidence in you if you do not show confidence in yourself.

Don't apologise. Submission guidelines are here for the publisher's benefit. It saves us having to ask the same questions every time someone sends a 'best selling' manuscript. But what we need is a solid reason to make a business investment. Whether we like something, personally, does not make a big difference. What is important is that we feel something will sell. Publishers are experts at getting a product to market, and that product is not your poetry, it is YOU.

So my advice is, before you contact publishers, think about your email or letter and show that you have confidence in yourself. Not arrogance, it does not help when an author offers us a book and says it is a guaranteed best seller because it's fantastic.

What is very important to remember is that the question of how good the book is really makes no difference to how well it will sell. You might think your book, or poems, are wonderful. Your friends might. Even we might like them. But the issues you must address are:

How well do people really know you? (Your name must sell the book)

What are you doing to promote yourself and your work?

Do you take your work seriously? (The writer's words suggest that he would like to but does not)


Remember, when you contact a publisher, you are not asking them to like your book. I can like your book without wanting to invest in you as an author.


The bottom line with any investor is that we want to know, "Will this investment show a return?"


And the answer doesn't lie within your books pages, it is within you.

Write For You is coming to Hartlepool

A lot of people we meet say, "Oh I've always wanted to write..."

So true to our belief that, if you have a book in you, we can help you to get it out, we are launching a brand new writing course in Hartlepool... with a difference.

The course will be for anyone who wants to write:

+ Fiction, such as short stories or a novel

+ Non-Fiction, such as business books, local history, biography or hobbies

+ Poetry and prose

And at the end of the course, we will be publishing a collection of all of the suitable work that the participants have produced.

On top of that, if you choose to work on a business book, or a full novel, you can publish it through us at 10% off the usual costs.

Why are we doing this?

Local colleges often run 'creative writing courses', but what we have found that most people want isn't just to be able to write, it's to see their work in print.

When you attend this course, even if you only produce one poem or a very short story that you're proud of, you'll see it in print in the collection for that course. You'll be able to buy copies at trade rates for your friends and family, you'll see it on Amazon and other retailers, and you can even get it into local book shops and libraries.

Because of the location and evening schedule of this course, we're aiming it at people who live in these areas:

Hartlepool
Darlington
Seaham
Stockton On Tees
Middlesbrough
Redcar
Billingham
Cleveland
Teeside
County Durham

Although anyone is welcome from any area.

Currently planned to run for 12 weekly evening sessions, the course will include the following:

• Planning what to write
• Becoming an author
• Structuring your work
• Overcoming writer's block
• The critical process
• Editing and proof reading
• Understanding copyright and publishing
• Marketing your work

Each week, we'll review and critique what participants have written, so we'll waste no time during the course itself, and our approach is suited to all types of writing, whether you want to write poetry, your grandmother's life story, a business or self-help book or a book about local history or your hobby.

At the end of the course, we will take all of the participants' chosen contributions and publish them as a collection, and we'll even organise a launch event and author reading to publicise your work to friends, family, colleagues, clients and the media.

We're in the process of organising this now, so if you are interested, register with us so that we can keep you posted. We're also looking for the right venue, so if you have any suggestions, let us know.

Either leave a comment here or visit www.cgwpublishing.com and use the contact form there.

Personality

If you are thinking about writing a book, or if you are indeed in the process of writing, pause for a moment and consider your book's personality.

Is it contained within the subject? Your style of writing? Perhaps the cover design or even the paper that the book is printed on?

You might take a dry, authoritative tone, a bright chatty tone or even an uplifting and inspiring tone. But this alone is not your book's personality.

When your reader picks up your book, they are entering into a relationship, a conversation with the author that transcends space and time. The connection is made in the here and now, regardless of how long ago you sat down in front of a keyboard.

The book's personality, then, is this. As the reader engages with the book, they create an imaginary narrator. That narrator is the personality of your book.

The personality of the book is made up of its title, cover design, size, format, paper weight, chapter headings, writing style and possibly more.

Don't worry though, getting it right isn't difficult. Just imagine that you are holding your book in your hand, and feeling just right about it. Perhaps proud, perhaps excited. How does it look? How does it sound? How do you feel about it?

Let all of those design elements come naturally out of the book's personality, and you'll ensure that you always create the right connection with your readers.