Creative writing

A Book Deal — the Ultimate Goal for Novel Writers

The secret to selling to a traditional publisher

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Many frustrated new writers self-publish on Amazon KDP or seek a vanity publisher. The term vanity publisher is pejorative and, consequently, most publishing companies claim to be ‘full service’ publishers who market and promote your book. That marketing is often limited to mention on their website or inclusion in ‘Books in Print’. Believe me, if you are required to pay a ‘contribution’ to the printing of your book, you are dealing with a vanity publisher.

The traditional publisher

The big-name publishing houses, often called traditional publishers to distinguish them from the new crop of subsidy publishers or author services firms, do not ask you to contribute to the cost of publication. They determine they want your manuscript and they will then negotiate a deal with you or your agent that involves a percentage share of sales and usually an advance on sales.

Increase your chances of selling to a traditional publisher

These are the deals that can lead to high returns, movie rights, translation into other languages — fame and fortune. These are the deals writers dream of when they write that first sentence.

But, in terms of how many manuscripts are written each year, such deals are rare. However, there are ways to increase your chances. They are not tricks or strategies; they are simply common sense.

Do you have the right attitude to your manuscript?

A good place to start is to look hard at your attitude to your writing. How do you view your finished manuscript? Is it art? A masterpiece? Your heart and soul? A little piece of you?

You must see it for what it is. Novice writers mustn’t kid themselves. When it comes time to find a book publisher or agent, the finished manuscript is a mere product to sell to picky buyers in a glutted market.

Your precious piece of writing is no more than a bag of apples on a market stall or a car on a used car lot. Publishers ae not patrons of the arts; they are hard-nosed businesspeople. They don’t take chances. They need to feel certain that the books they choose for the year are going to turn a profit for them.

A third-rate 6th novel by a best-selling author with a huge fan base will be selected over a brilliant first novel from an unknown author, because a return is assured.

The secret to selling your manuscript

Am I making it all sound too hard? Good! I want to dispel any idea that it is a glorious lottery with every manuscript in there with a chance. About 1% of books published are by first-time authors.`

If the writer faces this fact realistically, a lot of anguish will be saved and there will be a better chance of getting published.

Here is the secret: To sell a manuscript, apply the simple rules of buying and selling any product.

Produce quality

In a tough marketplace where there is a glut of your product (and there always will be), only a fool will buy poor quality when the best is sitting right next to it. The publisher is not a fool.

A manuscript has to be first rate — if there is any doubt that it isn’t, don’t bother sending it. The publisher won’t suddenly see through the murk to the gem gleaming below the surface.

Not only must it be well written, it needs to be carefully proofread. Typos, spelling errors and flawed punctuation create such a bad first impression that an otherwise good story will be tossed aside.

Deliver what the customer wants

If the buyer (publisher) is hungry for oranges, even the juiciest apple won’t tempt her. Many book publishers specify such things as: We want mysteries, but no ghost stories or gothic, please!

The writer must not insult them by sending a ghost story because he or she knows it’s a great story and they’ll love it, regardless.

Think of that stereotypical car yard scenario where the young lady says: “I’m specifically after a V8 1999 Ford Mustang.” The car salesman says: “We don’t have one in stock, but what we do have that would suit you FAR better is a 1983 Volkswagen, one owner — little old lady who only ever drove it to church. Step over here and let me show you it.”

Writers who try that on with a publisher or agent will get the reply such insolence deserves.

The customer is always right

Maybe the writer is a literary genius and this particular publisher just doesn’t realize his potential, but, nevertheless, the publisher is the buyer of the proffered wares and, hence, he or she is always right.

Thus, it makes very good sense to find out what each publisher specifically wants before making any approach and then do precisely what they ask. Most publishers have their submission requirements posted on a page of their website.

To the writer, one font or spacing may be as good as another, but if Publisher A says she wants double spacing with 2” margins and Courier font, why antagonize her by doing the opposite?

With Word files, it takes only minutes to change margins, indents, spacing and fonts to match each publisher’s demands.

As well, it’s likely that the writer will be asked to send no more than three chapters or a set number or pages. If the publisher requests the first 3 chapters, don’t add Chapters 5–7 because that’s the exciting bit. It could prompt the publisher to trash the lot unread.

Save the customer time and money

When it comes from an unknown, untried source, a brisk one-page query letter is far more likely to be read by a busy publisher than a 100,000 word manuscript. The publisher will quickly learn much about the author’s writing style and whether the manuscript truly suits their needs from that one page. If the potential author knows how to write, and the book is a winner, with just a précis, that writer will be able to demonstrate their ability to grab attention and could win a request to see the manuscript. If the writer can’t sell the book with one page, the publisher knows they won’t be able to sell it on a book cover blurb, either.

Getting a sale means knowing your product

What hope does a salesperson have if they can’t answer questions about what the product does or give a demonstration?

As a writer, you have a product to sell. A TV interviewer sticks a microphone under your nose and says: “We want a 30 second sound byte. What’s your new book about?” Are you lost for words? Do you argue that you need more time than that to do justice to this vast epic?

The writer’s letter to the publisher has similar constraints. Writers needs to practice and refine their advertisement for their manuscript — because that’s precisely what the synopsis is.

You must extract the essence that makes this book different and desirable. If you can’t define it precisely, it will be difficult to market to a publisher, who is faced with marketing it to a wider audience. Learn to write a great synopsis.

Common sense selling

That’s the non-secret. By treating the manuscript like any item for sale, the writer will have a far better chance of bringing the work to the attention of agents or publishers. These professionals are not interested in art; they are interested in re-selling your raw material at a good profit.

Thus, the writer must quickly convince the astute buyer that their product has potential in the marketplace.

Jim Parsons is an Australian writing mentor who has written a book series called Novel Writing Essentials.