I've just gotten over one of the biggest hurdles in my life. I finished my romantic suspense novel and have submitted it to several literary agents for consideration. They in turn find a publisher who has a market for the genre of your book. What a process!!! I don't know how I could have done it without the internet, Writer's Digest magazine and advice from all the other host of "authors" who have "been there". The novel itself was fraught with endless hours of research and editing, but the study I had to do on how to submit your work to the publishing world was daunting to say the least. My inner voice constantly screamed, "You can't do this! Why are you even bothering? You'll never get published!" You fight those insidious thoughts in daily life often enough, let alone in a project of this magnitude, so I salute anyone with the guts and gumption before me that made my road just a little bit easier.
There are thousands of blogs, books and websites available to teach you how to write a query letter. This is a one page letter of introduction to pitch your work to the agent or publisher and it had better be great or it is tossed in the trash without your manuscript getting read. Try taking a 98,000 word novel and scaling it down to two paragraphs. That's what it's like. It is comparable to what you read on a book jacket cover. Needless to say, the query letter is the most important tool you have to sell your book to an over-worked agent or editor. I'm not going to tell you how much time I spent on mine. Let's just say....my hardwood floors are in sore need of cleaning.
If I thought composing a query letter was intimidating, I was in for a surprise. A synopsis of the story is also required. It can be anywhere from 2 to 5 pages long, depending on what the agent or publisher requires. I've seen some want only a 1 page synopsis. They must know how the story ends and how the conflict is resolved. This helps them see if you can actually plot out a coherent story with a recurring theme. Leaving the ending out in hopes they'll want to read the full manuscript is a sure way to end up in their slush pile.You must polish, polish, polish your synopsis and query letter so it will jump in their faces. If they like what they've read, then and only then, will they decide to read the first chapter (or first 50 pages) you've sent also. Now you wait for 2 to 12 weeks for a "possible" request for the rest of your manuscript.
My point is this, writing a novel is the easy part. For a writer, the stories are already in your head and waiting to be put on paper. The problem is, most people find it difficult to sell or market themselves. It's kind of sad actually. There are probably hundreds of thousands of authors in the world whose stories could have moved us to tears or laughter. They may have even inspired us to be a better person, but we will never read that story, because they won't get published because of a weak query letter. It's not the publishing world's fault. If an author's pitch doesn't hit them in the face, they simply do not have time to read further. I've heard so many stories of people who "don't test well" or "don't interview well" or "can't sell themselves". We can't all be great at everything. Most of us in this world must simply be content in our daily accomplishments.....raising great children, being a kind and loving person or if we find the time, writing a good story that entertains for a few hours. Whatever it is we may personally achieve, take pride in it, don't give up and don't listen to that negative inner voice. You never know what might come your way.
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