Wednesday 11 May 2016

Book Publishers: What Do They Want

If you’ve tried submitting a manuscript to any of the book publishers in the industry today, chances are you’ve received a rejection. The so called rejection scripts goes something like we’re not looking for new authors at this moment, we’re not interested, etc. No matter how they’re written, oftentimes, they’ll be cold and harsh and these will always be taken as big blows in an author’s life. You’ve put your heart and soul into the material but they don’t think its good enough. On that note, what are publishers really looking for?

This can be summed up in three M’s, namely, mass appeal, marketability and memorable. If you want to sell your book to book publishers, you have to keep these three points in mind. On the side of mass appeal, you’re looking to write a book that would appeal to a huge audience. In one word- everyone! Write for everyone as much as your skills can muster. Most of the time, if you write for a group, you’ll also be writing off a great number of publishers in that process. As for marketability, the name of the game is M-oney. Write with all your heart but make sure that you produce something that will sell. If you succeed with convincing a publishing house that your work will sell well then you have found yourself a publisher.

For the last M that publishers are looking for, you might like to tweak the word and add ability to the term. With memorability, you want to write something that people will always remember and will also relate to. Take note that when your book is published, it still has to do work in standing out from the other books on the shelf. Marketing and promotion can give your book a boost but you want to create something that won't blend in with the bookshelf woodwork. Your book needs to attract an audiences’ attention and stay in their minds.

Now that you know about the three Ms, you’ll have a better chance when you submit your manuscript. As long as it’s written with those in mind, you won't be getting a rejection from book publishers.

Article by : Keith Henry

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