“You only get one chance to make a first impression”
Preparing publisher and agent submission packages is very time-consuming—and it can be daunting. Every publisher and agent has different guidelines. You might be concerned about leaving something out and ruining your chances before they even get to read your manuscript. After all the hard work you’ve put into writing your manuscript, you want the submission to shine.
editors4you can prepare submissions to publishers or agents on your behalf.
Whether you want a submission to just one publisher/agent or to several, we’ll take care of it for you.
What’s involved in putting together publisher and agent submission packages?
Research
We research the submission guidelines (publisher's or agent’s) on your behalf. This means we dedicate the time to find the guidelines and we read them thoroughly.
Follow the guidelines
We then follow the publisher or agent’s guidelines to the letter to give you the best shot at the submission.
What is generally needed for a submission?
While no two publishers/agents have the same guidelines, most ask for:
- the title, genre and word count
- a synopsis
- an author biography
- the target audience
- comparison titles
- the reason for presenting these specific titles
- where you see your book sitting in the marketplace
- any previous publishing history or writing awards.
Some publishers/agents also ask you to detail:
- how you intend promoting your book
- if you have any media contacts for this purpose
- your social media status.
You can read a selection of submission guidelines here:
- Allen & Unwin Australia – ‘The Friday Pitch’
- Pan Macmillan Australia – ‘Manuscript Mondays’
How we go about obtaining the information for your submission
Having determined the publisher/agent you wish to submit your manuscript to, we will send you a questionnaire requesting some information so we can prepare the submission on your behalf.
If editors4you have edited your book, we will know many of these answers and our questionnaire will be tailored to your situation.
Genre and word count
If you’re unsure of the genre, let us know and we will help you work it out.
Information for the synopsis
If editors4you have edited your book, we will be able to write the synopsis for you. If we have not edited your book, you can give us the necessary information on the questionnaire we provide.
Author biography
You will need to give us a brief author biography. The questionnaire will give you pointers about what information we need you to provide.
Target audience
This refers to the type of readers you see enjoying your book. It may be young adults, or readers of romance, or readers of thrillers, crime, history...
Comparison titles
It will be helpful if you can tell us the titles of other books that are like yours, and authors that are similar to you.
Publishers/agents prefer to see that you have compared your book to other books that are popular and selling well, have been published relatively recently, and are as similar as possible to yours. Don’t be tempted to include outrageously successful books, such as ‘Harry Potter’, but by the same token, don’t choose books that are unsuccessful. If the publisher you are submitting to has published similar books to yours, mention these.
Your reasoning for comparing your book to the books you’ve chosen
We need to explain to the publisher/agent how your book stands out from already published titles. So we’ll ask you to give us a brief description of the other book, then a short (about two sentences), clear, comparative analysis. For example, in a submission for my novel, I stated, ‘Anya Seton’s ‘Dragonwyck’ is set in a similar period (1844) to ‘Winter in Mallorca’ and portrays the same popular Gothic themes of the Romantic era.’
Previous publishing history or writing awards
We will ask you if you have published any other books and if so, ask for the title, publisher and publication date. Likewise, if you have won any writing awards, we will include this in relevant submissions.
How you intend promoting your book
If you have any contacts in the media, it can be very helpful when it comes to promoting your book. These days, publishers’ promotional budgets tend to be limited for all but well-known, multi-published authors, so publishers expect more self-promotion by lesser known or brand-new authors.
Social media
If you have established social media accounts—LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter—it is often helpful for the publisher/agent to know. We will ask you for the number of followers and a link to include to the relevant accounts.
Prepare the email or cover letter
Finally, we will write the accompanying email or cover letter to the publisher/agent for you, following their guidelines. Many publishers/agents ask for electronic submissions (that is, by email). A few still ask for hard copy submissions.
Putting it all together
Once we have written and gathered all the necessary information for the submission, we will:
- Send you the Microsoft Word files you need to send as attachments to the publisher/agent – e.g. the synopsis.
- Prepare your manuscript for emailing. For example, if you only need to send the first three chapters, we will extract these and save the document as a separate file in readiness for emailing.
- Send you the covering email as a Microsoft Word file. Then you can simply copy and paste the text into the email you send the publisher/agent. We will also tell you the wording for the email Subject Line.
Publisher and Agent Submission Packages Australia: What it costs
For current clients
We will do one submission for you free of charge, when we have worked with you within the past month.
For first-time clients
For first-time clients, we charge the first submission at $199. For all clients, further submissions are $70 each. If we are doing multiple submissions for you, we will negotiate a rate depending on their complexity. (Please note all fees subject to gst.)
The fine print
We’ve assumed that you’ve had your manuscript professionally edited and correctly formatted for submitting to your chosen publisher or agent.
If not, please talk with us first!
While a submission that looks professional and adheres to the stated guidelines will help your chances, there is no guarantee your book will be published as a result of the submission quality alone.
If you are an Australian resident, GST is applicable at the current rate. For overseas clients, GST is not applicable.
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