Zen…

Getting published is quite a task for every aspiring author. Truth is, 10 percent of the books submitted to publishers are considered for publishing and even less of that percentage actually sells. So publishers are always looking for the next best thing (story) that’ll make them a lot of money.

How do you beat the odds?

How do you write a marketable story and get it published.

1. Have an original idea: some call it a winning idea, whatever you want to call it, make your story so good your publisher will take one look at it and smell money. Have your plot outlined properly, your structure and characterization should also be in order. Many manuscripts are rejected due to the premise of the story. It’s either boring or not marketable or it’s not what your publisher is looking for at the time.

2. Your manuscript must be ready and complete: An average novel is about 70,000-100,000 words. The word count is pending on the genre ( it could be more but it’s a good place to start) A publisher will reject your manuscript without reading it, once it’s too short or too long for your genre.

3. Must be edited properly: you still need an editor if you’re working with a publishing company but your manuscript must first be readable. Print out your draft, put it in a binder and read it. Take note of the changes you need to make ( developmental editing, structural editing, copy editing, line editing and proof reading).Keep it smooth. Use pen, sticky notes , highlighters etc to make these changes. Read it out loud and make sure it’s flowing. Publishers will reject your work if it’s not polished or it’s hard to read.

4. Beta Readers : these readers will give you honest reviews about what’s wrong with your story. Plot holes and the rest. You can find them on social networks like Facebook, Instagram, Reddit etc They can spot issues that you may not see with your work and you need them to get your work ready for an agent or publisher.

5. Query Agents : They have steady relationships with publishers. They also receive tons of queries (about 10 – 15 thousand queries in a year) So if they choose to represent your work, publishers already know it’s a good one. Agents deals with everything business in publishing of your book while you simply focus on writing. Query letters comprises of General info (title, word count, genre, related works) Log line/ synopsis (150-300 words description of your story) Bio (50-100 words about you including previously published works) Closing (one sentence appreciation note). Finding an agent to represent your work will increase your chances of publishing your book.

Keep Going. Baby steps, one day at a time.