Your Odds of Getting Published
by Laura Backes,
Write4Kids.com—The Children's Writing SuperSite
Most beginning writers are curious
about their chances of ever seeing their work in print. Editors have told me
that a mid-to large-sized publishing house gets upwards of 5000 unsolicited
submissions a year. About 95% are rejected right off the bat (most get form
letters, a few promising authors get personalized notes stating why the
manuscript was rejected). Of the 5% left, some are queries for which the
editors request entire manuscripts. Others are manuscripts submitted in their
entirety, and these go on to the next stage of the acquisitions process (get
passed around the editorial department, presented at editorial meetings,
perhaps looked at by sales staff to get a sense of the market for the book).
The end result is that 1-2% of unsolicited submissions are actually purchased
for publication.
But, you ask, if so few manuscripts are bought from the slush pile, why are so
many new books published each year? The unsolicited "slush" comes from
authors the editors have never worked with before: new writers and those who
don't have agents.
Experienced writers and those who have already published with that house make
up the rest of the list.
Before you trash your computer and take up knitting, let's put this all in
perspective. Most manuscripts are rejected because they're just plain bad. The
stories are trite, the characters wooden, the endings predictable. The plots
may smack of didacticism or patronize the young reader. Authors who don't
understand the basic rules of grammar or who can't send a properly formatted
manuscript won't get a close look. Those who submit their work to every
publisher listed in
Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market instead of
taking the time to target publishers appropriate for their work add
substantially to the glut of publishers' mail (and the eventual banning of
unsolicited submissions by some houses).
If you take the time to learn how to write a strong story with multifaceted
characters, your manuscript will rise to the top. If you study the age group
for which you want to write, and keep the length and content appropriate for
your audience, your work will stand out. If you watch the current market and
find a niche you can fill, an editor is more likely to give you careful
consideration.
One more point: General fiction is the most competitive genre in any age group
of children's books. It's also the most subjective, meaning your manuscript
has to appeal to exactly the right editor. If you have any interest in
nonfiction and can approach a topic in a unique, entertaining way, you'll be a
bigger fish in a much smaller pond. Or, try narrowing your niche so your work
stands out from the ocean of fiction: write historical fiction for beginning
readers, funny mysteries for middle grades, science fiction for young adults.
Stretching your writing beyond general fiction will give you a "hook" and also
help you zero in on publishers who want exactly what you've got.
About the Author:
Laura Backes is the publisher of Children's Book Insider, the Newsletter for
Children's Writers, and co-founder of the
Children's Authors Bootcamp seminars. For more information about writing children's
books, including free articles, market tips, insider secrets and much more,
visit Children's Book Insider's home on the Web at
http://write4kids.com
Copyright 2003, Children's Book
Insider, LLC
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