Top literary agents get about 400-1000 unsolicited queries every month from hopeful book authors. Publishing houses sometimes juggle 5000. How can you stand out against so much competition?
After your book has been written and edited, you may be ready to start approaching publishers. If you are like most first time book authors, there is a good chance that you will send your book manuscript to a large number of publishers and agents. Use these tips to best target and track your submissions
Popular opinion will vary on whether or not one should submit a "NaNoWriMo" novel to a publisher - critics tend to suggest that writers who participate in NaNoWriMo will write the book in November and start the agent/publisher search the very next month. Kathryn Lively suggests that if you believe in your book it is worth testing the water to find another person who believes in the story.
If you want to sell your book to a literary agent, make sure you are giving them exactly what they want. Approaching the task haphazardly is a road to certain failure.
Congratulations! You have just received an offer from a publisher to turn your manuscript into a print book. There is no prouder moment in the career of a writer than having a book published. With that said, there are a number of important questions that you will want to have answers to before accepting an offer from a book publisher.