What can authors do to help themselves?
Okay, you’ve written your book. What can you do to help your book be acquired by an independent publishing house?
Find a writing community.
Please do not send out a book for submission that has never been read by other people. I highly recommend finding or putting together a writing group. Hint: Make sure they’re people who read and enjoy what you write. If you write YA, you’re not going to get as much helpful feedback from a group of people who only read adult nonfiction. They just don’t know as much about what your book is supposed to look like.
After you’ve workshopped your book with a writing group, get some beta readers. Here’s a great article about how to find beta readers. How to Find Beta Readers: What Everyone Else Seems to Know (dabblewriter.com) (Note: we’re not affiliated with or endorsing Dabble. We’re also not saying don’t use Dabble. You do you.)
After the writing part is done, and your book is as shiny and polished as you can get it, what’s next?
Find Comp Titles.
Comp titles are a pain, granted. They shouldn’t be the biggest popular titles, though they should be “successful.” The comp title ask is really asking for something before we strictly need it. I only need your comp title when I’m looking at the market for the acquisitions meeting. That means I love your book, but I’m looking at it from different business perspectives. (sales, publicity, marketing, rights, etc.) Comp titles tell me what kind of sales are possible, when would be a good time to release this type of book, and info about how these books are typically marketed. (This doesn’t mean we’ll do everything/anything like your comp titles did, but it can give us ideas.)
Think about your audience.
This may be one of the hardest parts but also one of the most important. This has always been the case, but I think in the age of targeted online ads, it's far more pointed. Whereas you used to be able to only target, say, the readers of a fashion magazine by placing an ad in it. Now you can target women, ages 18-25, who are in college, just left home, who love cooking, dogs, and fashion accessories. It can get ridiculously detailed.
So what does that mean for you, the writer of a novel, who wants to help their chances of their book being both published and successful? For one thing, figure out your own demographic, if you’re the type of person who usually buys your kind of book. If you have a business author account on FB/IG, play with the ads feature. You don’t have to spend any money; just go look through what demographic info is usually available. Get as detailed as you like; your publisher will ultimately decide what parameters to use, but you’re helping!
Grow your social media.
This is something you will either love or hate. But honestly, your publisher is going to be more excited about you and your book if you have a following somewhere. That said, don’t do something you hate doing. Yes, Booktok is hot, but if you’re not enjoying filming yourself and doing the video editing to make it nice, skip it. Like taking pretty photos instead? Instagram. Words alone your thing? We’re enjoying Threads. Mileage may vary. Go where you’re comfortable. Yes, this is part of your job as a soon-to-be-author. But don’t make yourself miserable. Whatever social media you choose, make an effort to interact with your followers. Ask questions and reply to the people who answer. Your goal is to build a community of people who would be interested in you and the work you produce. And how cool is it to be able to build your own community around what you love best: your book!
Read the guidelines.
Okay, I put this as the last step, but it is certainly one of the most important. For instance, Quills and Cosmos Press only publishes women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other minorities. If you don't fall into one of those categories, we are not going to publish you, no matter how great your book is. So research the house you're submitting to before you even write your cover letter. We publish only sci fi & fantasy. No horror, no YA, no nonfiction. Don't send us that stuff; it's a waste of your time. Cover letters are a necessary but boring thing to write; don't do it more often than you actually need to do. Getting rejections is a rite of passage, but don't pad your rejection numbers with places that are definitely going to reject you before they even get to your book.
That's all I've got for now. Hope this helps some of you submit with confidence!
You can do this!
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