The first step is to buy a current Writer's Market directory. This book comes out every year and lists all the agents and publishers. You can look in the index for your category and then find the people who are most likely to be looking for your material.
Take a look at the book here, at Amazon.com: 2005 Writer's Market
Or, sign up for Writers Market Online (click here). This is a great site for locating agents, publishers, contests, magazine markets, etc. It's $30 to join for a year, but well worth it. Highly recommended.
Query Your letter of inquiry, or "query" letter, should be no longer than one page. The letter should introduce the publisher to your book and spark interest. Writing the inquiry letter is a good exercise because it makes you focus on the essence of your book. This is your "pitch" to the publisher.
The SASE The most important enclosure is an SASE, a self-addressed, stamped envelope. An agent or publisher will only reply to you if there's an SASE. This is the universal absolute rule of inquiries. Include enough postage and a big enough envelope for everything you send. Don't make the publisher have to decide what to return and what to throw away.
Rejection letters often the publisher will write a brief comment on your letter such as "not interested" or "not for me." That's called a "rejection letter." Prepare to start a large collection. I have hundreds of them.
How many inquiries to send at a time You can send your inquiry and SASE to as many publishers as you want. They do not expect to have exclusive rights to your book based on an inquiry letter. If a publisher writes back and requests the manuscript, you must hold it for them. They might take up to three months to evaluate a manuscript, but you must wait for their word before showing it to someone else.
Don't send out your inquiry to one hundred publishers, fifty publishers, or even twenty-five publishers at a time. Just try three or four at a time, because you will find that you improve your inquiry letter with practice and so you don't want to "use up" every possibility in the Writer's Market.
How soon to call them Never call a publisher to see if they got your inquiry package. If you get antsy, work on your letter some more and send it to two or three new possibilities. Also continue to refine your manuscript. If your manuscript is ready to go, then start writing your next book while you continue selling the first one. If you call a publisher to inquire about an inquiry letter they will think you have too much time on your hands.
Other enclosures For some projects a query letter and SASE are enough. When I was selling my story about my years as a Hare Krishna, most publishers only needed a one-page letter to know if that story was right for them. Sometimes publishers do not have to look through a lot of paperwork to know if they want to read the manuscript. However, you can enclose any of the following if your project calls for it:
Table of contents or outline - make your headings descriptive.
Synopsis - a summary of your book in one paragraph.
Detailed Synopsis - a longer summary that goes into more detail.
Author's Bio, resume - include something about yourself, for example: what brings you to write this book, other things you've written, education, etc.
Literature review, description of intended audience - a description of your market research. Tell the publisher about your intended audience; give examples of other successful books in this field. Explain what your book adds to the field, why it's unique, how it makes a contribution, why there's a need for your book.
Get organized Always keep a copy of what you send out, either hard copy or on a computer disk. Keep a record of what's "out" and if it comes back with a rejection letter, have a new place to send it. Keep on trying. Remember, looking for your publisher is like looking for a needle in a haystack. You only need to find one interested party. That means you can get 1,000 rejection letters and the 1,001th letter could be your publisher.
Question: What about an agent?
Answer Some publishers will only accept an inquiry from an agent. Usually these are the really big publishers. If you think your book is right for a really big publisher, then skip the small presses and just send your inquiry to agents. Or send your inquiry to agents and publishers.
The really big agents will only accept work from "known" authors, meaning someone who has a TV show or newspaper column. There are examples of big agents taking on unknown new writers and leading them to best-seller-dom. However, more often an agent will take your book and sit on it for a year while you could be out selling it yourself. You can usually do a more effective job for yourself just using the Writer's Market. You are the most motivated salesperson for your own book, so it's usually more fruitful to go directly to the publishers yourself.
Plus, agents will take 15 to 20 percent of anything you make. Since they are expensive, I recommend going directly to the publishers who will accept un-agented material.
Question: What is the format for sending a manuscript?
Answer If a publisher or agent asks to see your manuscript, print it out on 8-1/2 x 11 white paper. Use 1-inch margins, double spaced 10-pt. courier type. Put page numbers in the header at the top right. Don't staple the pages, don't bind the pages, don't put your bookin a folder or notebook. Authors used to put the manuscript in a box, but nowadays most just put it in an envelope. Add a cover letter addressed to the person who requested it, stating that you are sending the manuscript in response to his or her request. On the outside of the envelope mark it "Requested material." Make sure your grammar and punctuation are as good as you can make it. Only send the manuscript when you are absolutely sure its the best you can do. You may not get another chance. Time moves slower in the publishing world. Usually publishers and agents are not in a hurry for your manuscript. They would rather wait a few more days or weeks if it means you will get it right before you send it.
Question: How long should I wait before contacting the publisher to see if they got my manuscript?
Answer Do not contact a publisher to see if they received your manuscript. In fact, just cool your heels until they contact you. If you want confirmation of receipt, you can ask the post office to add a confirmation of delivery receipt to your package for an extra fee. Authors used to enclose a self-addressed post card for the publisher to drop in the mail, but better to go with the post office confirmation and just trust that the publisher has received, and is considering, your book.
Question: Anything else?
Answer Yes. Be sure to enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope large enough, with enough postage to cover the return of the manuscript.
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