Pitfalls of the Aspiring Author (I)
As a publisher, I have received numerous queries and manuscripts from writers seeking publication, but there are some things that aspiring authors always seem to get wrong. This is the first post of several on the topic of the many pitfalls of aspiring authors.
Not reading the submission guidelines
This has got to be one of the biggest pitfall of any aspiring author. They see a potential publisher's website and find out that submissions are being accepted; they are so caught up in the moment of excitement, they rush to email or post in their manuscript. But guess what, they didn't read the submission guidelines to find out the exact requirement of the publisher.
Imagine you want an Islamic fiction e-book published, and you find that a certain publisher publishes Islamic fiction - great, huh? But you didn't read the guidelines to ascertain whether the publisher publishes Islamic fiction e-books or not, but you send them your manuscript anyway - not great. What will probably happen? Yes, you guessed it - a rejection!
Not following the submission guidelines
Another common mistake made by aspiring authors. Submission guidelines are not only there to be read, but also to be followed. How does this differ from the first mistake?
Just envision your beautifully crafted manuscript; you spent months nurturing it and moulding it to be as good as any other best selling book. You find the publisher you were looking for, read the submission guidelines, but in your haste you didn't follow the guidelines as they should have been.The publisher wants manuscripts to be formatted in Times New Roman, 12pt, double-spaced with a large left margin. But you thought that that was all too pedantic, and sent in your manuscript using Arial, 10pt, single-spaced with equal margins. What do you think will happen? It will most likely go into the trash can!
Bugging the publisher
I can almost assure you that sending numerous emails or continuously calling a publisher will most certainly not guarantee a speedy decision about your manuscript. If anything, it will annoy the publisher so much they may even reject it on the premise that a pesky writer before publication may be the sign of a pesky writer after publication. Any business relationship between author and publisher should be a positive one, not one marred by constant badgering.
'Pitfalls of the Aspiring Author (I)' was posted on April 30, 2008 by Umm Junayd under Writer's Tips , and tagged with publishers, tip, writers
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