What do publishers prefer?

[John Jarrold]

Best of luck!

 

[Ruin]

Ok, upon implementing double spacing I have to admit the page does look rather strange, is this simply the format in which work is given for consideration or is it how they should be published?

 

[John Jarrold]

This is how an author submits a book to a publisher or agent. It's far easier to read than a single-spaced A4 page - and most editors do their reading on the bus or train, or in bed. When a book is taken on by a publisher, it is edited and typeset as you see in a finished book.

Here are some FAQs about approaching publishers from the home page of my website:

Firstly, get in touch with the publisher. Find their phone number and/or address and ask if they are accepting unsolicited scripts (some publishers simply don't), and if so, what they would like to see: a synopsis and the first few chapters, or a complete script. Never send chapters from different places in the book. This will result in your script being returned immediately. And if you think ‘Oh, but it gets better later, the opening isn't my best writing,' then make it your best writing. Apart from interesting the publisher, your opening has to interest readers. If someone picks up a book and is not interested in the first ten pages, they'll put it down again, nine times out of ten.

There are also basic presentational matters: Double space your script. Do not print on both sides of the paper. Do not bind the script in any way, chapter by chapter or as a whole. Publishers simply find this irritating. Put a couple of rubber bands around it (or a paperclip), and nothing more. Set the first paragraph in each new section, after a line-break, full out. Do not add a double line-break between paragraphs and set them all full out. Basically, have a look at a finished UK novel and see how it is set out – that's how you should set your script out, with the exception of double spacing (if you're in the United States, do the same with a US novel). Expect a four to six week wait for a reply, at least.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

You always double space a manuscript that you send to a publisher. (Electronic submissions may vary.) One thing that new writers often fail to do is look ahead to the time the manuscript goes into production. The extra space on the page leaves room for the editor to comment and make suggestions. It may look funny to you, but it looks just right to an agent or an editor.

And there is no use worrying about how many words will appear on the page of the published book, or how it will look, unless you're planning on publishing it yourself. These depend largely on choices made by the book designer (choosing the font, deciding whether to run the chapters together, etc.).

All you need to concentrate on is the words. And then when you submit, on a professionally formatted manuscript.

Although it is fun to experiment with page layouts and fonts for your own amusement. I think we all do that from time to time. Just be aware that it has no relation to the finished product.

 

[Ruin]

Ok, thank you very much for the additional information, very handy, and you can never know too much!

 

[John Jarrold]

No problem! Good luck!

 

[Karen Dales]

So if 140/150,000 is the short end of the stick, what would be considered the upper end for word count?

 

[John Jarrold]

No, 100,000 words is the short end (for SF, a bit longer for Fantasy, I've mentioned this several times on the forum). 140/150,000 is fine but above that, publishers might start to worry about the costs of production. Not all the time, and as always there is no absolute template, but if you are writing fantasy, 150,000 is certainly okay. If your novel is 250,000 words long, you do have a problem...

 

[A.Sole]

Yeah mines about 150,000 so that's a relief. However, mine's an attempt at a science fantasy epic prose poem. Does this crossing of the genres appeal to publishers?

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

However, mine's an attempt at a science fantasy epic prose poem. Does this crossing of the genres appeal to publishers?

When an editor evaluates a manuscript, he or she compares it to similar books that have put up good sales figures recently. Since there is nothing even vaguely similar to what you describe in bookstores now, it doesn't sound like anything a major publisher would even consider.

Maybe there is a tiny chance you could interest a small press publisher. Sometimes they're a bit more adventurous. Otherwise, I think you should seriously consider self-publication.

 

[John Jarrold]

I entirely agree with Teresa...

 

[A.Sole]

So for next piece I should try to stay within a definitive genre? You know, try to be fresh and interesting but not that fresh and interesting that it'll freak the publisher out.

 

[John Jarrold]

Exactly - commercial publishing is just that: commercial. Publishers have to make comparisons with other recently-succcessful authors in the same genre when they present a new writer to the book chains, without whose support the author will fail. So if they see something like a lengthy prose poem, the answer is no. If they see a Fantasy novel that works within the genre as it stands in 2008 and also has its own voice - both clear and pacy - there is a chance they will look upon it positively. Taking all the usual caveats that have been mentioned many, many times on this forum into consideration.

 

[A.Sole]

Well yes, now thinking about it my works not of a typically commercial nature. I believe that it's fresh and has the potential for perhaps a 'cult' following. Now I've thought about it I just want it read by as many people as possible. I'm not the greatest capitalist in the world, I have to say and not one for writing something like what the jones have written (writings one of the few freedoms I have). So can you please suggest any sites that display complete works for free or any other ways i can achieve my goal- other than self publishing- for my lack of capitalist ambition tides me over but goes no further.

 

[John Jarrold]

I'll leave that for others to respond to, being very much a mass-market, commercial publisher and agent!

Best of luck!