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You create a manuscript. It is your "baby." You are ready to take your chances and send it to a publisher. When you do keep one thing in mind. Your publisher is in a business to make money. I had a chance three weeks ago to attend a writers conference up in Scottsdale, Arizona. It was run by the Desert Rose Chapter of Romance Writers of America and it was free! (This was a case in which free did not mean low quality). It was also a case of shut up and you will learn something. Writers were kind enough to share their knowledge. I rode up with two veteran Romance authors from Tucson. They taught me how the business used to be and how it is now. They spoke about how it was harder to type manuscripts and you did not have the networking of the Internet. You had to do more research to find groups and places to send your stuff. They told me though, once in the loop, large Romance publishers such as Harlequin were begging for writers. I have met several Romance writers who earned more twenty years ago than they earn now.
Why is that? The writing game has changed heavily because of the Internet. I used to catalog my Dad's antique chemistry books. Through the end of the 19th Century, there were many publishers publishing a few books a year, because of the technology of hand binding books.
I thought of this when I went to Borders one day. You have X amount of money to spend and time to browse. The book has to "grab" you. A large publisher is the same. s/he may have 100 manuscripts in front of them. If yours does not grab them immediately, you are rejected. Many large publishers will only work with you through an agent. Michael Charton is the president of Michael Charton Companies, and can be reached by clicking here. |