Book Publishers Uk
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Writing The Knockout Query Letter: How To Catch A Book Editor’s Attention
Author: Britt Gillette
You’ve done it. You’ve achieved a lifelong dream and penned a book certain to be lauded through the ages as a literary masterpiece. Yet one last obstacle stands between you and publishing success – attracting the attention of someone who can get your book into print.
In reality, catching an editor’s attention is not difficult. All you have to do is follow the rules by sending what industry insiders refer to as a “query letter”. A query letter is one or two pages written in the format of a formal business letter. It should be brief, and it should pique the interest of any publishing executive who reads it. After all, if you can’t sell a single individual on the merits of your book, why should a publishing house believe you can sell to an audience of thousands or millions? If you want some inside secrets to crafting a perfect, attention-grabbing query letter, then you’ve come to the right place. Cover each of the following points, and I guarantee you’ll have an editor calling within one week of sending your query letter.
Point #1: Approach The Right Publisher: This seems obvious, but you wouldn’t believe the number of writers who make this mistake. Be certain that the publisher you choose to contact is in the business of publishing your genre. If you write fantasy novels, then don’t send a query letter to the editor of a computer manual publisher. It will be thrown in the trash without a second look. The best way to find the right publisher is to find books similar to your own and open them. Who is the publisher of each book? Does one particular publisher’s name keep turning up? If so, that’s the one you want to contact.
Point #2: Selling To The Right Person: Never mail a query letter addressed to “Editor” or “To Whom It May Concern”. Such a letter is destined for the “slush pile,” and eventually, the trashcan. Once you’ve identified your ideal publisher, consult a book such as the latest edition of Jeff Herman’s Writer’s Guide to Book Editors, Publishers, and Literary Agents (most libraries or large bookstores will have it). The book will provide a page or two of information on the publisher in question, including the name and contact information of the person to whom all queries should be directed. Usually, this is an executive or managing editor. Address the query letter to that specific person and make sure to use the correct gender and spelling when using their name.
Point #3: Your Opening (Especially the First Sentence): The first paragraph of your query letter should get right to the point. Tell the editor why you are contacting him/her. Did someone they know refer you? Has someone famous praised your work? Either one will capture instant attention. But the most important thing you can do in your opening is to define the audience and market for your book and state why your book is unique or has sales potential in the marketplace. Be specific. Don’t say “all women will want to read my book”. Say “five million women between the ages of 40 and 55 who watch The Oprah Winfrey Show will want to read my book”. The editor will determine within the first sentence or two whether or not to continue reading the rest of your query, so it’s extremely important to spend time crafting the best opening possible. If you have any media contacts or a way to position your book so that it will be irresistible for the media to cover, then say so in the first sentence. Media attention sells books, and that’s what publishers are in business to do.
Point #4: Describe Your Product: In the second paragraph, provide a brief overview of your book. Give the editor a brief summary just as it might appear on the book’s jacket. If possible, reference bestselling books within the same genre and point out why your book is different. Present facts about your work, not opinions. “The potential market is 5.8 million single women” is a fact. “This is the greatest book ever written” is an opinion. Tell the editor why your book will fill an unmet need in the marketplace. Keep it brief, and don’t ramble. This is a case where less is more.
Point #5: About The Author: In the third paragraph, talk about yourself. Why are you writing this book? What are your credentials? Are you an expert in the field? Have you ever been published before? Do you have media experience or media contacts? If so, then let the editor know. If you have limited experience, say so. Be honest and straightforward. Experience helps, but lack of experience will not immediately disqualify you. Adding “fluff” to your resume will. Under no circumstances should you include information about your personal life unless such information is pertinent to selling the book.
Point #6: Leave Them Wanting More: Conclude your query letter by thanking the editor for his/her time and by offering to send your full book proposal (for non-fiction) or the first few chapters of your book (for fiction), and don’t forget to provide your contact information. If your query letter sparks the interest of the editor, he/she will contact you and ask for more information. So don’t send a book proposal or sample chapters without being asked. Also, if you’re sending a query to more than one editor, let them know that you have sent simultaneous queries. Likewise, if you’re offering the editor a two week period of exclusivity (the method I recommend), then say so. Finally, don’t include a SASE with your query. A SASE is most often used to send a form rejection letter back to the author. Don’t leave the impression that you expect rejection. If interested, an editor will contact you immediately by phone or email. They won’t use snail mail.
Point #7: Proofread, Proofread, Proofread: A query letter is the first sample of a prospective author’s writing that an editor will see. It should be perfect. If you can’t produce a one-page letter professionally and free of error, why should anyone believe you can produce an entire book? Don’t rely on spell check programs to find your mistakes, and remember that solid writing is produced by rewriting, rewriting, and rewriting. Rework each individual sentence until it’s the best it can be. You’ve spent countless hours perfecting your manuscript. You can certainly spend a few hours perfecting your query letter.
Point #8: Presentation: You’ve spent the necessary time to create a knockout query letter. Now you have to present it to the editor in the correct fashion or else risk being dismissed as an amateur. It’s important to print your query letter in black ink on 8 1/2 x 11, high quality, plain white paper using a LaserJet printer (no dot-matrix). If you have a letterhead, use it. But don’t get too fancy. Don’t use border patterns. Anything that detracts from the substance of your letter could trigger a rejection. When it comes time to mail your letter, use FedEx. This serves two purposes. First, because of the expense involved, it signals that you are a professional who obviously isn’t sending mass queries to publishers all over the globe. Second, and most importantly, it gets opened. A FedEx envelope simply doesn’t get thrown into the “slush pile”. Other than concise, professional writing, using FedEx is the #1 way to differentiate yourself from the thousands of authors who query a publisher in any given year. Finally, don’t use “gimmicks” or send gifts along with your query letter. Bribery and clever stunts can not replace great writing or a unique product idea. If you compose your letter correctly, you should be confident it will merit the response it deserves.
Utilize each of the 8 points above while drafting your query letter, and I guarantee it will be better than 99.5% of the queries a publisher receives in any given year. In addition, if a market exists for your book, a query letter crafted to the specifications of this outline will almost always generate a request for a book proposal or sample chapters within one week. At that point, you’ve got an editor interested in your book, and you’re already halfway toward seeing it in print. So start working on your knockout query letter today.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/writing-articles/writing-the-knockout-query-letter-how-to-catch-a-book-editors-attention-3616.html
About the Author
Britt Gillette is the author of The Dittohead’s Guide To Adult
Beverages (Regnery 2005). He also runs The DVD Report, a website
showcasing his reviews of movies and TV shows released on DVD.
Filed under: Uncategorized
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This a a COMPLETE LIST of publishers in the UK….
HOPE THIS HELPS
http://www.lights.com/publisher/db/country/United-Kingdom.html
Get hold of a copy of Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook. They have lists of reputable publishers (and agents, who you’ll need to represent you if you want to be published by a major publisher). Another option is to go to a large bookshop and make a note of who published the recent books in the genre. These are the people who can get books into a place where they’re likely to sell a lot of copies.
You might be getting ahead of yourself here, though. Finish the book before you send it out to anyone. Edit it. Then edit it again. Keep doing that until you’re sick of the sight of it. Nobody will consider publishing a book that isn’t complete, no matter how good the chapters that exist.
Never pay money to a publisher or agent. They’re supposed to pay you – the publisher pays you a royalty for every copy of the book they sell, and the agent takes a percentage of your royalties as commission. Anyone who asks for upfront fees has no interest in selling your book – they just want to milk you for as much money as they can.
There is the equivalent of the Writers’ Market for the UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Writers-Market-UK-2008-Essential/dp/0715326619
Get The Writers and Artists Year Book. It had complete listings.
However, you know what I’m gonna say-you really do need an agent.
One simple reason is because looking at the publishers listings, many are much more specific in what they publish and don’t take fiction any more. Most others will only accept fiction through an agent, and the rest are the Über publishers which recieve thousands and thousands of submissions a year. The chance of your writing being plucked out of their slush pile is very, very, very, very slim.
Not that getting an agent is easy. If anything it can be harder, although they do have smaller slush piles so you’re at least less likely to find your work buried at the bottom of the pile and never even read.
One of the only trade publishers to have a dedicated natural history list is Harper Collins. Otherwise, I’m rather struggling to think of anyone. I think you’d have to find a specialist press to have a hope of being published, but I’m sorry to say that I’m not aware of any.
Sorry
Wow, we’re on the same boat! I live in the Philippines too and want to be a published author, someday, and have books sold in different countries.
Maybe find an agent first. And then that will do the thing of getting it publish. Maybe it won’t get publish in America or other countries first But there’s possibilities.
I know this won’t help you much, but I wish you good luck!
No it is missing Mossflower and Mattimeo at least. Redfox are still publishing them, I just got a few of them a month or two ago (I live in ireland so same region basically,) but redfox have changed their cover artwork, size of books, etc, so you may not recognise them as the ones in that box set. I dont like it though, as my book shelf has a lot of irregularity in my redwall section! Iv got some of those big puffin hardbacks, redfox p.backs, etc! So if you wer trying to get them all in the old redfox style as i would have liked, you could probably get them on http://www.abebooks.com, its like book-ebay, and I’m sure they would have the old ones.
Hope this helped!
What I’d advise is for you to try to get your name known in advance of trying to find an agent or a publisher. Attend conferences where publishers and agents attend, have your work printed in magazines and anthologies, enter competitions, go to writing classes, and try to do things that you can add to your “writing CV”. An agent is more likely to read the work of someone who won, for example, a national short story competition judged by a panel of influential literary types, rather than someone who hasn’t done anything before.
Saying that though, even if you haven’t done anything, agents and publishers might still pick you up if you have strong writing, an original story and an original voice. Think about how you want to market yourself. Think about what type of book yours is, and how you want it presented. Start researching publishers and agents who handle books similar to yours. Try to read publishers magazines to keep up to date about changes in the business and current trends.
I’d recommend buying the Writers and Artists Yearbook, which lists all of the UK publishers and also gives lots of advice. There’s another couple of similar books (The Writers Handbook and The Writers Market) but I find the Yearbook the best, but that’s just my own opinion.
If you want to see some examples of query letters, have a look at the “literary agent for a day” entries on http://nathanbransford.blogspot.com/
Good luck with it all.
F u ck you b i t ch ur the poser u c u n t bi tch fat a s s
Is there anyone that could give me information/contacts of book publishers in the UK?
I want to publish a book and it’s almost completed.
Which UK publishers specialise in Wildlife?
Which UK/ International book publishers specialise in publishing books about wildlife? A relative of mine has written a book about African wildlife, and for the UK market wants to find out which publishers to approach… Any suggestions?
book publishers online in the UK?
Hi, I am writing a story and would like to send it to a publisher in the UK (I live in Wales)
thanks
Can you name some publishers (in the UK) that I can send my book to?
Can you name some publishers (in the UK) that I can send my book to?
Please don’t give me information on how I need an agent etc, I just need names of publishers please!
Redwall books- UK publishers?
I want to buy a full set of Redwall books but am a little confused by all the publishers. I have Red Fox paperbacks, puffin paper and hardbacks and hutchinson hardbacks. It’s the later books that seem to be puffin rather than redfox. Can anyone help enlighten me? When did red fox stop publishing? A link to a list of all the books and the different editions/publishers would be useful if it exists.
I have found this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/REDWALL–x10-books-NEW-BOX-SET-RRP-%C2%A362_W0QQitemZ200241338794QQcmdZViewItem?IMSfp=TL0807241029a3751 red fox paper back set. Is this all the ones published by Red Fox?
Which Book Publishers ‘submission’ site had advice from an agent on it?
Whilst browsing book publishing sites last year I stumbled across one (one of the major ones I believe) that had a small advice section from a literary agent. There was also a link to this agent.
He represented a number of fiction authors and was based in the UK.
Does anybody know which publishing company it was and who the agent may be?
Thanks!
how many different book publishers should i send my book to?
i live in the philippines and have 2 nearly complete books.however,my problem here is that the publishers are very limuited and i also want to publish my book in uk…where i am from…..america,china,japan etc…..
do i have to submit manuscripts to a publishing house in these countries and is that allowed,to have more than one publisher.
thankyou
I am writting a book… looking for a publisher in the UK?
I am a first time writer, hence it is more difficult for me to find a publisher. Does anybody know how I could get a publisher? Does anybody know any good publishers that would be interested. I am in the UK hence looking for publishers in the UK ideally.
Thank you in advance.
All advice is welcome.
Horror/Thriller Genre book publishers in the UK?
I’m half way through writing my first novel and now is the time I am seriously searching for potential publishers. Naturally, I want a publisher who will be interested in my book (A psychological horror/thriller) but I am unsure as to what’s available and how I go about this.
Any advice?
Thank you.