Submission, Submission, Submission

By the last count, I have made over 70 submissions, either to publishers or literary agents. In this post, I will detail what a submission entails.

Getting a book published is not easy. Not only do you have to come up with an idea for a book that is worth being published, you have to persuade others to back it.

The premise of a submission is quite simple: to persuade someone to help you publish your book. That could be a literary agent showcasing your manuscript to well-known publishers, or going directly to a publisher. Unbeknownst to me, most publishers only accept book submissions via a literary agent. There are a select few publishers that do accept non-solicited submissions, yet most will only pay attention to those writers who have already secured representation.

For me, that means I have a few options.

Either -

Persuade a literary agent to represent me to established publishers OR

Find a publisher that accepts non-solicited submissions OR

Find a publishing imprint where I can self-publish my book.

In my previous post, I mentioned a spreadsheet that details every submission I have made, either to a publisher or a literary agent. Less than 10% of those submissions are directly to publishers, typically small, independent publishing houses that provide a platform for niche writers. The vast majority of those 70-odd submissions are to London-based agents, mainly those literary agents who solely look after writers but also a few creative agents who also represent actors.

With hindsight, I probably should have approached publishers and agents a few months earlier. Once I knew I had enough material for a book, I should have tried to secure representation. However, it hasn’t made a huge difference as even with the manuscript feeling more complete, I am still yet to secure a deal. It would have been nice to have gotten it out of the way earlier than I have but I am where I am with it.

After getting to a stage where I was happy that my manuscript was nearing completion, I belatedly started to research potential publishers. A lot of that was simply heading into a bookshop, finding the music section, and scribbling down the title of a book that was somewhat close to the scope of mine. The non-fiction/music section in most bookshops is not huge so this was not an arduous ordeal and some books do stand out when you consider the niche of a specific music scene.

Books like Michael Cragg’s ‘Reach For The Stars’ from Bonnier Books which is an oral history of the UK pop music scene in the late Nineties to early Noughties. I actually met Michael Cragg at Green Man Festival 2023 as he was doing a talk about his book. Upon getting a signed copy, I asked him if he could give me any advice about getting my book published. Aside from spending years on the manuscript, he also told me who his literary agent was and the name of the agency.

That was the unofficial start of my ‘Submissions’ spreadsheet and ‘Reach For The Stars’ actually proved to be an exception. From that book, I could note down a specific book title, its author, the publisher, individual literary agent, and their agency. Most entries on the spreadsheet simply detail agencies that take non-fiction books.

Ideally, for a submission to be successful, you want to be able to demonstrate and evidence that your manuscript will be a successful book once published. If you can approach an individual literary agent with an example of a book that they have published which is similar to yours, you can essentially say, ‘It worked for this book, it should work for mine’. In the case of Michael’s agent, I was told he was already working on another book about the Sheffield music scene so he had to pass. Evidently, you need a good, niche idea that an agent or publisher can work with afresh.

Granted, I’d anticipated that every publisher and literary agent has their own range of niches. Some literary agents even have their own biog pages where they list the subjects they enjoy working with and their favourite books. If you can find a single agent who lists your niche then you might be in luck. If not, forget about it.

Once you find a publisher or literary agent you think you can work with, you can find guidelines on how to submit your book proposal. This is the bit when it kinda feels like a job application but one of those finicky ones that want a little bit more so you stand out. That was more the rule than the exception and I was surprised at the level of specificity that had to go into every submission. Put it this way, when you apply for a job, you typically amend your CV and cover letter to attune it to the job advent. That might include a few amendments to highlight how your skillset and achievements align with the job advert as well as ensuring that you note down the specific job you are applying for. By and large, the CV and cover letter tend to say the same thing with around the same level of detail.

There is a folder in my Google Drive that has around 30 DIFFERENT submission documents. Writing samples, writer resumes, writer qualifications, synopses, proposals, cover letters, chapter outlines, book outlines, comparable titles, and other such documents. The list goes on. While you might expect publishers and agents to simply ask for a writing sample and a proposal document, many of them want the same evidence in a variety of particular ways and even file types. Oh, and check the time of year too. Also, try to envisage how busy the agent is so you actually get a response.

I’ll put this bluntly, it’s infuriating when you have to shape your proposals to a never-ending list of fixed requirements. There are publishers and literary agents who simply want the first chapter, others want a sample of fifty pages (not a word count, just fifty pages). Others want a mini-book synopsis of just a paragraph or so while others want a detailed breakdown of every single chapter. Some want one document that details your book’s working title, an author biography, chapter breakdown, target audience, word count, submission date, comparable titles, and a writing sample.

‘Oh, and that should only amount to 15 pages, or else we can’t accept it. Failure to comply with every documented rule will result in us ignoring your proposal, and we won’t even tell you’. If only they did put that in as a caveat, simply so I wouldn’t have so much hope.

Let me break down those components:

• Writing sample - Typically a single chapter or one that comes in under 5,000 words. Some publishers and agents will specify whether they want the opening chapter, or opening three chapters, to determine whether it captures their attention.

• Working title - What you envisage the published book to be called when it appears on the shelf.

• Author Biography - Your writing experience (a lot easier if this is not your debut book). For me, it’s listing the publications I have written for taking care to explain the importance of each one, particularly that I wrote music reviews for The Sheffield Star.

• Chapter Breakdown - One or two sentences to sum up each chapter.

• Target Audience - Who you think will be most likely to want to buy this book.

• Word Count - How many words the manuscript currently totals. This is mainly due to cost as the bigger the book, the more it costs to edit and eventually print it. Mine will require a fair few trees as it happens.

• Submission Date - When you think the final manuscript can be handed in. Due to printing requirements, this should be July at the latest if you want to hit the shelves for Christmas. Eep.

• Comparable Titles - Books that compare to your own in terms of scope and general approach. ‘Meet Me In The Bathroom’ by Elizabeth Goodman is the one I keep going back to as it documents a music scene around the early Noughties as an oral history. Mine just happens to be in Sheffield a couple of years later.

I said in my previous post how a lot of publishers and literary agents will allow for 12 weeks for a response after they’ve looked at your submission. Several will not even offer you a response, there’s no automated message that they’ve received your submission, no automated message once the 12-week deadline has passed that they’re still looking at your submission. The submission that you have spent hours tailoring is simply lost in the ether, never to be acknowledged.

There’s a lot of heartache attached with trying to get a book published. You have to be able to deal with rejection and I have found myself pleased when a response comes in. Not so much that it’s another rejection but that I can cross out that line on my spreadsheet. That I’ve gotten closer to ensuring that I submitted to every publisher and literary agent that I possibly could.