The Business Basics for Today’s Writer—Part Two—Submission Standards

Last week I began a new series on the Business Basics for Today’s Writer. This morning I preempted that post with my Calendar Days post. But I know you all are looking forward to this series, so I didn’t want to disappoint you.

Today I’m continuing with a link on submission standards. I’m going to go over the standards today. If you’re unfamiliar how to make these changes in Microsoft Word, leave your question in the comments section and I’ll walk you through it.

Every industry has standards and the writing community is no different. However, since the advent of email submissions, the rules have gotten muddy. Today I’ll share some rules to follow that will help you present yourself professionally.

Industry Submission Standards—Part Three

Today we’ll finish up with How to Format a Book Proposal for email submission. One thing I can’t stress enough is the need to find out if the editor/publisher you’re submitting to will allow emails with an attachment. There is no industry standard. Some publishers allow attachments and others require submissions to be pasted into the body of the email. For our purposes, we’ll assume you’ll be sending an attachment. If they require it to be within the body of the email, just make sure everything is included.

After you’ve determined how to send your proposal, the next thing to do is to check the publisher/agent’s website. Many of them have specific requirements for submitting a proposal. ALWAYS follow those requirements. The information I’m giving is general, never give that more importance than what the website says.

NOTE: Unlike an email query, the parts of a proposal need to be formatted so that they can be printed out, if the editor/agent so desires.

COVER LETTER—every proposal, whether fiction or non-fiction, needs a cover letter. This is in addition to the introductory email that you will of course send.

• Author’s contact information – Name, physical address, phone number and email
• Editor/Agent contact information – Name, title, physical address, phone number and email
• Short hook – to remind them of why they requested the material
• Specifics of when they met you or requested the material (possibly through a previous email)
• Short explanation of the material (This is a 30 day devotional or This is a 85,000 word romantic suspense)
• Formal signature line

COVER PAGE—this will be included in any proposal, no matter the length

• Title—in bold letters and large font, centered
• Contact Information—Repeat your contact info
• Genre and Manuscript Length

TABLE OF CONTENTS—no matter the length of the proposal, always include a Table of Contents

NOTE: Everything after the table of contents should include a header and a footer. These should be single spaced. For the header, include an extra line below the second line to separate it from the body of the proposal pages.

HEADER

• Upper left corner—Title/Genre
• Upper right corner—Word Count
• Second line of upper left corner—Your name
• Second line of upper right corner—Your email address

FOOTER
Page Number—this can be centered or in one of the corners, just make certain that the placement remains consistent throughout the proposal. Include the COVER page and the TABLE OF CONTENTS in the page count. This means page 3 will be the first page where you see the page number on a page.

LINE SPACING
Most of your proposal will be single spaced. Here are the exceptions.
SYNOPSIS
If the editor/agent wants a synopsis that is more than one page long it should be entirely double spaced. If they only want a one page synopsis it should be single spaced.
SAMPLE CHAPTERS
These will ALWAYS be double spaced.

There are multiple, excellent websites that include sample proposals for fiction and non-fiction. These detail what to include much better than I ever could. Here are a couple of the best:

• MacGregor Literary
• Books and Such Literary

To follow up on a proposal you’ve sent, ALWAYS check the website guidelines. If there are no guidelines, I recommend waiting at least three months and then follow up with a polite email. NEVER call the publishing house or the agent.

I hope you’ve found this series helpful. If you notice anything I’ve forgotten, please add it in the comments section!
Don't forget to join the conversation!
Blessings,
Edie

Industry Submission Standards—Part Two

Last week, in Part One,  I shared general submission standards for our industry. This week I’ll share how to handle an email query professionally. Ten years ago, virtually all submissions were handled through snail mail (that’s with an envelope and a stamp). Now they take place through the Internet. There are good things about that—the time factor has improved slightly. And not so good things—with formal letter writing obsolete, it’s hard to know how to present yourself as a professional without appearing to be part of the Stone Age.

Query Letters/Emails
This is the correspondence when you are INQUIRING about an assignment (this applies to both non-fiction and fiction). Even though you aren’t typing this on a real piece of paper, it’s important not to forget everything you learned.

• Include all your contact information at the top of the email
• Use a polite salutation (like Dear Mr. Jessup)
• Make certain you have the correct name

NOTE: You can check this on the organization’s website. It is also a good idea to make certain you have the correct gender as well. As I’ve mentioned in the past, it really irritates me to be referred to as a Mr. when I’m a woman.

• Keep your correspondence focused and sharp
• End politely (Thank you for your consideration)

Here are a couple of things NOT to do.

• Just because you don’t have a specific page length in an email, keep it as short as one typewritten page. Being long winded won’t get you a job. All editors are incredibly busy and don’t have time to read long dissertations.
• Do not expect an editor to take time to click on a link. What I’m talking about are links to online portfolios or your personal website. It is fine to let the editor know that you can send them links to articles that have been published (these are known as clips). But unless requested, don’t assume they have time to visit web pages to see if you can write. That is part of the purpose of this correspondence. As a part of your ending signature it is acceptable to include a personal link or two.

Next week I’ll share how to format a cover letter and a proposal.

Don't forget to join the conversation!
Blessings,
Edie