The Insider's Guide to Getting Published: Why They Always Reject Your Manuscript and What You Can Do About It

New York: Main Street Books, 1997. First Printing . Trade Paperback. Near Fine. 5" x 8. 162 Pages. Publishing is a hustling, bustling, competitive business where editors barely have time to read the manuscripts they have acquired, much less the unsolicited submissions to which they are already unfavorably predisposed. What this means is that you can't sit back waiting to be discovered. You have to make it happen. You have to work aggressively, intelligently, and cunningly at getting your book noticed and making your submission stand out. This book is going to show you what you need to know about the publishing business and, based on this knowledge, how to work intelligently at getting your book published. It will show you how to come up with a salable idea, how to shape and focus that idea, and how to present it in its best possible light. It will show you how to get your idea in front of the right editor, how to grab that editor's attention, and how to keep him reading until your submission has said everything it needs to say. But most important, it is going to show you the rules that govern the games publishers play, a strategy for getting around those rules, and the tactics that will get you out of the slush pile, onto an editor's desk, and in a form that can't be ignored, thrown away, or automatically rejected. Making sure your manuscript or proposal gets serious attention is the reason you picked up this book. Once you know how to make the right moves, editors will be left with no other choice than to give you at least as much care and consideration as they would authors with twenty books under their belt. Contents in Ten Chapter: Getting Down to Business, Ten Awful Truths How the Publishing Industry Works and Why It Often Doesn't, Know Your Enemy The Anatomy of a Publishing House, The Awful Truth About Yourself, So What Should I Write About, The Click of a Good Idea, Getting Serious, Tailoring Your Idea to a Book Market, The Great American Book Proposal, and A Submission Strategy That Works.