How to Publish a Book in the U.S.

After finishing your manuscript, the next step is getting your manuscript in the hands of a publishing company. These publishing companies are flooded with letters and manuscripts. For the sake of time, publishers have preferred ways of having a manuscript submitted to them; read on to learn some of the best ways to submit a manuscript.

Instructions

Publishing a Book

1. Find a publisher that might be interested in publishing your type of book (see Resources below). There are many publishers out there that specialize in certain fields, so make sure you pick a few that will be interested in the type of book you've written.

2. Find out what the submission guidelines are. These submission guidelines often set a word length limit, topic guideline and instructions for sending a manuscript. Usually, publishers will want a query letter and a synopsis, and this information will be listed along with the publisher's contact information.

3. Write a query letter. In this letter you will pitch the book idea. Explain what you sought to accomplish in your book and why you think your book will be worthwhile to publish (see Resources below).

4. Write a synopsis. Tell the editor everything about the book. Tell the editor both the content of the book and why you made the decisions you did when writing the book.

5. Send the entire package to the publisher(s), along with a self addressed stamped envelope (SASE).

6. Wait for a response. If your idea is rejected, revise your query letter and synopsis, find another publishing company and repeat Steps 1 to 5 .
   If an editor replies and asks you to revise your work, do so according to his suggestions. If your manuscript is accepted, you will receive a letter with further instructions.

Finding an Agent

1. Write for smaller publishing markets before trying to find a literary agent.

2. Find an agent that specializes in your niche. These agents can be found in annual guides which can be purchased at a bookstore or online. There is also a database of literary agents in the Resources section below.

3. Follow the same steps as in Section 1 above.

4. Take feedback, ignore rejection and be prepared to submit to many agents.

Tips & Warnings

• Be professional when writing your query letter. Letting the publisher know that you are aware of their publishing history is fine, but do not appear overly complimentary. Remain humble. Do not tell the publisher that your book is the great American novel and that the publisher should be lucky to be receiving the manuscript. Generally, you are better off submitting to one literary agent at a time.

• Do not tell the publisher. Show the publisher. For instance, do not tell the publisher that your book will be the next best seller. Instead, tell your publisher about why you think your book will be successful. Do not talk about payment or future books in your query letter. Stick with the content and aim of the book. Do not withhold information about the end of, say, a suspense novel. Editors are professionals that are not reading your manuscript for their own pleasure but rather reading it in order to determine if your book will sell. Do not waste time sitting around waiting for your agent or publishing company to contact you. Do not pay a fee in order to publish or work with a literary agent. Scammers often claim that they can sell a book for a fee and then disappear with the writer's money.

Resources

• Find book publishers
• How to write a query letter
• Literary agent resource