How to Find a Reputable Company to Publish Your Inspirational Book
Inspirational books provide guidance and advice that uplifts and inspires. When you've written a book like this, it's important to share your work. The steps below present a strategy for finding a reputable publisher for your inspirational book.
- Difficulty:
- Moderately Challenging
Instructions
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1
Visit your local book store and look for other inspirational books that you like. The names of their publishers will appear on the title page. Write down the names of these publishers.
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2
Study The Writer's Market, available both as a hard copy and online. (see Resource 1) The Writer's Market lists publishers according to genre and provides contact information, pay scale, and condensed submission guidelines. Make a list of publishers the appeal to you. If listed, note the Web site of each publisher.
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3
Visit the Web site of each publisher you identified in the previous steps. Look for submission guidelines on each Web site. Sometimes a link to the guidelines appears on the home page. Other times, it can be found in either the "About" or "Contact" sections.
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4
Print the guidelines you found in Step 3, and scan them for the phrases "accepts unsolicited submissions" and "accepts simultaneous submissions." Place guidelines containing these words in a stack. When a publisher accepts unsolicited submissions, this means that you can send your work yourself. Otherwise, you will have to use an agent. When a publisher accepts simultaneous submissions, this means that you can send your work to several potential publishers at once.
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5
Reformat your book's manuscript to comply with the submission guidelines for each publisher in your stack. Print copies of each of your reformatted manuscripts.
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6
Write and print a cover letter for each publisher. According to Writing-World.com, a good cover letter includes your background information and an overview of your book. A cover letter should also include information about your previous writing experience, if any, and the reason why you think that your book is a good fit for the publisher you've selected. (see Reference 1)
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7
Mail your cover letters and submissions to the appropriate publishers and wait for a positive response.
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1
Tips & Warnings
When your work is accepted, immediately contact the other publishers and let them know. This is common courtesy and will help you build positive relationships for the future. It may be months before you hear anything from a publisher. Check the Web site to find out the exact wait time and the proper procedure to follow if you want to check the status of your submission.
Following the steps in this article does not guarantee publication.
