Publishing Thoughts – Sitting In a Publisher’s Chair
]When you’re sitting in your writing chair, pounding out your pages, or staring hopelessly at the forty-seventh version of your query letter, the publishing world can be opaque. It can seem like a black hole, where things get sucked in–manuscripts, query letters, follow-up emails–and rarely does anything pop out.
When we do get feedback from those publishing people, it’s often cryptic and vague, something along the lines of, “We’re sorry, but your manuscript does not meet our needs.”
I know how frustrating that can be. I was in the author’s chair just a few years ago. I’d read, “your manuscript does not meet our needs,” too many times to count and wondered about the people at the literary agency or the publishing house.
- What do they want?
- What gets them excited about a manuscript?
- How can I get them excited about me?
Was I like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, hopelessly trying to please an all-powerful wizard? Or was I dealing with reasonably ordinary people who had their own stresses and deadlines and agendas and motivations? Three years after incorporating CamCat Publishing, LLC, to become a new independent publisher, and after immersing myself in the industry to learn everything I could to learn, I still think publishing is too opaque.
By posting in this Publishing Thoughts category, I’ll share much of what I’ve learned and throw a spotlight on what goes on behind the scenes at a publishing house.
