Finding a Publisher

I was very lucky with my three Weddings & Courtships book. I run a site about romance, RomanceClass.com. I have a ton of romantic information on this site. I was approached by a publisher who asked if I could write three books for them to publish. I did so - and when I presented them, it turned out the publisher had changed its mind. It paid me a "kill fee" to release me from the contract we had, of about $1000. I then sent information out on my already done books to a number of other publishers, and one quickly picked up the books. So I had pretty much no trouble at all having my books connect with a publisher. My current publisher is Windstorm Creative.

It's not always this easy. When Harry Potter was first written, over 12 different publishers turned this book down - they thought nobody would buy it. Obviously they were very wrong! Publishers make mistakes all the time. If you get turned down by one, or two, or ten, don't get discouraged. You'll find the right publisher - and the fit will work perfectly.

The key is to start with a directory of publishers like the Writer's Market. Go through and figure out which publishers are BEST for your book. If you have a bad fit, they'll never accept you! You want a perfect fit. Put in the effort to figure out who that is. Research what they currently carry. Then write a specific, unique query letter to them explaining why the fit is so great. That is your responsibility - to show them your enthusiasm for your material.

Remember, you don't NEED a publisher. A publisher takes a huge chunk of your profits. In return, they supposedly help to promote and push your book - but a lot of publishers don't do that very well. You might do just as well selling your first book on your own, getting yourself known, and then have publishers coming after you for subsequent books.

From Terrie - Homeschooling Author
Using a small company, I can call the president myself if I want to. What publishers are good for is helping with publicity (in small companies--in big ones you have to be already famous) and the distributor issue.

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