6 Reasons Why A Publisher Says Yes And 6 Reasons They Say No ~ K.M. Allan

Reblogged from K.M. Allan:

6 Reasons Why A Publisher Says Yes And 6 Reasons They Say No

If you’re wondering what makes the manuscript selected by a publisher so special, you’re not the only one.

I recently attended the KidLitVic conference where that question was put forward to publishers Susannah Chambers (Allen & Unwin), Clair Hume (Affirm Press), and Zoe Walton (Penguin Random House Australia). And a room packed full of writers waited with bated breath to hear the answer.

While the answer given was that the MS needs to personally speak to them, they outlined the reasons they’ll say yes and what makes them say no when considering the manuscripts that come across their desks.

6 Reasons Why A Publisher Says Yes

Amazing Story

Above all else, the story is what matters. Each publisher said that a good story will always be the defining reason they select a manuscript. Stories that are infused by your own experiences, world, and what you know, written in a way that only you can write it, is the key to those amazing stories.

Continue reading at K.M. Allan

3 Responses to 6 Reasons Why A Publisher Says Yes And 6 Reasons They Say No ~ K.M. Allan

Marilyn Armstrong says:

June 17, 2019 at 18:40

Very nice article, but it’s not really true. It’s corporate speak for what publishers want us to believe and having come through the publishing industry at a time when people read manuscripts — not software — and editors in publishing housing (Maxwell Perkins, for example) were there for the entire purpose of helping authors make their manuscripts better — this kind of corporate nonsense infuriates me. Most of my comment is on the author’s site.

It was not always the author’s responsibility to completely finish every manuscript to the last comma AND do his or her own publicity and advertising and pay for his or her own editor and proofreader. THAT was what your publishing contract was supposed to provide!

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- Morgan Hazelwood says:
  
  June 17, 2019 at 18:55
  
  For fiction books, having a draft that you THINK is finished, down the the last comma, is expected if you’re at the querying stage.
  
  You can probably expect a few more rounds of revisions, but it should be polished — even if it’s not perfect.
  
  And these days? Everyone, traditionally published or not, is expected to do a decent amount of publicity/marketing leg-work. The market is crowded.
  
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Jennie says:

June 18, 2019 at 22:22

Excellent post!

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