I might not have a book offer, but submitting is getting easier.
First, the book is now professionally edited and proofed by two people. That’s right, my YA, Down and Out on the Road South, is as ship shape as it’s gonna get.
Second, this latest publisher, Pippin Properties, Inc, made submission easy and straightforward.
My recent editor and proofreader might be blowing smoke, but she said she liked the book and wanted to know what might happen next for the story’s hero, Cole.
I’ve now submitted to 14 publishers who are interested in the young adult genre.
Here is a screenshot from Duotrope showing where I’ve submitted, with status:
Down and Out is 85,000 words, so somewhat long. Sometimes it feels I should cut it down, but who knows? Maybe a publisher will want 2 stories, because halfway through is a cliffhanger.
Will Cole continue his journey south, or turn back for the sake of vengeance?
Once Again, Duotrope Is Worth the $$
Duotrope has a small monthly fee of about $4, but I’m finding for a neophyte like myself it’s worth much more. Without Duotrope, I would probably be Googling publishers:
YA novel unsolicited
or
where do I submit a YA novel?
And I would be recording my queries and responses on an Excel spreadsheet.
So, for sure—you can submit your Baby without software. But why add another layer of confusion to an already perplexing process?
I’ve been looking at publishers using Duotrope’s search function for two months now and still have a dozen or more publishers to contact. After that, I can search beyond Duotrope’s parameters.
Duotrope also showcases key facts about publishers, such as:
What kind of query letter is necessary?
What is the average response time after you submit?
When should you send a follow-up note?
Why did Publisher XYZ get into the publishing biz in the first place?
As a first-time author, it didn’t occur to me that these things might matter.
Pippin Has Easy Reasonable Requirements
I recently sent Down and Out to Elena at Pippin. All that was required was a simple query letter, the first chapter, and a short synopsis.
This makes a lot of sense to me. Most experienced readers can tell within the first few lines if they want to keep reading. I would hope professional editors have an ear for YA voice and dialogue.
On the other end of the spectrum was a fancy-sounding publisher, we’ll call them Dewey, Cheatem, & Howe, who wanted a full Table of Contents, with summaries of each chapter, along with a professional bio, a list of social media presence, and 3-5 YA books published in the last 5 years that were similar to mine.
That kind of arduous list makes me suspicious: aren’t YOU, the publisher, supposed to be the expert on marketing, and whether Down and Out will fit what you like to publish?
Then again, what the hell do I know?
Like any business, publishing is complicated and, according to what I’m reading lately—more censored lately.
It’s harder than ever to get published in Cancel Culture, USA.
What About Plan B?
Are you writing a book? What problems are you running into?
Have you already submitted your book?
Is this taking much longer than you expected or intended?
Is it easier in some ways than you expected, and what will you do if you can’t get a publisher or agent interested?
I haven’t considered my Plan B yet. It used to be Amazon Kindle Vella, but that has proved a giant disaster.
Maybe I’ll publish the first few chapters on Medium, and the whole book self-published on Amazon.
I am interested in hearing back from all authors about how your publishing process is going.