While I’m a champion of quality self-publishing, sometimes a trade publisher is the right way to go for a particular project. And this week I have seen two excellent and rare opportunities for authors to get their work before some of the best in the business. One is a a major literary agent who is open for queries; the other is a Big Six publisher considering unsolicited manuscripts.
Rachelle Gardner accepting book queries
Rachelle is a literary agent well-known in the publishing world, largely because of her lively and informative blog. She is based in the USA and represents both general market and Christian authors. She has done more than 100 book deals between authors and publishers.
It has been hard to get representation from Rachelle, but she has recently opened her books again, and is currently receiving queries.
Does your book fit her style? Make sure you check carefully to see the types of books she represents.
Her submission guidelines are very specific. I recommend you print them out, read them aloud, mark everything relevant to you with a highlighter, and then read them again. Seriously. A person of this calibre receives thousands of queries, and if your query doesn’t follow the guidelines, it will simply be deleted. So follow the guidelines.
Just in case you missed that little point, I’ll say it again, follow the guidelines! 🙂
Penguin accepting unsolicited manuscripts from Australian authors
Penguin Books Australia is actually inviting unsolicited manuscripts from Australian authors. Yes indeed, the publishing world is spinning a little to the side these days. If you’ve been trying to get a manuscript published for a while, you know what a remarkable thing this is.
See the terms of the deal by clicking here.
Note that it only applies from the 1st to the 7th of each month, that it is only for adult books, and that there are specific instructions for how to make your submission. So again, follow the guidelines.
Best wishes for your efforts! Let us know if you have any success!
Hi Marianne, thanks for taking the trouble to visit me here!
I totally agree that it’s very hard for newbie novelists to find the cash.
I find that usually it’s people who are publishing a non-fiction book as part of their business who can afford the premium support services — because they can include it in their overall marketing budget.
I’m trying to build a collection of useful resources here… to help those who can’t afford the professional services. 🙂 Stay tuned, I’m motivated to add quite a lot to this website over the next few months.
For others reading this and wondering about the Joel Friedlander blog post that Marianne mentioned, you can find it at http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2012/02/2012-best-time-for-writers-or-the-worst/
Joel was raising the point that although the big changes in self-publishing are good news for those who have the technical know-how, for many writers it’s hard to work out how to take advantage of it. It’s a good post, and the comments are interesting too.
Belinda
ENMITY
Ezekiel’s Prophecy Fulfills Modern World Current Affairs
If you are wrong (Really Wrong) would you want to know?
There are many Churches and Christian trade Publishers is built on the Reformation’s linguistic heritage yet is in danger of losing that strong foundation! There are also many seminaries, divinities, and theological seminaries no longer require that their students learn the Biblical languages that appeal to young adults and teens for their divinity degrees, some do not even teach them! Seminaries and divinity schools, occupy their students teaching them about social studies, economic, politics, psychology, novels, wars history anthropology, and physical fitness as spiritual-strength and intellectual definition, interpretation values important than the Biblical languages that shape these vulnerable students.
Yet, these are the basic tool [scholasticism] of any study of the Bible if we don’t teach the Bible, prophesies, historical then what is the church and Christian trade publishers teaching in their publishing industry? If we need encouraging as to what is the church, seminaries and publishers to what can happen to our sermons and Bible study when we develop knowledge of the Biblical languages that they are written in then Enmity, Ezekiel’s Prophecy Fulfills Modern World Current Affairs! In then John Calvin, and John Wesley, even more Saint Augustine is an excellent encourager. Furthermore, Jesus Christ’ Birth-pace and his lifestyle on earth:
Enmity, Ezekiel’s Prophecy shows you how Ezekiel, Calvin, used knowledge on the Biblical languages to provide richness, depth and accuracy to their understanding of Scripture, and their exposition of it. Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday today forever! (Hebrew 13: 8; and Mal. 3: 6). God never changes! Enmity, God placed between the serpent and the woman and between the offspring of the serpent and the woman since then Enmity ever persists! (Gen. 3: 15).
If you want to develop a deeper ability to understand and explain God’s Sacred Word then let the four volumes Enmity guide you! All Christians so claimed, publishers, churches, seminaries, divinities, [scholasticism] tools used to shape people to live better life. That primarily needs Biblical languages. If you would like to see the Manuscripts I can be reached at: jsday.nakoma@gmail.com.
I look forward to hearing from you at your expedient possible. Thanks very much for your time and attention. God bless you and stay well.
Sincerely
Athanasius-John T. Nkomo
An independent international evangelism
Ph#: (617) 953-7595
Hi Belinda – was reading your comment on Joel Friedlander’s blog. What you said made sound sense: it’d be lovely to have a more experienced publishing-cum-marketing expert at hand to make the going it alone less stressful and, yes, more successful 🙂 Not sure I can afford such a person yet, but who knows, one day it may happen 🙂
Also want to say thanks for generously passing on this info, like you say, agents and publishers who are actively looking for unsolicited manuscripts are like gold dust, wish I knew some emerging writers in Australia to tell about Penguin!
Thanks again,
Marianne