By John Bond

I have spoken to a fair share of happy authors over the years. Conversely, I have spoken with some disenchanted ones. They may have submitted their book idea (or whole manuscript) to several publishers and gotten no offer of publication. Also, some authors may submit a manuscript they labored over to a peer review journal and gotten nothing but the dreaded reject. No doubt this is a disheartening experience. It can hurt.

But let’s talk about increasing the odds of having a positive outcome after all your hard work. Of increasing your chances, albeit only a bit. By doing your research into publishers (both book publishers and specific journals) you will lessen your chances of that rejection we all fear.

I like to use the analogy of pitching a new TV show to a network. Let’s say you have an idea for a unique cooking show that centers on your regional cuisine. You have a great chef and some great ideas. Now you want to pitch the show, and your first choice is ESPN. And they turn you down flat.

Is your idea bad? Are you worthless? Of course not! You chose the wrong network. You should have chosen the Cooking Channel. Seems like a no-brainer.

But this happens a lot in publishing and some time spent researching can eliminate this step and some wrong choices.

Before choosing a book publisher to submit to, extensively go through their Information for Authors page. Here is an example that says what the publisher is interested in and therefore (by their absence) what they are not interested in. Believe them.

Next, go through the titles they publish in your targeted area and see what they released in the last 12 to 18 months. Are they very active or are there no titles?

This research takes maybe a half an hour per publisher. And it saves you and your project wasted time and saves you possible heartache.

Same with journals for manuscripts. Journals do an even better job of outlining what they want. Here is one example. Knowing journals may take 3 to 6 months to give you a decision, don’t waste your time with disinterested parties.

I have worked at a publisher and was always baffled when we got a submission (which we rejected), thinking “We don’t even publish in that field.”

So, do your research. Only send your work where it is (potentially) wanted thereby increasing your odds of publication. I am rooting for you!

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John Bond is a publishing consultant at Riverwinds Consulting. His new book is: The Little Guide to Getting Your Book Published: Simple Steps to Success. He is also the host of the YouTube channel “Publishing Defined.” Contact him at jbond@riverwindsconsulting.com.