The Snowflake Chronicles

Editor's Letter for February Newsletter Deadline: 2/24/14

Title
How do you know if your story is ready for publication?
Is my story ready for publication?

Description

Determining if your story or novel is ready to send to a publisher.

What it's about

'I wrote a book. It sucked. I wrote nine more books. They sucked, too. Meanwhile, I read every single thing I could find on publishing and writing, went to conferences, joined professional organizations, hooked up with fellow writers in critique groups, and didn't give up. Then I wrote one more book.' - Beth Revis

'If you have a dream, don't just sit there. Gather courage to believe that you can succeed and leave no stone unturned to make it a reality.' - Roopleen

from the editor

A reader ask, "How do I know if my story is ready for publication?" Before I answer this question, I am going to ask a few more questions that relate to publishing the story or novel. Have you corrected the grammar issues, misspellings, and typos? Is there a beginning, middle, and end to the story? Does the plot flow in a consistent manner? Did you use flashbacks and foreshadowing appropriately in the story? If you can answer all these questions with yes, I suggest you take a deep breath and submit.

If you still need more feedback before submitting the item to a publisher, I suggest you request reviews. You can do this in several way, but one good way is to mark the item as private, give it a passkey, and request specific reviewers to read it. When you request this type of review, always state the questions you want answered. For instance, if you have issues with grammar ask for a grammar review. If you are not sure about the plot ask for a plot review.

No matter how many reviews you receive there comes a time when you have to send your baby, your book, out into to world. Find a publisher, research the books that publisher has printed, and send the manuscript to the department or editor indicated. If the manuscript is rejected or comes back find another potential publisher and send it out again. Always keep an extra hard copy of the items on hand and a record of who you sent it two. If it is rejected also record the reason for the reject and keep the rejection slip. Rejection notes are good for redecorating your bathroom or other reading area.

Do not let rejection stop you! Submit, submit, submit because eventually persistence is rewarded.

The next issue is finding the right publisher. Please submit any ideas or questions you may have.
Prosperous Snow celebrating