Jill Williamson is a chocolate loving, daydreaming, creator of kingdoms. She writes weird books for teens in lots of weird genres like, fantasy (Blood of Kings trilogy), science fiction (Replication), and dystopian (The Safe Lands trilogy). Find Jill on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or on her author website.
She bubbled over with the story of what had happened to her. She told me that a respected literary agent just offered to represent her from two things. 1. The author had already met with an editor who was excited about her manuscript and asked for the full. So the agent knew that. 2. The agent read 15 pages of her book and that was enough.
Man!
I said, “Whoa! Congratulations! That NEVER happens.”
And it doesn’t usually.
Then I asked her what made her story different from others. She was such a new author that she didn’t know how to communicate it, but she did say that she’d read every book that publishing house had ever published in the historical genre.
Every one.
And that’s why she was successful. Yes, she learned to write and tell a good story. But she had also studied her market in a huge way. She knew her genre. She knew her competition. And she knew how to make her story different.
Sold.
Nice, huh?
If you’re not sure what genre you’re writing or where it might sell, read. Seriously. Your book should fit somewhere, or it will be difficult to get it published. So, find the books that are somewhat similar in genre to yours. Read them. Keep track of how your book is similar and different. Doing this will help you discover which publishers are right for you. And you’ll go a long way towards getting yourself published traditionally.
If you’re not sure how to know who published a book, look at the logo on the spine. (I had to turn over some books because the logo was at the top and not the bottom.)
Or look at the bottom of the inside title page.
Take some time to make a list of publishers from the books on your shelves. Then go to your local library or Barnes & Noble and write down some more. Use this list to help you figure out which publishers would be the best fit for your book.
What did you discover? Which publishers might be right for your book?