Get ready for my soapbox about submitting!
Submissions
This week, I’ll talk about submissions.
- Are You Still Submitting Before Revising?
- Are You Still NOT Submitting?
- Are You Still Submitting Blind?li>
- Are You Still Singly Submitting?
- Are You Still Not Tracking Submissions?
Submitting a Manuscript is the Saleswoman’s Hat
Think about this scenario: You are a saleswoman for an auto company that specializes in classic Jaguars (which I love–if anyone wants to give me one!). The boss says you gotta sell this Jaguat XJS Hypersport v12 Turbo 
How do you go about it?
Strategy 1:
You open the telephone book. Without looking you randomly point to a name. You look at the street address. Without calling the person, without finding out if they LIKE the Jag, or even need a new car–or even if they still live there–you send the Jag over to their house.
Then you wait. And wait. And wait. Wondering all the while, if the person will get back to you and purchase the Jag.
Well–as a saleswoman, you’re fired!
Strategy 2:
You attend a meeting of Jag enthusiasts, bringing with you a picture of the Jag, along with specs. You get leads on three people who might be interested. You do your research and find out that one of them has a long history of buying Jags, the other, will only buy red cars, and the third loves classics in general, and in fact, is in need of something black right now. You take the Jag over to #1 and #3 for a spin drive. And they get in a bidding war.
Well, as a saleswoman, you just got hired as a literary agent!
Single Submissions?
Likewise, the saleswoman would be a Fool to only send it to a single person, who she’s never met! The best sales come when you know your audience and you’ve targeted the submissions. I NEVER singly submit, UNLESS it’s to an editor I’ve worked with before (good time to singly submit!). Instead, I sift through what I know about editors, publisher, publishing companies.
Look at the Children’s Book Council, the Purple Crayon, the SCBWI marketing info, Children’s Writer, online searches of specific names, etc.
In other words, approach the issue of submission with a reasonable attitude about business and sales. Over the years, I’ve read business books about sales such as The Good Girl’s Guide to Negotiation: How to Get What you Want at the Bargaining Table 
. It’s a general book, talking about buying a car and other negotiations. But the author also did the ghost writing for The Beardstown Ladie’s Common-sense Investment Guide and did it for a pittance; and learned a lesson in negotiating book contracts! That’s the only story in the book specifically about books, but the whole attitude she talks about it helpful.
Get some negotiation skills somewhere and learn anything you can about sales–there are tons of business books to get you started.
Related posts:
- Are you Still Submitting Before Revising?
- Are You Still NOT Submitting?
- Are You Still Submitting Blind?
- Are You Still Not Tracking Submissions?
- The Biggest Mistake in Submitting a Picture Book
 | How to Write a Picture Book. Ebook, immediate download. $10. |
Discussion
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