6. You Will Have To Edit And Change Your Work More Than You Want
tumblrOnce you have beaten the odds and opened a dialogue between yourself and a publisher, the ruthless editing process will begin and you will forget why you wanted to have your book published at all. Sometimes you will not even be allowed to choose the title of your work as it will be left to marketing agents at the company you are talking to. You will be asked to edit and change your work often to the point that you dont even like it. If you are committed to your content and you believe that you should not have to change so much, that is not a bad thing. Stick to your guns but be prepared to wait longer to find a publisher who will agree. What is more, the people in the publishing industry are in that business for a reason, they know what they are doing, take all the free advice you can get when it comes to making your novel a success.
5. You Have To Be Lucky
tumblrUnfortunately, it does not matter how great your idea is. Sometimes the world is just against you and will find yourself receiving countless rejection letters from publishers when you know that your idea will sell hundreds of thousands of copies. Like most things, if you really do have the best idea, perseverance will pay off and your book will find its way to the shelves eventually. You have to be prepared to receive more rejection letters than you initially anticipated it happens to everyone.
4. Different Publishers Want Work At Different Stages
tumblrSome publishers will want nothing more than an idea or an outline whereas others will want several chapters or even the full novel. The most common request for publishers accepting open submissions for novels is three chapters. Most will say that they want the first three chapters because they are the ones that have to drag your reader in. While this is generally the case, if you truly believe that your best work is in the middle of the novel and the start needs work, explain that in the submission letter and send what you think is the most representative sample of your best work.