How to Get Published: What You Need Before Traditionally Publishing
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These days there are multiple avenues to getting published, from self-publishing to working with a hybrid publisher. However, many writers dream of getting published traditionally. The biggest question, then, is how to get published traditionally?
There are a number of things you will need if you are hoping to become a traditionally published author. Some of these things will be more tangible and some will be more abstract, speaking to the state of mind that you will need going into this process.
What Is Traditional Publishing?
Before we get into the list, it’s important to understand what traditional publishing entails. Traditional publishing refers to the Big Five publishing houses which are based in New York City and are responsible for most of the trade books you see in Barnes & Noble. The Big Five publishing houses are Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, HarperCollins, and Hachette. Each of these houses are then subdivided into a number of imprints, which are various divisions that are responsible for publishing specific types of books. The imprint names are what you see on the spine of a book and on the copyright page.
What You Need to Become a Traditionally Published Author
To many writers that I work with, being published by a Big Five house seems like an impossible feat. They have no idea how to get started. So, I am really passionate about demystifying the process of getting traditionally published to give writers the confidence to pursue this process.
With all that being said, here are the seven things you need to become a traditionally published author.
1. A Literary Agent
I'm going to start off the list with the most tangible requirement for getting your book traditionally published: a literary agent. A literary agent is your biggest partner in publishing. They are the ones who will represent your book to the editors at the Big Five publishing houses’ imprints. If the editor likes what they see, then they will make an offer to publish your book through your literary agent and, as compensation, your agent will receive a commission from that deal.
A literary agent is a must if you are looking to traditionally publish. The Big Five houses do not accept “unsolicited” or “unagented” manuscripts, which is when a writer is reaching directly out to the editor at the publishing house.
The reason editors don't accept pitches or submissions directly from writers is because they need the agent to act as their curator. If they were to accept submissions from the general public, their inboxes would constantly be overflowing and it would be impossible to sort out the publishable novels from the rest.
Your literary agent will ensure that your book is only going out to the editors who will truly be interested in your project and who will serve as a great partner for you. On top of that, your agent will help you make sure that your novel is in tip-top shape before it goes out to those editors to increase the chances of someone making an offer on your book. Think of it this way: it's always easier to sell a well-kept and renovated home than one that still needs extensive work–plus, the former will also be worth more.
So, how do you go about getting a literary agent? The process can seem really elusive, but it’s quite simple: it’s through a query letter, which is a pitch that you send to agents to see if they're interested in representing you and your book.
2. Perseverance
The next essential thing that you'll need if you're looking to become a traditionally published author is perseverance. I'm not going to sugarcoat it: it is very difficult to land a literary agent. Not only does your writing have to be top-notch, but your book project has to interest that agent enough for them to feel confident taking you on as a client.
It can be an extremely personal matchmaking process, one that almost is like dating. And the truth of the matter is agents are completely flooded with queries from writers every day, and reviewing those queries comes on top of their responsibilities for their existing clients. So, unfortunately, it is possible that your query may get buried in the avalanche.
That's why it is so important to stay positive and persevere if you get rejected or don't hear back
from an agent. Don't give up! That point is worth repeating–don't give up. It's likely that you're going to strike out a few times, maybe dozens or even a hundred times before you find that perfect agent match. But the only way to make it happen is to push through.
3. Strong Writing Skills
This next point is probably pretty obvious, but the third thing you need if you want to become a traditionally published author is strong writing skills.
Literary agents, editors at publishing houses, and publishers themselves all have high standards. They want to publish the absolute best books possible. That means if your writing isn't up to par, you are unlikely to become a traditionally published author.
Remember that writing skills go beyond spelling and grammar–you need to be skilled with descriptions, able to craft authentic characters, and know how to build a sense of narrative propulsion that compels readers to keep turning the pages.
4. Patience
Learning how to get published by a traditional publisher is, in many ways, an exercise in patience.
It often takes a long time to find the right literary agent. We are talking several months, if not years. Then, once you find a literary agent, it will still take time before your agent is ready to submit your manuscript to editors. More likely than not, your agent will want you to make some revisions to your manuscript, possibly even several rounds of revision, that will take time for you to implement.
Then, once the manuscript is ready to go on submission, you will have to wait for the editor to read the manuscript and get back to your agent with a decision. That could take anywhere between a week to a few months.
Then, when an editor accepts your book for publication, there’s still some more waiting. The Big Five publishing houses plan their book releases at least one to two years in advance. That means a novel bought by an editor in 2022 likely wouldn't be published until 2023 or 2024 at the very earliest.
So, from finding your agent to finally seeing your finished book on the shelves, you're likely looking at a matter of years. That is why patience is so critical to have during this process.
5. A Completed Manuscript
The fifth thing that you need if you want to be a traditionally published author is another pretty obvious one: a completed manuscript. Now, if you're a nonfiction writer, you might be able to find an agent without a completed manuscript, so I am going to talk about how the process works specifically for novels.
It is unlikely for you to sign with an agent with only a partial manuscript. This is because the agent wants to see the full work and how you intend for the entire novel to unfold. I've run into cases where a novel is completely compelling and engaging in the first half and goes off the rails in the second. That's why it's important for the agent to have a full picture of your novel before they're going to offer you representation and offer to work with you on your book.
6. A Collaborative Attitude
My sixth must-have is a collaborative attitude. As I've described, the publishing process will not only involve you collaborating with your agent, but also collaborating with the editor at the publishing house. Both of these people are going to be your partners in publishing and they're going to have their own ideas and suggestions on how to shape your book so it is the best it can possibly be.
As the author, you really have to have the mindset that they are there to help you and position you for success when your book goes into the market. Sometimes, writers are afraid of their editor changing their manuscript too much, losing their creative autonomy throughout the publishing process.
If this is the case for you, remember this: an agent and an editor chose to work on your book because they are passionate about it. They love your story so much that they want to do everything they can to get it out into the world, so listen to them and they in turn will definitely promise to listen to you.
7. A Compelling Story
The last thing that anyone who wants to become traditionally published needs is a compelling story. Again, literary agents and editors have to be extremely picky with the books that they choose to work on.
That's because they are taking a big financial risk in pursuing your book. They don't know how many copies it will sell and they don't know how readers are going to react. This means they have to start thinking about how your book will fit into the market before they even agree to work with you.
So if you have a well-written story, but it really doesn't bring anything new to the genre and repeats tropes that have already been used, it's actually less likely a publisher would want to work with you because that market is already too saturated with that type of story.
What agents and editors are looking for is a story that brings something new to the table. That doesn't mean that every part of your novel has to be completely unique. You might still employ a structure that you've seen in other books, for instance the structure of having a police officer investigating a crime.
But between the way the story is told, the characters, and any major plot twists, something should set your novel aside. This will become one of its key selling points, so it's a good idea to start thinking now about how your novel is different from other similar books.
That said, don't stress too much about it. If you're struggling to identify your novel's differentiating factor, it can be a good idea to work with a trusted beta reader or a professional editor. They can bring that critical third party eye to the story and help you see things in the manuscript that you're maybe too close to in order to see for yourself.
I hope this insight helped you learn more about how to get published with a Big Five publishing house.
Thanks so much for reading, and happy writing!