As with any piece of writing, research constitutes a huge chunk of the time involved. It’s not just subject matter — dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s to convince the reader that your antagonist really would know how to strip copper wiring from an abandoned house — no, that is just a small part of the research process. Titles, character names and settings have to be convincing. Then, once you have a piece of writing you're happy with and are ready to go out, who are you going to send it to?
Titles: Has anyone used your brilliantly smart and witty title before? Puns? Plays on words? Chances are that you’re not the first to have noticed that wonderful pun or play on words. Try Googling the title and see where, how or if it appears. If there is already a book with your title, the last thing you want to do is confuse your reader from the start.
Character Names: Even if you work in the murder, mystery, horror, western, or romance genres, combinations of Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and Hermoine Granger should be left in their rightful place.
Settings: If you set your story in New York City, know NYC. If your story is set in a jazz-enthused New Orleans, forget about highrise condos and frigid winters.
A final note: Once you have your manuscript ready, researching the best recipient for your masterpiece is time consuming, yet essential.
- what are the submission guidelines?
- is your manuscript, in its present form, up to the publisher’s submission standards?
- if the guidelines state the publisher is not accepting picture book submissions, don’t send it anyway.
- make a list of possible publishers.
- check out the publisher’s websites and comb through their catalogues.
- go to your local bookstore or library and check what the publishers on your list publish.
- are all their early reader series nature related? If so, don't send a story about a robot.
Be informed, do your research.
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