To write what is worth publishing . . .

. . . to find honest people to publish it, and get sensible people to read it, are the three great difficulties in being an author - Charles Caleb Colton

A week or so ago a friend of mine who is thinking of publishing a book of her own, sent me a message wondering if I knew if publishers looked for a specific style of font etc. I messaged back . . . and then I thought I should make it into a post. Why not - it is after all related to writing. It's related to the after effect of writing . . . that wonderful moment when you say to yourself "wow, I created something great and I want to share it!" Then the sometimes daunting, long and possibly non-rewarding adventure of trying to get published the "traditional" way begins! The main thing to remember is to stay strong and focused on your goal - don't give up!! If you really want to be published you will be - there is a way, you just need patience and the ability to take constructive criticism. Stay true to your story . . . but be willing to make changes that will make it better. Eventually your work will be published.


Here is my note to my friend . . . who I know will soon have her work published. She has an eloquent and clear way of writing and her story should be shared :)!!

. . .

I haven't come across a publisher that has specifically stated a typeset for manuscripts to be submitted in - correct me if I'm wrong. That being said every publishing house has different rules about how you should approach them and then submit your manuscript.
In my experience a lot of corporations us Arial as their font type and either 11 or 12 as the size . . .
Most publishing companies will ask that you first submit a "Query" - this is usually a short letter from you asking if they would be interested in reading a chapter or two (or if they would like the full manuscript sent to them) they also usually want you to include a brief biography about yourself.

Again every publishing house is different in how they want you to approach them - so keep writing but in the meantime start to research the publishing houses out there and click on their submission tab/link and see what there protocol is. A good reference guide is the "Canadian Writers Market" and you should be able to get that at the library - you might not be able to take it out though . . .
Hope this helps - Keep me posted!! If you choose self-publishing . . . let me know and I can give you what info I have on that as well.


There is a publishing house in Hamilton that might be one for you to consider . . . I can't quite recall the name - Seraphim or something angelic like that comes to mind . . . (http://www.seraphimeditions.com/)

Also note that some publishing houses will not accept unsolicited manuscripts or even queries . . . so I emphasize again to really look hard at their submission process . . . seems odd I know that some wouldn't even accept a query - how do they get books published then . . . they are having people recommended to them by other sources and have staff who read blogs :) etc to find authors - so . . . you never know, you could be being stalked by a potential publisher now!!

. . .

After reading my message again I need to clarify my first remark - all publishing houses are different yes, however I think what I should have said was that I don't believe there is an industry standard. All publishers don't require that manuscripts be set up or submitted in the same way. That would be too easy . . . you have to treat each publisher differently and go by what they want which makes the whole process at times very time consuming - but once you are published, well worth the effort!