Every year, hundreds and perhaps thousands of authors try to find a publisher for their manuscript. That is not an easy task. Moreover, you have to watch out for publishers who are not at all a real publisher, but who see wannabe authors as just a nice revenue model. Therefore tips and warnings for a good approach increase your chances. Now that turn PDF into a book you can have the best support surely you will be having all the options for the same.
Prepare well if you are looking for a publisher
That preparation actually starts before you have written a letter on paper because publishers look for books that add something to the books that are already there. They search for special stories, innovative perspectives, their own style or choice of subject. Therefore, before you start writing comparative research, check the bookstore or library to see which books have already appeared on your subject. Critically assess whether your book still has added value.
If you want to get serious as a writer, follow a writing course or contact a writing coach. Natural talents are scarce. For most writers, by writing a lot and becoming a lot of work, they have become who they are today. Then have your story read by someone from whom you can expect good criticism of your style and the structure of your story.
Approaching a publisher
Submitting your manuscript to a publisher is like applying and that means you have to put your best foot forward. A publisher runs a financial risk when he publishes your book and looks for authors with whom it is nice to work together and who can be expected to deliver a good and salable book. Therefore do not send your manuscript to all conceivable publishers, but be selective.
Find out which publishers have a fund that matches your book
Has a publisher published a book in your genre before? Only approach these publishers and don’t write to them all at once. There is a good chance that you will receive rejections, but these rejections may contain advice that you can use to approach other publishers with more success. To find out if your manuscript fits a certain fund, you can check all the sites of all publishers or you can go to the library to find out which similar books have been published by which publisher. But the search function of the largest online bookstore can also help you. How? That shows the video below with an example of non-fiction. However, the same principle applies to fiction.
Send the right information to the publishers of your choice
Write in your cover letter why you think your book fits into the publisher’s fund. Send a table of contents with a non-fiction book and a short summary of the story with a novel. You usually also send the entire manuscript with you, so that the editor or publisher can view the entire project at once. But sometimes a publisher indicates that they only want to receive a part of your manuscript. You will almost always find this on the site of the publishers of your choice. Add a short biography to your letter, so that the publisher gets a picture of who you are and what motivates you. With non-fiction, the biography must show that you have the right background to write about this subject.
