Manuscript Submission - Is Hard Copy Or E-Mail Preferred?

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Jo_M_Draper]Jo M Draper
You've spent months, maybe even years writing, re-writing, editing and proofreading your manuscript and finally it's ready to be submitted to publishers; unfortunately it is at this stage that many great manuscripts end up unpublished simply because they have been submitted in the incorrect format, and unfortunately there is no one hard and fast rule about whether a hard copy or an emailed manuscript is the best way to go.
Anyone who has ever approached publishers in an attempt to get their manuscript published will know that each publisher has their own set of rules and expectations about what a submission should look like. Publishing houses may receive hundreds of manuscripts a week and therefore they have to be fairly strict in their shortlisting process, and one way to do this is to have very firm submission guidelines, which, if not met, will mean your manuscript will either be returned or recycled, often unread.
So, if you're looking to submit a manuscript the first thing you need to do is to find a suitable publisher to approach. The Writers and Artists' Yearbook provides a full list of publishers, the genres which they accept and their contact details. Once you have made a shortlist you should then research each publisher's submission guidelines. Things to note are; whether they are actually accepting unsolicited manuscripts, whether they accept submissions that are emailed, hard copy or both, and exactly what they require that submission to look like.
Most publishers will ask for a synopsis, which should only be around one A4 page in length, and a sample of your manuscript. The word sample is very important here as most publishers will not take kindly to a full manuscript landing on their desk. Some publishing houses will request the first three chapters, others may ask for three sample chapters, in which case it is advisable to select one from the beginning, one from the middle and one from the end. Other organisations may request a certain number of pages; it is essential that you read the guidelines and follow them to the letter!
If submissions are requested via email it is important that these are presented in the required format; often there is a definite subject heading that must be used to ensure that your email ends up in the right inbox and not in their junk mail; if this is the case make sure you adhere to the rules, eye catching subject headings or capital letters may irritate rather than fascinate. Some publishers may also ask for the synopsis and the sample chapters to be combined into one attachment; remember that a publisher's time is precious and if they have to open a number of files before they get to see your writing style, they may just not bother.
The rule therefore is that when it comes to manuscript submissions and whether a hard copy or emailed submission is preferred, there are many rules, and as a writer you need to be aware of the ones that apply to you, and stick to them; it could mean the difference between a bestseller and years of wasted writing.
If you need help preparing your manuscript for submission to publishers then contact one of our experts at [http://www.jmdeditorial.co.uk/copy-editing.html]JMD Editorial and Writing Services today.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Manuscript-Submission---Is-Hard-Copy-Or-E-Mail-Preferred?&id=6738262] Manuscript Submission - Is Hard Copy Or E-Mail Preferred?