What Makes a Manuscript Publishable
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There is this long-running debate over fees to get published. Never pay to get published! That is a good principle to follow.
Novelty Fiction certainly would not charge an author to publish their work. Nor would we charge them to review, edit, print or promote the manuscript. We would not charge for artwork, not for ISBN numbers or anything else. We may not offer an up front royalty, but there will be no question of the author rendering payment to us, nor about the author being expected to purchase copies of their own books.
By making a deliberate choice to follow these guidelines, Novelty Fiction has distanced itself from the pack of vanity publishers, subsidy publishers, and self-publishing firms out there.
Any manuscript must undergo rigorous line editing prior to publication. Over a 4-months period, our editors will be editing the book up to a publishable standard. Certainly, the book should be virtually flawless, the best that it can be, and something that stands a fair chance of being positively received by book buyers, reviewers, and readers alike.
The trouble with this business model is that Novelty Fiction must reject offhand any manuscript that our editors cannot bring into a publishable standard within 4 months. An editor is not a ghostwriter, coach or anything of that sort; so prior to starting their work, the editors must feel confident that the editing process will go smoothly and be successful. The manuscript will be rejected if it has serious and fundamental flaws such as:
- Weak character development;
- A weak, incoherent, insufficiently developed, or unoriginal plot;
- Poor spelling and grammar, or a weak sentence structure;
- An inelegant writing style (our editors do not rewrite stories);
- Logical flaws that do not have a plausible explanation that readers can accept;
- A suitable length (neither too short or too long);
- Appears to be non-fiction thinly coated as fiction.
The $1000 question: Rejected, what now?
Being a young company, Novelty Fiction is eagerly looking for new material to publish, which makes us more patient and motivated to work with new authors compared with the establishment. So if our editors decline a manuscript on quality grounds, chances are pretty high that other publishers and reputable literary agents will do the same.
If your manuscript has flaws such as those identified above, then you will need to fix them prior to finding publication with Novelty Fiction or other conventional publishers. It is not unusual for a new writer to invest in their own writing career by getting a full manuscript critique, a manuscript assessment or the like, followed by a revision process. We can guide you through this process upon request, or help you find someone who can assist you with bringing your manuscript up to a publishable standard.
Accepted, what's next?
If no such flaws are found, the real editorial decision-making can begin: Namely whether or not the project is suitable to the tastes of our readers and reviewers, and whether Novelty Fiction believes that it will be able to deliver a good service to the author.
Both parties will need to discuss whether we are a good match. How many books will need to be sold over the initial 2-year contract period? What about e-book rights and foreign rights? Is there a marketing plan, and does the author have the time and energy to help with marketing? Certainly, we wouldn't want to sign before these questions have been answered, and neither should you!
This hub was chosen as a HubNugget winner On October 27, 2010.
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M. Everest: How nice to hear that you're hard at work on a novel. Your idea of expanding on the issues raised in the last paragraph is a good one; certainly I will be doing so once I have had the chance to consult with some authors about their expectations. Thank you very much!
Hello NF, again thank you for sharing insights that for new writers is invaluable. Your presence on the scene makes the possibility of getting published much less onerous.
take care...
KKalmes, thanks for your words of encouragement. This hub leaves some questions unanswered, so there will hopefully be a follow-up article in the near future.
Great stuff, just what all writers want to know! Good practical information. I am looking forward to reading more! Welcome to HubPages!
Scribenet, I appreciate your feedback and the warm welcome! More practical information will be forthcoming. Thanks!
Great things to know an dconsider ... thank YOU for being honest with the authors out there .. smiles
I too will keep an ear out for more you have to share.
~Expect Miracles
Thank you Shane Belceto. Sharing these thoughts and experiences with aspiring authors is a meaningful activity, which will benefit both parties. I look forward to sharing more information with you in a not too distant future.
I am voting for this in the hope that you will win the ongoing Hubnuggets competition, so that more of our members will get to know of you. :-) - Yours sounds like a serius young company :-)
Thank you very much, De Greek! I was completely unaware it had even been nominated for the contest. Much appreciated.
I agree with De Greek. I voted for you, too! Congratulations!
Thanks for your kindness and support, Travel Man. Your vote is very heart warming.
This is truly wonderful. :) Thank you for this helpful hub.
To all who would like to vote for this hub, this way please: http://hubpages.com/_hubnuggets6/hub/The-Hubnugget
Ripplemaker, thank you so much for your kindness!
Wonderful hub, invaluable information. I'm looking forward to more from you.
And yes, you got my vote. Rated up, useful and bookmarked.
Thank you so much! Obviously, I couldn't ask for more support from you, let alone imagine how that would even be possible.
Hello Novelty Fiction Folks - I would echo much of your advice to authors (and would greatly add to each point of the advice you provided...) Subsidy publishing is a good deal for many authors and, if it is used by them in a wise enough fashion, it can be of great help and encouragement to continue with their authoring. Having worked in that industry for a time, I have personally seen what it can do - and also what it cannot do.
Perhaps the best advice I can give to any author who KNOWS his or her own worth as a writer - Go over to one of the search engines and look up what author Dale Brown accomplished. I was lucky to have been able to review the manuscript for his FIRST novel, "Flight of the Old Dog." Loved the story, and the writing was virtually without blemish. The publisher, however, turned it down. He said "This will never sell." Well, it became a best seller in hard cover and went through a bunch of paperback editions (and may still be moving along). Brown went on to produce one best seller after another. His background was as a junior officer-navigator in the Air Force, and what he wrote about was what he knew about.
I also recall another author who wrote a humorous book of short stories, mostly about the kids growing up on a dairy farm. He went into the situation knowing that if his book was published, he'd have to be his own publisher and sell the books on his own. He sold 750 books on a single weekend at a signing party put on by his friends. Things like those happen, but they require determination as well as skill.
Think about that stuff, writers! Go after it.
Gus :-)))
I want to applaud you for the efforts you make in reviewing novels in deciding which you will decide to publish. I feel that many publishers do the same thing but often it is not recognized as part of the process. The reason this may be is the fact that some publishers get hundreds manuscripts to review for making a publishing decision.
While I agree that the principles you have identified are honorable I feel there are many books that do not get published by traditional publishers even though they are of high quality. An example is the ones by Dale Brown.
The technology we have today is such that many authors have the opportunity to get their material published when they would otherwise be left out by traditional publishers.
You mentioned the fact about paying to get published there are publishers that judge the quality of the manuscripts they receive before they accept them for publishing. These publishers require payment to publish in some cases but they do judge the quality of the books they publish.
There are many fine self-published books today that are successful and just because a book is self-published does not mean it is of a lower quality. While this may exist in some cases it is not I believe the norm.
Paying to have a book published can be costly but cost is a relative term with respect to what you get for the money. Some publishers offer services for which you must pay such as marketing opportunities and information which may be part of the price. For those that offer these type of opportunities the cost of the actual publishing is lower.
The success of any book is not the result of the publisher but the efforts of the author in being able to market and create an interest in what they have written. Exposure is a big part of being a successful author. Getting your name recognized is a must if you are an author.
I again want to state that the process you have in place may have different details than other publishers but the process you have gives you credit for the policy of publishing a quality product.
I wish you success in your business.
Thanks for the hub! It is very helpful for me as a new writer. I am in the process of writing my first book, and I am realizing that I need all the help I can get!
This is an excellent hub with solid advice for new authors. I am glad to see you on Hubpages and look forward to many more hubs about writing, editing and publishing. We authors need all the help we can get! Thanks!
Very informative! I am in the process of writing my own book, about what I know, obviously. Write, then begin editing. Edit for errors (grammar, typos, English usage), characterization, setting, plot.
Make sure everything holds together and flows in a clear, understandable and logical way.
Also, as authors, it isn't absolutely necessary for us to "pay" for someone to edit our work -- instead, we can join a writer's group, pick someone whose opinion we trust and value and ask them to edit our ms. (Of course, I'd pay them for their time and trouble by reciprocating.
Once the editing changes have been discussed and marked, go back and edit yet once more. Read through the ms (hopefully) one last time. If it's perfect, get it ready for mailing to the agent of your choice -- after writing the query letter.
Meaning, once the creative work of writing and editing is done, the hard work is just beginning.
C'mon... Even Joanne (J.K. Rowling) HARRY POTTER was turned down nearly a dozen times, and Margaret Mitchel's GONE WITH THE WIND was turned down over three dozen times before finally getting their manuscripts accepted. How does your process differ than any other? It's really about being a new author and able to handle a lot of rejection... Here's a list of some authors (with now famous books) and their rejections:
Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis (15)
Carrie by Stephen King (30)
Chicken Soup for the Soul by Jack Canfeld and Mark Victor Hansen (140)
Diary of Anne Frank (16)
Dr. Seuss books (15)
Dubliners by James Joyce (22)
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (38)
Harry Potter (first book) by J. K. Rowling (9)
Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach (18)
M*A*S*H, Richard Hooker (17)
The Peter Principle by Laurence Peter (16)
The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot (17)
Watership Down by Richard Adams (26)
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle, (26)
Novelty Fiction Thank You so much for the info. I am honored and Blessed to be on this page. It was no mistake. I have bookmarked. Thumbs up, awesome. I pray your journey takes you places you never dreamed of. God Bless you and yours. Truly grateful.
Question, if you feel inclined to answer. How can an author stay focused on Novel without wandering to and fro, reading and writing. DO you stay put with Novel until complete or write other stories, articles the likes in between working on Novel. DO you have a mind set that works best for you? I have a difficult time staying on Novel because I feel led to write a short storiy. My Novel started 30 stories ago. I cant seem to get a balance. Can you share a secret of yours? I would be so grateful. Thank you big times. Love n hugs.
Whew! I logged in and expected to find little. Instead, I found all of these eloquent, gorgeous comments. That is just a tad overwhelming, but thank you so much for your generosity and kindness!
GusTheRedneck: I appreciate your insightful information, which I’m sure many will find useful. Will take a note of the examples you mentioned, and do some research on that. Certainly, Novelty Fiction is not opposed to any route to getting published. The more options that are available to authors, the better. It is important that writers have realistic expectations and are well-informed, to avoid disappointments or anything that could hamper their writing career.
Dennis AuBuchon: Thanks for your support and encouragement. Giving each submission the attention it deserves is a must, but I agree that it doesn’t always work that way in practice. There is nothing wrong with paying to get published, in my opinion, but doing so means that we move into the sphere of self-publishing. I appreciate you mentioning that some publishers working in that area exercise quality control. I have seen self-published books of high quality, where the author paid an editor, who did an excellent job. As you mention, there are also those who assist with marketing at a cost to the author – and this, from many reports we have received, is the soft spot since selling books in considerable volumes is very tough indeed. Much depends on the author’s energy and skill in marketing the product.
Yankee In Texas, thank you very much. I encourage you to dedicate yourself to your first book, and we at Novelty Fiction – including Fiction Factory on HubPages – will be glad to follow your progress and assist you in any way possible.
Ron Gould, thank you, it is our pleasure to provide whatever information we can, as long as there is an audience for it.
Crochet, editing is tough and demanding, but both a necessary and worthwhile endeavor. If you can edit your own work, you will be a better writer at the end of the day. Manuscript critique circles and the like are very helpful.
Kaloomba, you obviously know a lot. Our reviewing process is still being developed, will be sure to review each submission carefully and to let the author know that we have considered the material and what we thought about it.
Skye2day, thanks for all of your warm support. To answer your question, it is natural that the mind will tend to wander, especially if you are happy about writing short stories. It sounds that in your case, you may need to draw up a roadmap for your story – like sketching it out, and then commit to doing a certain portion every week. Your “reward” can then be to write things that come easier, like short stories. Most important, I believe, is the first thing you do in the day. Writing early in the day is good. So if you can discipline yourself to work on your book for maybe one hour before you allow yourself to start on anything else, that will benefit your story. Getting a mentor may also be an option, just let us know if we can help.
Great article and advice for new and seasoned authors. I am in the process of preparing a book proposal and need all the help I can get. Thanks!
In James Michener's book "The Novel," he writes that only one manuscript in 900 is publishable. Does that seem about right? Anyway, what all fiction writers need is a good critique, paid for or not. Later!
Thank you, Hally. The book proposal sounds exciting, and if this article has inspired you somehow then I'm happy to hear that.
Kosmo, I think that sounds like a cynical assessment. However, I know a literary consultant who says that out of the 50 or so projects she works on each year, only 1 or 2 get picked up by the literary agency that she scouts for. This taking into account that a literary consultant tends to attract the more dedicated types of writers.
Great resource here. As an up coming author myself, this information has been very helpful. I thought Gus's comments were helpful too. Great hub. voted up, up and away! Here is to a blessed future for your dedication in the craft and art of writing.
Thanks for the information. I have written several novels and have attempted to get them published. It is good to know what things might possibly be affecting my ability to be published.
Thank you very much for your comment. I wish you lots of luck with getting published. As we expand our activities, we will be keeping our readers informed.
M. Everest 20 months ago
Thanks for the great info. I've been working on a novel for a year and a half and your critique of getting published rang true. I would love to see another article addressing the questions you brought up in the last paragraph. Thank you!