Approaching Book Publishers
Soon after a writer has written his/her first book, unless they are planning to self-publish, they must be prepared to start making the rounds of publishers. If you are in this position, once you are done with writing, editing, and proofreading, you will need to start sending your book out to as many publishers as possible to increase the likelihood of getting your book published.
Although this "shotgun" approach of sending your manuscript out to multiple publishers increases the chances of getting it published, there is one drawback to sending it out to loads of publishers. You are likely to get confused about who got it and make some mistakes remembering which publisher said what, so it's a good idea to have a system in place to keep track of whom you have sent your book to, whether they responded, and other such details. Having some sort of contact management system will help you go about getting your book published in a systematic way.
If you are not on top of the details when you are trying to get your book published, all kinds of unpleasant things may happen. For example, you could make the embarrassing error of sending your work twice to the same publisher, which may spoil further chances with that publisher if you haven't altered the book in any way when you sent it the second time.
So hopefully you see the necessity of having an effective system when you are getting your book published. Now how exactly should you get one set up? You have several choices. First, you should know what data you need to incorporate into your system. List the publishers you are targeting, based on the likelihood of their accepting your book, and mark off the ones you have already sent your manuscript to. Leave space for their responses, suggestions, and so on. When you get a note from a publisher, enter its details into the record of your system. Keep track of dates, too, as you will find them useful when you want to refer back to something in particular such as a conversation with a publisher.
How you lay out your data is something that you can decide based on how you want to view your information, ideally so you can clearly see all the information at a glance. You can make a spreadsheet, using all the data we have discussed - the date, the publisher's name and contact details, his or her response if any are all important areas you should keep a record of. With a spreadsheet updating and entering new information is easy and quick. You can also use the contact management software that comes with many smartphones on the market today, such as the Blackberry, Treo, and iPhone. This allows you to have a backup of your information on your computer, as well as have it on the go.
While technological advancements have made using a computer a routine affair, many still prefer to use pen and paper. You can do this as well, making a chart containing all the information you need and entering updated information whenever required. However, make sure you don't misplace your chart! You may also want to consider getting a large dry erase board to track your progress. There are also many planner systems available to keep track of project details, such as the Franklin Planner and DayRunner, that you might find helpful.
The usefulness of a system to keep track of publishers you are sending your manuscript to when you are getting your book published is undeniable. And with a little effort to set it up properly, you will find that it is a simple tool to use that will make your book publishing process much easier to get through.
