Once the manuscript was complete and edited, I researched standards for manuscript submissions. These included standards for the cover page, font style, font size, line spacing, paragraph indenting, page numbers, footnotes, etc.
Then, I reached out to published author friends for referrals to publishers and advice on submission procedures. I received referrals to four publishers my friends had worked with and who had previously published the type of book I was writing. My friends advised me to select and submit to my top three to four publisher choices and give them three months to respond. They recommended that if I hadn't heard from anyone in those three months, I should assume the answer was no, and I should then submit to the next three to four publishers on my priority list.
I studied the website of each of my top four publisher candidates and prepared the required submission packet for each. Though all of the publisher's requirements were roughly the same, each had slightly different requirements. All the publishers wanted an author bio and a book synopsis. Some wanted the entire manuscript, and some asked for only the first few chapters. Some also wanted a marketing plan. All of the publishers advised authors to review the submission requirements carefully and to adhere to them for consideration. They all stated that more submissions were received than they could handle and that authors who had not received a response within three months of submission should consider their submission rejected.
Then came my painstaking preparation and double-checking to ensure my manuscript submission met the requirements of my top four publishers. I then submitted my packets, and the wait for replies began.
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