The Problem
It is nearly impossible to get a book in front of an editor of a major publisher regardless of quality. Publishers have very limited resources, so they tell aspiring authors to get an agent first. This effectively downloads the review and cut-the-chaff process to the agents. The apparent lack of resources and commitment is not their fault. It’s supply and demand – there is a large sup
ply of writers and a low demand from readers. Most people don’t read more than 140 characters at a time anymore. People will also buy books that have been in print for a hundred years (not exactly the same as the music industry). Even knowing there are problems with demand, writers are still compelled to supply their work – and to make matters worse not all of it is good. To make matters worser, all writers think their stuff is fantastic and can’t take criticism. (Yeah, we think we’re funny). There are options for writers. One is to pay-to-publish. This is called vanity publishing and is a well-known route to getting your work into a book format. If you’re interested in discussions on various self-publishers, let us know. There are other places (publishers and agents) that ask you to pay for stuff up front for the hope of someday publishing – like pre-pay editing services and book review services. Those are almost always a bad idea. This is not what we do, but feel free to go that route. Just not with us, we don’t want your money. We want to see your manuscript.
