From the Desk of the Editor... Third Edition

Today's "From the Desk of the Editor" is quick and to the point, with a little bit of... er... padding. (Editor's privilege.)

Alrighty. You're ready to submit your manuscript, but you're not sure who to submit to. After all, every publisher, print and "e" has guidelines, and often, said guidelines aren't necessarily uniform from publisher to publisher. Surely the publishers aren't serious about their guidelines, after all, they're guidelines not actual rules.

Um.

Not.

Each publisher has their own vision for their company, and what they want to release. They've formulated their submission guidelines to best suit their needs and to best suit the way they do business and their target market. Those guidelines are there for a reason.

As an editor, I do notice if the submitting authors have followed our guidelines. It tells me that the author can read and pay attention, for one, and is respectful enough of our process to "do it right."

The purpose of submitting is to get your work seen by the editor, right? Why would you want to go and annoy the editor right off the bat by not following the submission procedures?

Next week: How to Keep the Editor Reading Past the Query Letter...

Today's Valentine link: Some Fun Stuff.