As an intern for Beaufort, one of my responsibilities is to read slush, partial, and full manuscripts. Many of these submissions come through our Submittable portal. Which, if you’re thinking of submitting to, go ahead! We love reading submissions—especially well-written ones!
Throughout the last few months, I’ve noticed a few common mistakes that sneak into many of the submissions that we receive. However, the good news is that many of these mistakes are easily fixable!
So, I’ve decided to compile the Top 10 Mistakes into a list that you can refer to when preparing to submit.
#1. Not being professional.
When writing your cover letter, be sure to tell us about yourself and how you came to write the book. We want to get to know you as a person! But, make sure that you don’t get too personal. For example, it would probably be best to not start your cover letter off with “Hello dear! How are you?” or to end it with, “Kiss you! Hug you! And wish you all the best!”
And please, no backhanded compliments like, “I have confidence in your competence.”
#2. Having poor grammar.
A lot of times, a manuscript will be well-written, but the cover letter and synopsis have poor grammar (missing periods, misspelled words, run-on sentences). The cover letter is the first thing we see when looking at your submission, so make sure you pay attention to it.
Edit your cover letter and synopsis with the same attention that you give your manuscript. The cover letter and synopsis are previews of what’s to come, so make sure it’s attention-grabbing and, most importantly, well-written. Before turning everything in, do one last pass with spell check to catch any mistakes that may have slipped through.
#3. Leaving notes on the manuscript.
I get it, sometimes you have multiple copies of the same manuscript that all have similar titles. And sometimes, you may accidentally upload the wrong version—a version that still has your comments and tracked changes on it. But, this is a really easy fix!
Before you hit “Submit,” double check to make sure you uploaded the version of the manuscript that you want us to see. And, if you’ve turned on track changes, make sure you’ve actually made those changes.
#4. Making the target audience too broad.
No two books are alike, and neither are readers. A single book won’t be everyone’s cup of tea—and that’s okay! So when thinking about who your target audience is, try to stay away from broad statements like “everyone” or “people from all around the world of all ages.”
If you’re struggling, do some research on comparable titles. What books on the market have a similar writing style, theme, or vibe to your manuscript? Mention some of the ones you find in your submission, but make sure to be realistic— don’t compare your book to Harry Potter!
#5. Not having a marketing plan.
After you’ve written and edited your manuscript, it can be hard to think about ways to market it, but, showing that you’ve at least thought about what comes next lets us know that you are driven and passionate about your work.
Your marketing plan doesn’t have to be extensive, but at least have something that lets us know that you’ve put some thought into it.
Have you made your author social media accounts? If you’ve published before, what did you think worked well? And, alternatively, what didn’t? Do you run a blog or have media contacts?
Anything is better than nothing!
#6. Not following the guidelines.
Each publisher will have a different set of guidelines, but when you’re submitting to Beaufort, make sure to be mindful of ours.
Our Submission Guidelines will walk you through topics such as how to submit and what your submission should include.
#7. Submitting a book that is too long.
While some authors like J.K. Rowling and Anna Todd can get away with writing super long books, many debut or indie authors will have a hard time finding an agent or publisher that will accept their 100k+ word manuscript.
This isn’t to say that it’s necessarily impossible to get it published, but it will prove to be a daunting task. In many cases, you’ll have to cut it down.
#8. Submitting genres we don’t accept.
There are a few types of submissions that Beaufort Books does not accept, such as educational material, short stories, and erotica.
If you submit a manuscript that falls under one of these categories, it will probably be a quick reject, and that will most likely apply to other publishers too.
#9. Submitting the same manuscript to both Beaufort Books and Spencer Hill Press.
Beaufort Books and Spencer Hill Press share a submission portal, meaning that submissions for both presses go to the same place. So if you submit to both, it shows up as double on our screen. Do some research on which press looks like the best fit for your manuscript, and submit to that one.
With that in mind, it’s okay to submit to both Beaufort Books and Spencer Hill Press as long as the manuscript follows both press’s submission guidelines.
#10. Addressing the wrong publisher.
Now it may seem obvious to address your cover letter to Beaufort Books as “Beaufort Books” and not “Penguin Random House,” but sometimes little mistakes like that slip through! Just make sure to check over what you’ve written before you submit. And, if you can, have someone else look over it. A fresh pair of eyes never hurts.
Of course, this isn’t an exhaustive list, but it’s a good place to start. Overall, a lot of simple mistakes can be fixed with a bit of editing and research.
Happy submitting!
DumBEAUledore