Book publishers are a strange and secretive breed. As a writer looking to get published it is your job to try and work out just what book publishers are looking for when taking on new books. The good news is that book publishers are also simple folk and this guide will help you understand the workings of their minds.

The first thing book publishers want your book to be:

Well Written – Books get rejected by book publishers for many reasons but the most common is simply that they are not well written enough. It is true that a book publisher will work with a writer to improve their book but the text has to be of the highest standard at the start. If a book publisher thinks a book needs too much work it will be rejected.

The second thing book publishers want your book to be:

Appropriate – I am not talking about appropriate language here, instead that your book needs to be appropriate to the book publisher’s business model. Book publishers and their imprints all have a different focus. Angry Robot publishes ‘the best in brand new genre fiction’, whilst Northern Eye Books publish ‘walking, scrambling and outdoors books for Wales and Northwest England.’ Clearly pitching a SF novel to Northern Eye books is a waste of time. This is a clear example but sometimes a book publisher’s specialist interest is not so easy to spot. Book publishers are ONLY interested in books that fit their publishing mandate. It is your job as a writer to find the book publisher that fits your book.

The third thing book publishers want your book to be:

Commercial - Here I am not talking best seller, but I am saying your book needs to have a large enough market to cover the expense needed to get the book on the book shelves. Book publishers will have different expectations for the number of books they expect a title to sell and will fit their budget around these estimates. Book publishers will only take on books they think will sell enough books to at least break even.

The fourth thing book publishers want your book to be:

Differently different – Book publishers are looking for books that are different enough from their current list to be interesting to readers, book sellers, marketing departments and sales teams. The trick is to pitch your book so it falls firmly within an established genre, yet is differently different enough to generate a buzz. Not easy…