How to Publish a Book
Of the 20 million would-be authors who want to publish a book,
only 1 million books are actually published per year.
What happens to the other 19 million people?
Are you one of them?
Publishing a book is difficult. You need to not only understand the intricacies of craft but you also need to understand what makes a book successful in the marketplace.
Not understanding these two important concepts is what leads most manuscripts to be rejected and end up in the slush pile.
Here in the Writing Gym, we spend the time it takes to revise your novel to craft and industry standards and to connect you with the agent who will fall in love with your writing.
Are you one of the 19 million authors struggling to publish your book?
Does revising your manuscript feel like an impossible task?
Are you ready to stop receiving rejections, and instead start getting full manuscript requests?
Are you tired of watching others publish, others whose stories aren’t as compelling or as well-told as yours could be?
Do I Need An Editor To Get Published?
Writers often believe all they need to get published is a good editor. The truth is an editor alone will not get you published, and many editors out there will not edit your manuscript to publishable. I’ve talked to countless writers who hired an editor, only to end up with a still unpublishable manuscript that continues getting nothing but rejections.
As one of our authors put it: “I’ve had a couple of people edit a manuscript. Did they help? Some. Did it bring the manuscript close to publishing-ready? Not even close. Don’t hire a generalist for brain surgery. Get the best specialist you can find.“
Most editors are trained to do edit all sorts of copy–web copy, legal copy, and maybe even fiction–but the problem with an editor is they lack a deep and up-to-date understanding of two crucial aspects:
- Current publishing industry standards and trends
- Who you are as an author: your voice, your style, your niche
An editor may be able to help you adjust your semicolons and catch repetitive words, but they will not give you the feedback on plot, pacing, and character that agents and publishing houses are looking for. You may end up with a grammatically perfect manuscript, but is it a book readers want to read and publishers want to publish? Is it still you?
In the Writing Gym, we help authors revise their manuscripts to publishable by going beyond grammar and syntax. We ensure our writers’ manuscripts are up to publishing snuff in all the ways agents expect: relevant to the current publishing market, tight plot, excellent pacing, and three dimensional, relatable characters. And most importantly, we work to understand who you are as an author and help you maintain that style that’s uniquely you.
We Get Publishing Success for Our Authors
Writing Gym Founder resident Writing Coach Annalisa Parent gets success for her authors due to her relationships with agents, editors, and publishers, and the ability to ask questions on her author’s behalf.
We help writers find an agent not only by connecting them to the right people, but by helping them write query letters and pitches that are up to industry standards. Though many authors have tried, you won’t fool literary agents if your query letter is just not up to snuff.
Annalisa spends countless hours every year speaking with industry professionals to provide Writing Gym writers with the most up to date information available in the industry.
Where are you in your publishing process?
The Writing Gym Difference
Publishing a book is the NHL of the publishing world. Do you think players end up in the NHL because they google how to play hockey? No.
Industry experts know what’s what. They can spot a fake a million miles away.
That’s one of the major frustrations editors, publishers, and agents brought up to me on my recent trip: writers not treating them like the professionals they are, respecting their expertise.
Imagine you show up for NHL practice in figure skates. Maybe you think they’re good enough, but the industry experts will not be fooled. They have no patience for it. They’re tired of it.
Why aren’t you giving yourself the very best chance for publication by showing up on time with the right materials and the right skills?
As a writing coach, I help writers to finish manuscripts and bring them to agents and publishers every day. I work closely with best-selling authors, publishers, editors and agents to get the most current information the writers I work with.
There are no cookie-cutter solutions at the Writing Gym, and we don’t represent manuscripts that haven’t been revised through our process.
If you’re serious about publishing, want to get out of the slush pile, have no interest in being a sloppy joe but really want tip-top publishing for your book, let’s chat.
What authors are saying . . .
“I was having some doubts about how my second book was going to grab an audience. Working with Annalisa, she gave me a lot of valuable and positive feedback, which gave me a lot of incentive to go forward. This was instrumental in presenting myself to publishers, especially where Annalisa helped me sharpen up my pitch.” - Terry Harkin (Read more about Terry’s Success Working With Annalisa)
