Finding the Right Fit

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

At any given time in the publishing world, I’ve heard there are at least a million book proposals and manuscripts in circulation. They are piled in editor’s and literary agent’s email and sometimes physically on their desks.  There are many reasons for this volume of submissions. Some authors have no idea where to send their manuscript. These authors send a “dear editor” email and use a blindcopy so it could be going to thousands of addresses. These types of submissions do not get processed and are instantly deleted.

The publishing community is constantly changing. Recently I was going to reach out to an editorial director at a large publisher. Before I sent my email, I went to their LinkedIn account where we are connected. I learned this editor is now a freelance consultant and left her long-term relationship with that publishing house last April. 

The image for this article shows a woman building a jigsaw puzzle. In many ways, writers looking for the right publishing connection is almost like working on a puzzle. Like the trial and error process you use when assembling a puzzle, publishing also has this same process. From my years in this business, to discover the right fit takes effort and work. I’m going to give you some ideas, examples and resources in this article.

Before you send your submission, you need to consider the publisher and the fit. For example, you don’t pitch a full color cookbook or a full color coffee table book to an agent or publisher who has no interest. Or a novel to a publisher which handles serious nonfiction.  Look at their website first. Who are their authors or clients? Use this research to make sure you are pitching the right publishing companies. 

The next question is do you have a relationship with them? Have you met them at a writer’s conference or book event? Do you have a connection with them in LinkedIN or in some other way? Are they still at that publishing company or have they moved or retired or changed to another position? It’s always a good idea to check their LinkedIN profile--even if you aren’t connected to this particular publishing professional.

Have you included all the right details in your pitch? Have you createde an excellent book proposal? If you don’t understand what I’m talking about, get the free version of Book Proposals That Sell and use my book proposal checklist. 

Before I overwhelm you with this process, I want to give you some good news. Every editor and literary agent that I know is actively looking for the next bestseller. They are reading their emails and their physical mail looking for the right fit. 

For example, at Morgan James Publishing, I connected with an author who had written a middle grade novel. She was in the United Kingdom and after several email exchanges, I learned this author was 15 and soon turning 16. When I spoke with this author and her father, I was impressed with the organization and storytelling skills of this young author. Morgan James distributes and prints in the UK but all of the other details did not fit for this author. During my years with MJP, I have contracted and published several young authors who have written novels. The details have to fit for this process to happen.

As editors, we are looking for the right author and their right book. For example, I want to find authors who understand they need to reach readers with their message and actively sell books using the thousand different ways. Last week I spoke with an author who had written a story. As we spoke, he told me that he had no interest in promoting his writing. Instead he wanted to take a smaller royalty and have someone else do that marketing effort. Instead this author just wanted to spend their days writing stories--not promoting their books. From the conversation, I could see this author was not going to be a good fit. Also this author wasn’t taking responsibility for his own success and looking for others to do it. Instead of leading this author to Morgan James, I encouraged this author to write for magazines because you can reach many people with publications yet do not have to do the marketing work like you do with books.

When it comes to publishing books, there are basically three paths: traditional, self-publishing and hybrid or independent publishing. David Hancock, the founder of Morgan James, has written The Babylon Blueprint for Authors. This book has great low-cost and no-cost marketing suggestions. It also includes 40 pages comparing these three options. Follow this link to get a free copy of this resource.

In last week’s mail, I got the best resource for any writer who wants to publish in the Christian market: The Christian Writers Market Guide 2026. It releases in the bookstores on December 16th. 

If you have an older guide, recycle it and get this one because each year the information changes, editors move, publications open and others close. The key is not to just get the book and put it on your bookshelf. You have to use the information inside it. I’m encouraging you to use this book over and over to open new opportunities and relationships.

Last week, a writer that I met during the summer at a conference called and left a voicemail. He wanted my input about an “opportunity” had found from a PR firm to attend the Los Angeles Book Festival. It would cost him over $1,500 to the PR firm along with his travel expenses from the midwest. To me this opportunity had several red flags. First, I had never heard of the PR firm (red flag because I’ve been in this business for many years). The second red flag was the hefty fee from the PR firm. The third red flag is that I’ve been to book festivals and know that I “could” make a good connection or they could be a waste of time and money. I encouraged this author that this opportunity was not the right fit.  

I applaud this author for getting input before he made a decision. I would not suggest calling any professional publishing person. Instead use other methods like email. As writers, we have many opportunities and ways to publishing, promote, and reach new readers with our writing. The key is to continue to explore these various ways and work to find the right fit. The only way you can stop this process is to quit--which I encourage you not to do. 

What actions are you taking to find the right fit for your writing? How can you open some new doors for your work and reach new readers? What am I missing? Let me know in the comments below.

Tweetable:

A crucial part of the writing journey is finding the right fit for your work. This prolific author and editor provides the details and resources in this article. (ClickToTweet)

New Podcasts:

In these articles, I’ve encouraged you to use PodMatch or some similar tool to book and record podcasts. Last week one more podcast recording launched:

Mike Wagner and I spoke about 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS on The Mike Wagner Show. Listen at: https://bit.ly/4pkXCDn

During my decades in publishing, I’ve heard the unrealistic expectations of writers. The reality is many aspects of the publishing process are outside of anything an author can control. I wrote 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS to give authors practical help. You can get decades of insights in 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS for only $10, free shipping and over $200 of bonuses. 

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