The October Publishing Game

by Jay Hartman

I recently moderated a panel of editors for Desert Sleuths, a chapter of Sisters in Crime, for their annual WriteNOW! conference. I invited my fellow editor pals Barb Goffman, Michael Bracken, and John Connor to join me to talk about what’s happening in publishing, an editor’s role and responsibility, and what we’re looking for from authors.

The talk was fantastic, and we all felt we could have continued to talk and answer questions for hours afterwards. However, one topic really seemed to light a fire under our audience and was still being talked about several days later.

I posed this question to the panel: What mistake do you see the most from authors? The panel was unanimous: Authors aren’t formatting their work correctly and don’t know how to use Word to its fullest.

There’s probably a large group of you out there clutching your pearls and insisting that everything you ever submit is formatted to perfection before you submit it. OK, if that’s really the case, this doesn’t apply to you.

The rest of you, however . . .

I often say the actual writing is only part of the equation. Understanding the business of publishing and ensuring you follow guidelines given in briefs is critical to your success as an author. If a publisher tells you they want stories submitted in a specific format, then you need to submit in that format. Times New Roman? That means don’t send Comic Sans. Twelve point? Don’t send it in eight. The publisher wants your name and word count on the first page only? Don’t add it to every single following page.

Most publishers and editors adhere to a specific style: Shunn Manuscript Format. This has long been the bare minimum an author should do to properly format their work for submission. You can find the outline of this format at https://www.shunn.net/format/. If you follow this, it’s hard to go wrong.

Now you have your story formatted properly. Except . . . does your story really fit the brief as required? When a publisher or editor lists the requirements for a story for an anthology theme or a specific genre call, that’s what they’re genuinely looking for. If they tell you they don’t want a werewolf story, then don’t submit a story with werewolves because you think you’ve written something original and creative. If the call is for a humorous crime story, don’t send a serious piece. Your story is judged against all those that did follow the brief, and if you didn’t follow the requirements, you can pretty much kiss your chance of acceptance goodbye.

Finally, learn to use Track Changes in Word. This is the main way editors communicate their suggestions for reworking a manuscript to the author. It allows you to quickly see what was in the original and what’s being suggested by the editor without a ton of other notes and markups that aren’t needed. I’m amazed how many authors aren’t familiar with Track Changes or use it incorrectly. Remember, it’s far more likely you’ll need to adapt to the tools of the trade the publisher or editor uses than the other way around.

In conclusion, if you want to be successful, you’ve got to be ready to follow the requirements laid out for you. Whether that means sticking to a theme, formatting your manuscript correctly before submission, or using Track Changes to communicate with your editor, being familiar with the tools of the trade is a necessity if you want to be a winner in The Publishing Game.

Join the discussion! Send your questions to jhartman@mistimedia.com with TPG in your subject line.

WPN Vice President Jay A. Hartman has worked in the publishing industry for more than 30 years. For 13 years he served as the creator and editor-in-chief of Untreed Reads Publishing before the company was acquired in 2022. In 2023 he created Misti Media, a company dedicated to book publishing and author education.