Make notes of the complete names and addresses of editors and publishing houses. As you do so, make sure you write everything down accurately.
Talk to booksellers in your community. They will give you good advice on which publishers you should target as you prepare to submit your book idea. Take a notepad and pen to the bookstores in your community. Do targeted research in the category under which your book falls. You should look for which publishers are the most dominant. Look through individual books for a numbering sequence – this tells you how many printings the book has had – the more printings, the more successful the book is. Find this sequence on the copyright page and make a note of these books on your notepad. Visit your library. Talk to the reference librarian and ask for his or her advice and write it down.
Write a one-page cover letter. Compose an introduction of your book idea that fills two pages or less. Include what the book is about, what makes it different from any other book, what the market for your book idea is and how you plan to reach this market demographic. Include a table of contents. If necessary, annotate it. Add a sample of your book. Ideally, this is the first three chapters. Write a page about your personal information and why you are the best writer for this book. Include marketing information. This includes how you can market and sell your book, the ways it can be marketed and where it would best sell. Include ideas on how your book can be promoted.
