Greetings writers! I have something a little different for you today. 🙂
So I hit up Sydney Supernova the other weekend (kind of like an Australian version of Comic Con) where I had the opportunity to chat with the marketing team from publishing house Penguin/Random House. They were wonderful enough to give me some great information on how to get published through them.
What is your submission arrangement for new writers who want to get into the field? Do you accept unsolicited manuscripts? We have an extensive guide on our website http://www.randomhouse.com.au/about/manuscripts.aspx and http://www.randomhouse.com.au/about/childrens-manuscripts.aspx for submissions to our children’s collection. Be sure to follow it carefully as we receive a large volume of submissions on a daily basis and simply don’t have the time or resources to chase people up who are missing elements on their submission. Most importantly, write your name and your contact details on EVERYTHING, and number your pages. Also be prepared to wait a while.
What are you looking for in submissions nowadays? We’ll consider anything (within the guidelines on the website) that connects with the audience. It needs to read well. As we receive a LOT of submissions, it really needs to stick out and present itself.
Apart from printing on coloured paper, how can one make their manuscript stick out among the others? (Haha) you need to be actively making a name for yourself in the publishing field. Blogging, previous books or articles published, etc. If you have been self-published, we would love to know how successful you are. If you have 20,000 followers, we DEFINITELY want to know you haha.
What’s popular right now? YA (teenage) fiction is a hugely popular market to get into right now.
And when it comes to YA fiction, what are you looking for? Any genre, but again, connecting with the target audience is vital. Teens facing teen issues associated with growing up and gaining independence.
I heard there is a quasi-new genre you guys are testing out, care to elaborate on it? Yes, it’s called “New Adult Fiction”; basically its fiction that focuses on the transition from teenage hood into adulthood (so ages 18-25). These are generally books about leaving home, starting college or university, starting a first relationship and so on. New Adult can range across a variety of genres too.
Thank you so much for your time. You’re quite welcome. Good luck with your writing endeavours.
Happy writing! 🙂
-Tegan
Writers in the Mist 