Submitting? Querying? Follow the Rules
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When you submit your work for a consideration whether it’s to a publication, contest, or anthology or as a query to an agent, make sure you follow the rules/guidelines. There are certain ways you need to submit your work, and there are formatting requirements. You need to tweak your submission to fit. One blanket submission does not fit all. Don’t give them a reason to reject your work.
I’ve been a part of quite a few anthology projects, and in addition to formatting requirements, there are themes, story type, genre, and word count specifications.
In these examples, the stories were rejected (even though the writing may have been good).
For a mystery anthology, we had paranormal, science fiction, and horror submissions.
On a cozy mystery anthology project, we had people who submitted stories that weren’t in the genre, even when the guidelines provided a definition and what not to include (e.g. foul language, graphic violence, etc.).
For another project, the protagonist needed to be an amateur, female sleuth. Two people submitted stories with male detectives.
One short story anthology had a requirement of no more than 5,000 words. We received multiple stories that ranged from 7,000 - 10,000 words.
The same applies to agents or publishers. Each has specified on his/her website how they want to receive your work. Make sure your cover letter is polished and be sure to submit all the items requested. Some may ask for a synopsis, a few chapters, or the entire manuscript.
Before you submit anything, make sure your work is as polished as it can be. Typos and formatting issues detract from your work. You want your submission to be as professional as possible.
After you have edited your work, make sure you do another read through to catch any typos or formatting issues. Read all of the submission criteria again to ensure you’ve covered everything.
Good luck with your queries and submissions. It’s a lot of work to customize each one, but it’s worth it.
