Books (fiction and nonfiction) are sold on proposal. That is, three chapters and an outline, plus some ideas on how you’re going to market the book.

It’s vital that you get this information before you send off your typescript. Some publishers will only accept submissions from agents, so if you want these publishers to consider your book, you’ll need to get an agent first.

Check publishers’ Web sites for their submission guidelines

Most publishers have submission guidelines. Here’s Tor’s guidelines for example:

Your submissions packet should include:

1. The first three chapters of your book, prepared in standard manuscript format on white paper. (If your chapters are really short or really long, or you don’t use chapter breaks, you may send the first 40-60 pages of your book, provided you stay under 10,000 words.)

The submitted text must be made up of consecutive pages and should end at the end of a paragraph, not in mid-sentence.

Standard manuscript format means margins of at least 1 inch all the way around; indented paragraphs; double-spaced text; and Courier or Times Roman in 10 or 12 pitch. Please use one side of the page only and do not justify the text.

Important – complete your novel before you submit a proposal if you’re unpublished

Here’s a vital tip: while you should never complete a nonfiction book before you start looking for publishers, it’s vital that you complete your novel.

If you’re unpublished, querying publishers before you’ve completed your novel is a no-no. If a publisher wants to see your novel, the editor expects that it’s ready to send – she may have a hole in her list she needs to fill, so she wants your book right away.

Need help writing your book? Get your book on bookstore shelves.

If you’ve ever read a book and thought to yourself “I can write that!”, you probably can write a book. Many novelists start writing because they realize that they can write a better novel than one they’ve just read.

Let’s look at the first steps in writing a genre novel: finding out what elements a particular genre of novels has.

Genre novels are written for entertainment; they come with labels, like mystery, romance, thriller, and historical. In a sense, they’re the easiest types of novel to write, because each genre has expectations. In a romance novel, the romance must be the center of the book, for example. In a mystery, there must be a mystery to solve.

These expectations that readers (and of course publishers) have for a genre give you a handle on how to write that particular genre of novel. You start by deciphering what those expectations are, and how the elements of the book meet those expectations.

Tip: many publishers offer “writer’s guidelines” for their books. While these are useful, your own thoughts about WHY readers like a genre are much more valuable to you, because everything you write is filtered through your own experience.

Let’s imagine that you’ve just read an historical mystery which has inspired the notion that “I can write that!”. Excellent. Now do some thinking.

Ask yourself what you liked most about the book: was it the characters, the sense of place, or the dialogue, or something else altogether? Alternatively, maybe you liked the novel, but thought that the author could have done a better job with the plot, or improved the characterizations.

Write down what you liked about the novel, and also what you disliked. Be specific.

How Many Words? How Many Characters? Taking A Genre Novel Apart To See What Makes It Tick

When you read a novel, you’re drawn into the world of that novel. With a great novel, you can become swept away. To write a novel, you have to know how a novel is put together: you need to take a novel apart, so you can write your own.

Counting the words and characters in a novel may seem mechanical, but it’s vital information. They’re the elements which make up a genre novel. Once you know what those elements are, you can write your own.

Read the novel again, and this time make notes. Think about writing that genre of novel yourself. Reading as a writer is very different from reading as a reader. If, after reading the book as a writer, you still believe “I can write that!”, go ahead and write your novel.

Want to write a book? You can. You start writing, and you keep going. At around 80,000 words, you’ve got yourself a book. Now what? You sell the book  to a major publisher, hit the bestseller lists, and order your new cherry-red Ferrari.

That’s how writing a book and getting published works. But if you try to follow that process – just sit down and start typing – the chances that you’ll sell the book are slim. To sell your book you need to know the kind of book you’re writing before you start, and also whether there’s an audience for that kind of book. It sounds unfair, but in order to sell your book, you have to prove to the publisher that people will want to read it.

What Kind of Book are You Writing?

Most new authors start on their book writing and publishing adventure by reading a book and getting inspired. They don’t think about the kind of book they’re writing, or who would want to read it.

There are basically two kinds of books: truth and lies, otherwise known as nonfiction and fiction (novels). Some hundred thousand books are published in English each year, both nonfiction and novels. You must know what kind of book you’re writing before you start.

Let’s imagine that you’ve read a Harry Potter novel, and you’re so enthusiastic that you’re inspired to write your own children’s novel. The words pour out of you; you’re on fire. You write and write and write, and the pages pile up on your computer’s hard drive.

This is great. While you’re writing, ask yourself: “In a bookstore, where would this book of mine be shelved?”

If you’re not sure, go to a bookstore and wander around the shelves. Is your book in the nonfiction section? In the children’s section? In the romance novel or mystery section?

If you’re inspired by Harry Potter, you know you’re writing a children’s novel. Imagine your book on the shelves, right beside the rows of Harry Potters.

This isn’t an idle exercise, or a fantasy. You must know what you’re writing, so please visit that bookstore. “What is it?” is the first thing an agent will want to know when you contact her to represent your book. It’s also the first thing an editor at a publishing house will want to know.

So, what are you writing? If you don’t know, or aren’t sure, think about it and visit a bookstore if you need to. You can write a book and get published  if you know what you’re writing, and who will want to read it.