On Writing : Novel querying is in full swing! by Terrence Sellers

Now that I've finally gotten my copyright letter, I've officially started querying publishers. I've only sent out 11 so far, but I've actually enjoyed the process. When I did screenplay queries in the past, I always hated it. For whatever reason, this feels like a different beast. What I didn't realize going into this process is that a lot of publishers don't prefer PDFs as the format for manuscript submissions. That was a real hassle for me, because I write my chapters as separate files. Combining them into a single PDF is easy and fast. Combining Word files into a single word file is much more troublesome. Especially when it comes to formatting headers. I was able to create a Word document of the full manuscript in 2 days, but it was more trouble than need be when I already had the PDF ready to send off.

Another thing about querying that I've noticed is the differences in the query submission process between publishers. Some use a form, either through Query Tracker or their own website. I absolutely love the form. It's easier to use, much more organized, and ultimately faster, once you fill out one form and save all the info requested. But other publishers make you submit an email, often asking for specific things outside of a query letter or the standard form questions. And you don't necessarily get confirmation that your query was even received when you submit via email. The form is just all around better.