Writing Blog

20220901 Answering "What Publishers Want" (My Experience!)

September 1, 2022, 12:00pm

I’ve received a few emails in the past few months asking me what publishers are looking for. Why me? Well, 7 books, 88 short stories and 40+ poems all traditionally published, plus my column writing makes people think I know what I’m doing.

I don’t, for the record, but that illusion is there.

Anyway, that is still a really good question, but one where there is no real answer. Each publisher looks for something different. They have different stylistic wants, different ways of presenting fiction. I mean, there are some that are universal – don’t submit an unedited piece, use more show than tell, make sure the theme and content match the publisher’s call.

However, I recently got a newsletter and this made me think of those emails. My experiences with publishers might not be universal, but I think I have a handle on what they want.

This is especially the case with person (point of view – PoV) and tense.

Person is 1st person (“I”, “We”, etc.), 2nd person (“You”) and 3rd person (“he”, “she”, “it”, “they”, etc.), which can be split into omniscient and limited.

2nd person is not accepted by the majority of publishers, and those who do accept it, it had better be excellent and different.

1st person went through a phase of being preferred, but that has fallen away (except in young adult, where it is still the preferred PoV). The problem with 1st person, according to the publishers I work with, is that some readers feel alienated because the character whose head you're in may not be a person you can relate to. Also, it limits the action and what can be known by the reader, and often leads to weird coincidences that can harm narrative flow.

3rd person PoV limited is like first person, in that the reader is not given all the information, and the action is centred on one character, but extra details can be included. This is currently what the publishers I submit to prefer. This, of course, is in the horror and thriller genres.

3rd person PoV omniscient is where the reader knows everything, like the writer. This is the preferred PoV in high fantasy and science fiction, and is especially useful for a story where many characters have their own thoughts portrayed. The biggest issue with this is head-hopping, and that’s just something writers have to get out of the habit of doing.

Next, tense. In the late 2000s, early 2010s the publishing world went through a “thing” for present tense, but they are veering away from it nowadays. The vast majority of present tense stories do not have the immediacy that requires it, and the stories fall flat because of it. Especially a present tense story that takes place over the course of years. The biggest issue is that a lot of writers (and according to two of my regular publishers, some editors) cannot use present tense correctly throughout the course of a book, and there are some areas where no matter the tack taken, it does not feel like it works.

I have read one short story in future tense. It didn’t work. That’s not to say it can’t be done, but finding just one published story indicates most publishers are not interested.

So, most publishers are asking for works in past tense again, like the good old days. It is easier to make tenses match, the use of pluperfect tense for further back makes sense, and it is an easier narrative style, as it is how we describe most real-life events to our friends.

Interesting side-note – I have had some pieces accepted in a memoir magazine. They have a huge note on their submission page that present tense will be rejected straight away. Here’s a copy-paste: “Memoir happened. It is in the past. Your memoir should likewise be set in the past.” And yet, according to the editor I deal with, people still submit present tense memoirs to them.

So, why that sudden surge in present tense? Suzanne Collins did it in the Hunger Games books, and they were very successful. Everyone copied her style as it was different and stood out, and publishers chasing trends pushed for it, thinking that was why the books were popular. But that then became an ouroboros, eating its own tail. For the record, Collins did it probably the best I have read. Everyone wants to ape that style, but Collins had it down so well no-one is going to come close.

Now, this is when dealing with traditional publishers, particularly those who have been in the game for a while. Self-publishing is a different kettle of fish and you can do your own thing, I guess. Newer publishers are also more likely to accept something more “experimental”. I only work with traditional publishers, so that’s where my experience comes from. If you have experienced something different with a traditional publisher, that’s fine. This is my experience in the industry, going back to last century. That’s all.