Surprise, Surprise, Surprise

When Gomer Pyle uttered those words—with a toothy (goofy) smile—it always meant something good.  From his perspective.  From his sergeant’s, maybe not so much. (With fondness, Mom has taken to re-watching Gomer Pyle; as such, I get to view the 60s show, too.  You know, it does have its moments.)

Recently, I decided I’d send out a few queries to traditional publishers and posted about that.  I also provided a link to Emily Harstone’s list of publishers accepting manuscripts sans agent.  Only four were relevant to me.  Haven’t yet heard back from the other two and that’s fine.  Though some may disagree, I can be very patient.

But, lo and behold, I found 19 more publishers, courtesy of a link sent by the same author/blogger/friend who’d sent the first one.  This second list by Ms. Harstone provides publishers specifically interested in mysteries.  Woo-bleeping-hoo!  How lucky can a mystery writer be?

If you’ve finished your own magnum opus and have decided to try the traditional publishing route, do some due diligence before submitting.  Don’t simply check out publishers on their site to see what submission guidelines are: find out if they have a decent reputation.

As an FYI, per Wikipedia:  “Due diligence is the investigation or exercise of care that a reasonable business or person is expected to take before entering into an agreement or contract with another party, or an act with a certain standard of care.  It can be a legal obligation, but the term will more commonly apply to voluntary investigations.”

It’s all good when the surprise is a welcome one, but so not good when it’s an unwelcome one—like signing up with a publisher who’s not on the up-and-up.  Research thoroughly, my friends.  (More on “writer beware” in another post.) 

https://www.authorspublish.com/19-mystery-publishers-open-to-submissions/

Author: tylerus

I'm primarily a writer of fiction and blog posts, and a sometimes editor and proofreader of books, manuals, and film/television scripts. Fact-checking and researching, organizing and coordinating are skills and joys (I enjoy playing detective and developing structure). My fiction audience: lovers of female-sleuth mysteries. My genres of preference: mysteries (needless to say), women’s fiction, informative and helpful “affirmative” non-fiction. So-o, here I am, staring up a new blog for aspiring and established e-Book writers. The plan: to share the (long) journey of getting to this stage, and share "learnings" and "teachings". There's a lot I hope to accomplish with this blog, but it may be a while before that happens as there's a lot on the ol' plate - taking care of Mom, working full-time, and attempting to get another book in the Triple Threat Investigation Agency series written (never mind blog postings and other writing projects). It's very challenging and it's all good. As I like to say: teeny focused baby steps are just as effective as long forceful strides. It may take a little longer, but we will get there. View all posts by tylerus