Writer Wednesday: Publishing Choices

I've passed a milestone; my first novel is in the hands of a prospective publisher! I thought I'd share some of the thought processes that went into deciding who to send it to.There are so many choices to make along the way, but the research was fascinating. At an early stage, I had decided that I wanted to produce an eBook, so this directed all my publishing investigations. It's worth stating here that I'm not against traditional publishing at all - in fact, I'm embarking on a new project to produce a printed book, and I'll be revealing that very soon! But having chosen the eBook, route I was then faced with another set of options: should I seek a professional publisher, or to go down the self-publishing route? Both these options have merit, and I aim to try both of them at some point. For Taking the Gardener, however I chose to go down the professional route because it offers the most support for a new writer.The industry is vast and varied. Exploring all the options out there was both fun and interesting. Publishers websites are quite mixed when it comes to quality and content. Those who do make the effort are great when it comes to showcasing their output and also providing all the information that a writer needs. This stuff needs to be read carefully since it is essential to select a publishing house which takes work in whichever genre you are writing. (I've been told that most publishers receive a surprising number of submissions for books in genres they specifically don't want, so this step is a lot more important than you'd think!)The process of actually sending the book is also a bit more complicated than I first anticipated. Different publishing houses have different requirements; some want a synopsis and the full book, some want just the first three chapters, some don't want a synopsis but do want a 'plot description' (there's a difference, apparently!), and so on. Most of the placed I looked at wanted a cover letter and synopsis at minimum, though, so it's useful to have both of those at hand before you start sending anything.Well, I chose the publisher I most wanted and have sent off the email letter with the ‘partial’ and the synopsis attached. Now comes the long wait for either a request for the full novel, or the rejection message! I'll let you know when that happens.