I was interested to read recently the top ten tips in submitting your work to a publisher or agent and was surprised by the one of the top three.

It confounded me for a moment, as I thought – surely this is a mistake. Then as I considered the advice I reflected on my own journey in submitting my work and the stern submission guidelines which are set out for writers to follow.

Maybe writers do actually send work to be considered before it is read – go figure.

I spoke to a former publisher about this and she confirmed she was sent submissions in such a poor state that it became stressful. She implied subjective decisions were quickly made about the state of the work without necessarily proper consideration of the story.

The question then becomes – What makes a manuscript publishable compared to those that should never see the light of day, but often do?

Just a short twenty years ago the publishing industry was exclusive – agents and editors held positions of absolute power and deigned their judgement on authors to be absolute, no matter the story. We well remember JK Rowling and her 27 rejections to become published.

But that was before digital publishing which now provides an easy and cheap entry to the market.

What hasn’t changed is the importance of story and the manner in which writers tell it. Good stories are readable and others – well, perhaps not. Yet, it seems we still have writers prepared to submit their work the day they write their last line. Little wonder the industry remains risk averse, not wanting to engage with a writer until they have a record of writing achievement.

Writers can do many things to hone their work and maybe get better through experience. I suspect a writer’s desire to protect their work – their blood, as Hemingway once said – is problematic because it is their creative ‘baby’, and many writers may consider their work to be as good as anything on the bookshelves, and point to Rowling as their model.

Clearly the tips from agents and publishers would indicate otherwise.

In my own case, before embarking on political thrillers I had written manuscripts, plays and an enormous amount of business articles – and yet, I remained uncertain about my ability to tell a story.

Frankly, if I’m honest, I may have been frightened to expose myself. It didn’t matter I achieved a masters’ degree in creative writing – sooner or later you have to leave the nest. But here’s the point – you don’t jump out of the nest without first being prepared, and in writing there are a number of preparatory things to do.

1. Edit and rewrite your own work at least twice, before submitting to your beta-reader team – I have finished at least 10 edits with Deceit and yet, still pick up modifications.
2. Engage a team of beta-readers – perhaps not your family; rather, a small group of readers who will provide authentic feedback on plot, structure and character. In my case, a reader suggested adding two chapters, and he was right.
3. Find a good editor – this is absolutely essential. Sure, it is a cost, but the benefits far outweigh any cost considerations.

Once you have completed these steps, then consider your submission to publishers. They may reject you as they did with Dan Brown, but if you have done the preparation you may stand a better chance in achieving publication based on the merits of your story as opposed to your presentation of the manuscript.

Writing is hard –  it’s not just the words.