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One of the topics we discussed at a recent pitching workshop was the need to achieve a good understanding of how your work fits the current marketplace and to show this in your submissions cover letter with reference to comparative titles – published titles that have an element in common with the manuscript you are submitting. One of the workshop participants asked how she might go about this, and I thought I’d share my answer with you.
One way to keep up with what is happening in your particular genre is to pick out the publishing houses you think are a good fit for you, and keep up to date with their recent publications in your genre. Many have a mailing list you would be able to join. For example, I regularly receive emails from Edinburgh publishers Canongate and Polygon, which alert me to their trends (as well as providing me with some excellent reads). At book festivals, I collect publisher catalogues to browse. Are there equivalent opportunities local to you which you could tap into? Another of the workshop participants pointed out how her writing group helps in this, by inviting local publishers and agents to speak. If you are lucky enough to belong to a writing group that invites industry speakers, just remember to grill them about current trends, and what they are looking for in their submissions pile!
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