Summarize your book, chapter by chapter, if you like. Well, jeepers, you must be saying, why can’t I just send my whole manuscript then? Well, we want to know that you know your story. Just tell us in a few lines what each chapter is about, or the general outline of your book, complete with character development, plot, and if possible, scenes.

Please, whatever you do, don’t send us a 100,000-word manuscript. Although we’d love to spend our day reading your masterpiece, frankly we don’t have the time. Instead, sell us your book idea. Why is your book idea hotter than molten rock? Also, tell us which books you’ve modelled your own work after and which authors inspired you along the way. As an author, aside from being an amazing storyteller, you need to be persuasive, confident about your work and business savvy. We’re also interested in your promotion plan. As your publisher we’ll work our derrieres off to sell your book but these days we need authors to be promoting the heck outa the book too and we want to know what your plans will be. Thanks to technology nowadays every marketing tool you need is literally at your fingertips. So your plan could be as simple as connecting with like-minded online communities and promoting within those circles, or making presentations to schools, book festivals or organizations. Lastly, we want to know a little about you, how you came to write this book, whether you have any writing experience and if so, include any publishing credits. It doesn’t have to be long, just a couple of paragraphs.

Lastly, if you’ve wowed us with your overview and outline, we’re definitely going to be salivating for more. Give us a taste. Typically publishers like to see about 10 per cent of your book. We’re good with that but if you want to give us more, keep it under five chapters, please! Your sample chapters should represent the best of your work, whether it’s at the beginning, middle or end of your book.