Kick-start Your Subbing!

I’ll admit it. This past month… or two… okay, pretty much the entire summer, has been a lot to deal with. Too many things to do! Too many places to go! Too much fun to have!

While keeping up with the writing seems to be a given in my life, I’ve had to let go of something and that’s been subbing. It’s easy to do, especially when you know that all of publishing slows down over the summer. Why not take a break?

I have managed to get a few subs out, which feels great but with summer winding down I’ve been thinking about how to get back into submitting my work more regularly. So, I made a list. (What a writer thing to do!) Here are some ways to kick-start your subbing:

• Re-read your manuscript. (Revise as necessary.)
• Check out a bunch of comparable books from the library. Read them. Research the publishers, editors, and agents of those you think might like your work.
• Create a new or updated list of people to sub to. Things are always changing in publishing.
• Order the new Writer’s Market. (It’s out soon!)
• Read over the New Agent Alerts at Writer’s Digest.
• Check out the agents listed at Literary Rambles. (She has them listed by category in the sidebar.)
• Get motivated! Join in on the Sub It Club goal making.
• Work on your pitch. There are always more contests coming up!
• Write that query letter.
• Find someone to critique your query. We have a private Sub It Club forum where you can post yours if you want to join us.
• Talk subbing with others. Our Sub It Club facebook group is pretty active and is the perfect place to talk about submissions privately with writers who are working towards publication.
• Read the latest publishing thoughts. Twitter is a perfect place for that. Our Twitter account @subitclub is a great place to start!
• Get excited! Subbing opens up a world of possibilities. You’ll never know what could have happened if you don’t ask.

So tell us, have you been in a subbing lull? How are you going to get back into the groove?