Why Do We Have Rules For Submissions

So, are there rules in publishing or not? When it comes to a submission process, whether it is to an editor or to an agent, there are rules, they must be followed and there are reasons for this.

Despite what some writers claim, these rules are not "hoops you have to jump through to sort out who we really want to work with." Surprisingly, many of those people who claim that are the people who feel they don't have to do anything other than what they want to do. I will admit though, if someone submits material to me and cannot follow the rules, I start to wonder how this person will work with either me or a future editor when we give them revisions or suggestions for current and future books. Can they follow those directions?

The reality is that we have all created a system to deal with the high volumes of material we receive on a daily basis. We want to read the material to find that golden nugget. We want to get to you as quickly as possible, because, to be honest, it becomes really scarey when we look at our emails with 100's of things to read. Needless to say, to get to that material, we create specific things that streamline things on our end.

For example, if you use the form on my website, that information is there so I can clearly enter the data into my database that I keep for all potential clients. (This is how I know when you have submitted to me before). If you don't enter the data in correctly, it slows down the process as I look for what I need.

The same goes for submissions when we ask for attachments or data. For me, I ask for attachments in .RTF format. I do this to accomodate many of you who use Freeware software that I cannot open without going through about a 5 step process.

If we ask for only so much material, then there are no exceptions. Just do what we ask.

I think one last thing to remember is this. If you are difficult and show us early on that you are someone that we don't like, even for small things like viruses, spamware on your email responses and submissions that don't do as we ask, the odds are this submission, as well as future ones, will result in the same answer.

Scott