Decide On A Publisher BEFORE You Write

Every publisher has a unique voice. Oh sure, many publish similar genres and certainly similar tropes, but when it comes down to it, each book sounds completely different. A lot of readers often believe it is the author's voice that is different, and that, to some extent is true. However, the publisher does play a very unique role in establishing that voice.

When I first started talking about voice and publishers, I loved to use the analogy of vampires hanging out at parties hosted by the publishers. All publishers served the same O-Neg blood, but if you were to walk into each room you would find completely different groups. Those who would go to a Harper Collins/Avon party would never be caught dead at a St. Martins party, and those authors would not be seen at a Source Books party.

If you aren't into vampires, consider fraternities and sororities. They are all essentially the same, but the personalities are completely different. 

With this in mind, I always recommend that authors take the time, before they start writing, to consider the publishers they feel they would to have publish their books. Take the time to read and really study those voices. You might be surprised, but often, if you go to your bookshelves, you will find that you already have a pretty clear vision of your favorites. The odds are, you are buying books just from those publishers. 

Once you have determined that, work to imitate the voice. No, I did not say to imitate the storylines and the characters, work on the voice. It is all about the sound. This can be controlled by focusing in on use of dialogue, use of narration, placement of those longer paragraphs, and yes, even down to the grammar. 

The outcome will be fantastic! When you submit that story to an editor, they will already read it feeling like it is "part of the family." The sound of your story will be very familiar and they will connect with it. One of my authors did just that. She knew which editor and which line she wanted to work for. She studied it like crazy. Sure enough, we were able to place her with that editor. As a side note, what was funny is that after signing the contract, she still had some of her stories out in contests to be read by her "editor of choice." When I reached out tot he editor and we talked about it, she had said she really felt like she "knew this author" and loved the "voice." 

We all laughed when she found out it was the author she had just signed.

Remember, it is about the voice!