Preparing Your Work for Submission

A tip on submission: There are dozens of books on how to prepare a manuscript for submission. Get one or two at the most; they all say pretty much the same thing. (My favorite is Writing Books for Young People, by James Cross Giblin. Giblin has worked from both sides of the desk—as a top editor and as an author.)

Follow the advice on making your manuscript package as professional as possible.

But none of these books contain any secret magic tricks. In the end, only two things count: The story and the way you write it.