After an author has written a book and is trying to get published, there is a strategy that the author should follow to achieve maximum success. One of the ways in which authors try to get their works out there is to publish excerpts. An excerpt is like a short summary of an entire book that includes most of the highlights.

Although this might seem time consuming, many authors have used excerpts to great effect. Many times when a book is finished and published, the author might acknowledge small presses that published some parts of the book. Highly experienced authors frequently create and publish excerpts of their books several years before they finish their books. These excerpts are published in literary magazines.

Some authors wonder how they can summarize their entire book in one short story. Typically, for an author to be able to easily publish a short story, it has to be below 3,500 words long. The reason for this length is that it allows the author to revise some text in the finished book without going too far from the original message in the excerpt. The excerpt does not have to match a part of the entire book from which it was taken exactly word for word.

Why do authors publish their excerpts?

It generates enthusiasm: Agents and editors respond to how works by a particular author are treated by publishers. If an author’s book excerpt is published in a respected magazine, agents and editors take notice and prioritize the author’s work if they get a hold of it. Agents and editors also like authors who publish works consistently. It is more advantageous if an author’s publication is related to a book the author is pitching.

Excerpts point to pre-existing audiences: It is important to note that literary agents and editors do significant amounts of legwork to get an author's books published. It makes sense, therefore, that an author can easily pitch an idea for a book if he can convince agents and editors that they won’t have to do a lot of work to turn the book into a success. When an author has successfully published an excerpt for an upcoming book in a reputable magazine, agents and editors know that the author already has an audience. It is therefore much easier for the author to get accepted by agents and editors.

Excerpts that get published indicate that there already exists demand for the completed book. It also shows that people are eagerly awaiting the book to be completed.

Excerpts build authors’ bios: It is very important for authors to build their bio before approaching literary agents. If an author’s reputation does not precede him, then he will have a harder time convincing agents to take his work. One of the best ways for an author to demonstrate his seriousness to agents is to publish an excerpt. This is even better if the excerpt is for the book project that the author is trying to pitch. Professional authors rarely skip the important step of publishing excerpts of their upcoming books.