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SUBMITTING YOUR WORK TO US

We are actively seeking manuscripts, as below. PLEASE READ ALL OUR GUIDELINES BEFORE SUBMITTING!

We know that there is a lot of information on our pages, but we have good reasons for asking you to take the time to read it all. BEFORE YOU MAKE A SUBMISSION, PLEASE READ: "About Us", "How It Works" and "Professional Presentation"

No, really. We mean it. For your sake and ours. We really get narked by submissions from writers who clearly haven't bothered to target correctly - and if you catch us at a bad moment, we may even be abrupt in response. Be kind to both of us; make sure we are the right publisher for your book before you send a query, and nobody gets hurt. ;-)

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

We are interested in book-length manuscript submissions. We accept fiction and non-fiction in most genres, and Christian inspirational works. Although we produce secular books as well as Christian, our standards for the secular will still be guided by our Christian leanings. DO NOT send us magic, demons, witches, aliens, and the like. See below for more information on this.

What we particularly like: We have a soft spot for travel, sailing and boating books, adventure, historical novels, inspirational romance, women's fiction, mainstream and literary fiction, courage and overcoming, gift books and coffee-table books - and now also are accepting books for children and young teens, and are opening up to commercial non-fiction. We enjoy wit and humour, entertainment, upliftment.

What we won't even consider:

We do not accept "misery" books (about abusive/ abused childhoods, alcoholics, drug addicts, gang warfare etc), depressive/dark or self-contemplative styles, black comedy, racism, gratuitous sex or violence or foul language, bad attitudes, anything inciting anger/ hatred against any other group or individual, or anything else that does not conform to good mainstream family values (and we get to be the judge!). Our taste does not run to the gothic or paranormal - vampires, werewolves, ghosts, supernatural spirits, and the like, or horror generally; nor do we enjoy gross, crass or crude, no matter how witty. If it's seedy or seamy, don't even try.

IMPORTANT: We reserve the right to decide for ourselves what we find offensive. If you submit material that is other than we have stated as acceptable, we will not read it and will not respond to it (or, if you catch us on a bad day, we may respond acidly!). You are entitled to your beliefs; we are entitled to ours. :-)

Children's & Teenage: We are NOW ready to take on children's books, for our new imprint, Sunberry Books. We don't like books that gross us out (we don't agree that just because a child likes something, it's necessarily good for the child to have it!). We don't accept Harry Potter style magic - magicians, witches, children joining covens and casting spells and the like. Fantasy that's wholly on the side of the Good, yes. Blurred lines, no. Witchcraft, definitely no!

Poetry: Not generally. We love poetry, but have no idea about the poetry markets so we would not undertake this genre at this time.

Short stories and articles: We do not generally do anthologies, except for those containing the best of our writing competitions - but if you have a cracking collection of shorts, try us! We also do not produce magazines, so please don't send articles and short stories as normal submissions.

Science Fiction: Not generally. We may look at "intelligent" plausible human stories about real life situations set in the future, here on earth. Please, no weird adventure fantasies - triffids and the like, general silliness, aliens, outer space, or games-type wild fantasy "I have the power!" stuff.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

Submissions should be made to Jo Holloway. She is female. She is married. Pet hates (and any budding writer who has studied the industry at all knows these basics): Queries or manuscripts that arrive without either an email address or stamped self-addressed envelope included, or require a signature, or don't have enough postage on them. She reeeallllly hates those little things. If you don't hear back from Jo, you probably made one of those mistakes. :-)

We require that you please EMAIL your manuscripts! Our model has changed - no more hard copy submissions. If your manuscript isn't on a computer, please GET it onto one, and email us the resulting file. Why? Because in this day and age, I'm afraid we are not going to commit to typing up a manuscript for you. [Unless it's clearly the world's next big best seller. Then we'll type. Happily.]

Please do read the guidelines below for layout of manuscripts; there are good reasons for the wide margins and double spacing, etc!

• DON'T query us for books which we clearly state on this page that we do NOT want.

• DO read and take note of ALL our publishing policies and requirements and guidelines. All the information you need is on our web site. I beg you, READ IT! Show us you have bothered to find out about us; check to see we're a fit. Otherwise you are wasting both your time and ours with a query that will go nowhere.

• DO send queries by email, and when asked to, send manuscripts by email too.

• DO do your research - find out about the JOB of your craft. Know what is expected of authors by publishers. Know what publishing contracts look like, so you'll understand ours if we offer one. If you are serious about being a writer, you must be serious about understanding all that goes with that status. The internet is full of information, and so is our own web site.

• DON'T query us if you are looking for high-powered, stress-driven publishers. We are too busy enjoying our work to be willing to become wage slaves. Please read about us and find out why good publisher-author relationships are more important to us than spreadsheets, in the long run. We are not a "quick fix" to make you rich and famous; we are realistic about our abilities and desires and we ask that you be, too.

• DON'T query us if you are expecting a "quick 3-month turnaround" of your manuscript into a book. We work like most mainline publishers: First, it takes time to get to your book on our Reading List. Then it takes time to settle things like agreeing a vision for your book, and signing contracts. The next time-line depends entirely on the work still needed on your manuscript (for both yourself and us). And the final stretch after that is usually about 6 months to actual release - depending how far down the list your book is. As with most publishers, from time of contract to time of release you can expect roughly 10-18 months. We are not a "quick fix". Good wine takes time to bring to perfection, especially with new writers!

• Please send a QUERY first - via email, unless you absolutely can only do by post. If you do not know how to create a professional-looking query, please find out - this is the most elementary of lessons a writer should learn before submitting to a publisher. Your query is your first contact and the first impression you make on the publisher; it will demonstrate immediately how seriously you take your own work. A proper query is important! - In brief, your query information MUST INCLUDE: (1) Your Full Names and address, email address and phone numbers; (2) a short description of your project (usually one paragraph) - a roundup of the story and indication of genre and target audience (to paraphrase Albert Einstein, if you can't say it in brief, you don't understand it well enough); (3) a short bio about yourself and your vision for your writing; (4) anything else you may consider relevant; and (5) the synopsis - usually about a page in length, sometimes two, single-spaced.
• We do not accept "unsolicited manuscripts". In other words, please contact us with a query as above first and then wait for us to request your manuscript before sending.
• Send manuscripts by email only please! Or by CD/DVD - but please, in digital format, not hard copy, unless you absolutely can ONLY do hard copy.
• Please, if you must post anything to us, DO NOT SEND TO BE SIGNED FOR; send it by ordinary post. Please do NOT send anything to us by any way that means we have to sign for it. We are not always here. If we miss a parcel, we will probably NOT bother to make the journey to the post office to collect it!
• Don't send us your first draft! Please make sure before you send that you have edited and re-edited and polished your work; that it is professionally presented (double spaced, with margins of at least 1" all round, in a standard 12pt serif type face, and that the spelling and grammar are the best you can make them). You wouldn't attend a job interview with a sloppy attitude or demonstrating that you don't know anything about the job you're applying for, would you? If you want us to care, please make an effort to show us you care. If we open a work and find it sloppy in any way, it indicates to us that the author is sloppy too - and we wouldn't work with sloppy authors. We want authors we can love and respect!
• We cannot be held responsible for the postal service. If your manuscript doesn't arrive, or gets lost, sticky or broken, or the camel kneels on it or the llama spits on it or the iguana eats it (though we will do our best to avoid all of these eventualities!), we cannot replace it!
• Do not send us your only copy! NEVER send out the only copy you have.
• We do not accept handwritten manuscripts. Please ensure your work is properly typed, on a computer unless you absolutely can't - then talk to us. (Please note in your query email if your manuscript is handwritten!!!)
• NO STAPLES please! Not on your envelopes, not on your pages. They are tough, they hurt, they injure, they tear. Paper clips are fine. Envelopes etc: please don't go mad and create a package we can't open without a machete or several pairs of scissors!

Our Reading Policy:
We do not charge a reading fee. We do read everything that is sent to us if we've asked for it, but only up to the point where we decide whether or not it's right for us. This might mean that we read the whole manuscript, or it could mean that we read only the first few pages if it's obvious that it's not within our scope of interest, for whatever reason (eg if it's littered with profanities, foul language, sex, ridiculous statements, or anything we've listed above as a no-no ... or if it's just plain badly written).

Multiple submissions:
Multiple submissions are fine, but please let us know your work is also with someone else - or at least let us know if it's accepted by someone else, so that we can pull it out of the Reading pile before spending unnecessary time on it? - Our thanks.

Rejections:
In any publishing company, far far far more manuscripts are rejected than are accepted. Please know that our decisions are not personal; we are looking for something that sparks us as individuals, and that would suit the flavour of our company. Our decisions are based on the material itself striking a chord in us that makes it stand out from the rest - and yes, this means it's very personal and dependent on our own tastes, but it's still not about you yourself! We take books that light us up; that we click with; that we absolutely love enough to spend huge amounts of time and money getting right, and then marketing. Your book may be 95% of the way, but we have to have that extra 5% before we'll take it on. And no, not even 99% will cut it. :-)

This may mean we pass up on the next world blockbuster - but that's fine if it wasn't our taste. Reader and editorial decisions are based not only on the expertise or brilliance of a story, but also on our own likes and dislikes, insights and knowledge, in addition to their professional eye and assessment of the work as it falls within our own remit. We may love a story but reject it for other reasons! But remember: We don't know who you are; we don't know what you look like. We promise - if we reject the manuscript, it's not you we're rejecting! Don't take it personally; persist in sending it to other publishers. "Thornbirds" was refused something like 39 times before it hit the right person's desk. Don't give up just because we don't take it!

What we'll tell you:
Due to the number of submissions we receive, we cannot give you an assessment of your manuscript if we are rejecting it. Depending on time, we may give you an indication of where we feel any problems may lie, but it won't be in detail. If you are concerned about your manuscript, we suggest you find a reputable, qualified editor and pay them for a full critique - be careful, there are a lot of fly-by-nights out there!

MAKING YOUR SUBMISSION:

The address for postal deliveries (please don't send "to-be-signed-for" mail! and please ensure you have ENOUGH POSTAGE on your package!) :

SUBMISSIONS ADDRESS: Mary's Cottage 3 The Limes Froxfield Wiltshire SN8 3LB United Kingdom

QUERY EMAILS - PLEASE CLICK ON THE BUTTON BELOW, which will open your email program with a new email form. You will have to type in the address below (apologies; this is a necessary anti-spam measure).