15th Free “Dear Lucky Agent” Contest: Young Adult Fiction

Chuck Sambuchino has announced yet another free contest. This one is for YA fiction.

The good thing about a contest that only allows you to submit the first 150-200 words of your book is that it forces you to really look at that first page.

How many extraneous words do you have in those first few paragraphs? Have you captured the attention of your readers?

Any manuscript, or portion of a manuscript, you send to an agent or publisher will be judged on those critical first paragraphs. 

Polish them until they shine.

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15th Free “Dear Lucky Agent” Contest: Young Adult Fiction

Chuck Sambuchino, GLA Blog, 3/23/2014

Welcome to the 15th (free!) “Dear Lucky Agent” Contest on the GLA blog. This is a recurring online contest with agent judges and super-cool prizes. Here’s the deal: With every contest, the details are essentially the same, but the niche itself changes—meaning each contest is focused around a specific category or two. So if you’re writing young adult fiction, this 15th contest is for you! (The contest is live through EOD, Wednesday, April 9, 2014.)

WHY YOU SHOULD GET EXCITED

After a previous “Dear Lucky Agent” contest, the agent judge, Tamar Rydzinski (The Laura Dail Literary Agency), signed one of the three contest winners. After Tamar signed the writer, she went on to sell two of that writer’s books! How cool! That’s why these contests are not to missed if you have an eligible submission.

HOW TO SUBMIT

E-mail entries to dearluckyagent15@gmail.com. Please paste everything. No attachments.

WHAT TO SUBMIT

The first 150-200 words of your unpublished, completed book-length work of young adult fiction. You must include a contact e-mail address with your entry and use your real name. Also, submit the title of the work and a logline (one-sentence description of the work) with each entry.

Please note: To be eligible to submit, you must mention this contest twice through any any social-media. Please provide a social-media link or Twitter handle or screenshot or blog post URL, etc., with your official e-mailed entry so the judge and I can verify eligibility. Some previous entrants could not be considered because they skipped this step! Simply spread the word twice through any means and give us a way to verify you did; a tinyURL for this link/contest for you to easily use is: http://tinyurl.com/pcmopmq.

An easy way to notify me of your sharing is to include my Twitter handle @chucksambuchino at the end of your mention(s) if using Twitter. And if you are going to solely use Twitter as your 2 times, please wait 1 day between mentions to spread out the notices, rather than simply tweeting twice back to back. Thanks. (Please note that simply tweeting me does not count. You have to have the contest URL with your mention; that’s the point.)

WHAT IS ELIGIBLE?

Young adult fiction. The agent judge did not choose to exclude any subgenre, so everything is fair game.

CONTEST DETAILS

This contest will be live through the end of April 9, 2014, PST. Winners notified by e-mail within approximately three weeks of end of contest. Winners announced on the blog thereafter.

To enter, submit the first 150-200 words of your book. Shorter or longer entries will not be considered. Keep it within word count range please.

You can submit as many times as you wish. You can submit even if you submitted to other contests in the past, but please note that past winners cannot win again. All that said, you are urged to only submit your best work.

The contest is open to everyone of all ages, save those employees, officers and directors of GLA’s publisher, F+W Media, Inc.

By e-mailing your entry, you are submitting an entry for consideration in this contest and thereby agreeing to the terms written here as well as any terms possibly added by me in the “Comments” section of this blog post. (If you have questions or concerns, write me personally at chuck.sambuchino (at) fwmedia.com. The Gmail account above is for submissions, not questions.)

PRIZES!!!

Top 3 winners all get: 1) A critique of the first 10 double-spaced pages of your work, by your agent judge. 2) A free one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com ($50 value)!

MEET YOUR (AWESOME) AGENT JUDGE!

A literary agent for close to fifteen years, Andrea Somberg represents a wide range of fiction and nonfiction, including projects aimed at a young adult and middle grade audience. Previously an agent at the Donald Maass Agency and Vigliano Associates, she joined Harvey Klinger Inc. in the spring of 2005. Andrea has also been a MediaBistro instructor, teaching courses on writing nonfiction and memoir book proposals. Learn more about Andrea on Twitter, Facebook, or Publishers Marketplace.

Do you know what an author brand is? And do you actually want one?

At last, I understand what an author brand is! It's Heinz! It's Dinty Moore! It's Walmart, Home Depot, McDonald's!

What do all these things have in common?

They are completely uniform, completely predictable, and completely marketable.

To create an author brand, just do what any of these other brands have done. Write a series (Dijon mustard, honey mustard, German mustard). Make sure each book provides the same reading experience (mustard). And churn your "products" out on a schedule (New this week! English mustard!). The combination of predictability and availability (more, more!) is what is known as "trust." And once readers develop "trust," you've got yourself a heap of consumer loyalty.

Frankly, I find the application of assembly-line consumerism to literature to be somewhat appalling. But that did not prevent me from reading the article below. (Or from reading every single one of Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.) At least, I now know to avoid agents who talk about developing "author brands" for their clients.

Ouch.
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The Strongest Brand In Publishing Is ...

By David Vinjamuri, Forbes, March 4, 2014

When comparing authors, publishers tend to focus on book sales.  But sales figures tell only part of the story.  Expensive advertising and a strong push for distribution and display at bookstores might yield strong initial sales but create lots of returns and low profitability.  An early and fortuitous movie deal might overexpose a book that doesn’t meet the promise of the movie.

A thousand other externalities make sales data inadequate to measure the strength of an author’s franchise.  To understand which authors are worth investing in, publishers need a better measure of an author’s value.

Brand, Not Platform

The metric often used to evaluate new or developing authors is platform – roughly defined as the social reach of the author though Facebook fans, Twitter followers, blog views and speaking engagements.  But according to Peter Hildick-Smith of the Codex Group, which polls thousands of readers to determine their preferences and purchase behavior, platform is a misleading metric.

"We’ve seen celebrities with extremely high name recognition and very large platforms fail miserably in book sales.  Being famous or having millions of Twitter followers alone is not enough to build a strong franchise as an author."

Hildick-Smith points out that only about half of adults read books and just a fifth are regular book buyers.  So a celebrity with a large and dedicated following will not automatically become a bestselling author.

Read on to find out which author has the strongest "brand"  more...

2 Literary Agents Looking for Literary Fiction, Nonfiction, MG and YA Sci-fi and Fantasy

Updated 3/20/21

These two agents are looking for new clients. Read their bios to see if your work is a good match for them.

Lisa Gallagher is actively seeking new clients both in fiction and non-fiction who are great storytellers, delivering both narrative urgency and dramatic tension, combined with multi-faceted characters and a transporting sense of place. Caitlen Rubino-Bradway of LKG Agency is looking for middle grade and young adult fiction, with a preference for YA. Science fiction and fantasy elements are a plus!

As always, don't submit before going to the website. Submission requirements frequently change, and agents can close their lists or switch agencies.

Note: If these agents don't suit your needs, you can find a list of dozens of agents seeking writers here: Agents Seeking Clients

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Caitlen Rubino-Bradway of LKG Agency

NO LONGER AN AGENT

About Caitlen: “I joined the LKG Agency in 2008, thereby disproving the theory that no English major ever does anything with their degree. I have enjoyed my apprenticeship under Lauren Galit very much, and I am now actively looking to build my own list."

What she is seeking: “I personally am looking for middle grade and young adult fiction, with a preference for YA. In teen novels, Sci-fi/fantasy is my sweet spot, but I’m open to anything as long as it doesn’t have zombies.

“Also, the LKG Agency is always on the lookout for nonfiction, both practical and narrative. We specialize in women’s focused how-to, such as parenting, lifestyle, health & nutrition, and beauty, but we are open to a lot of nonfiction genres. (For a full list you can check out the submission guidelines on our website.)”

How to submit: For middle grade and young adult submissions, please send a query, synopsis, and the first three (3) chapters, and address all submissions to mgya@lkgagency.com.

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Lisa Gallagher of DeFiore & Co

About Lisa: Lisa Gallagher joined DeFiore & Company Literary Management Inc. as a literary agent in 2014, after working at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates for five years. She has more than twenty years of publishing experience and insight from both sides of the Atlantic, and now as an agent, being a champion of authors and their work continues to be her passion. Formerly SVP & Publisher, William Morrow (an imprint of HarperCollins), Gallagher published many New York Times bestselling novelists including Tom Franklin, Neil Gaiman, Joe Hill, Christopher Moore, Sena Jeter Naslund, Dennis Lehane, Laura Lippman, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, James Rollins, Marisa de los Santos and Neal Stephenson, as well as non-fiction blockbusters like Marley & Me and Freakonomics. Prior to joining William Morrow in 2000, Gallagher was Associate Publisher at Bloomsbury USA, following a move to New York from Bloomsbury’s London office in 1998. Gallagher was educated at St. Catharine’s College, Cambridge, UK.

What she is looking for: She is actively seeking new clients both in fiction and non-fiction who are great storytellers, delivering both narrative urgency and dramatic tension, combined with multi-faceted characters and a transporting sense of place.

How to submit: Please submit your manuscript or proposal to lgsubmissions@defliterary.com. For fiction, include 5 pages in the body of your email.

Nook: Still Asleep at the Wheel

Shortly after hearing that Russia has now become the world's third largest ebook market - after the US and China - I received this email from Nook.

Dear Publisher,

You may notice some changes the next time you log into NOOK Press. We've been working hard to get NOOK Press ready for some new guests – starting today, publishers in the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, and Belgium will be able to publish with NOOK Press and reach Barnes & Noble's millions of book-loving customers. This means even more great indie content for customers and increased visibility for you and your NOOK Books in the months to come!

Of course, I am absolutely thrilled that Belgians will now be able to publish on Nook, but Nook books are still available only in the US and the UK.  

What about reaching the second and third largest markets in the world?

(Yesterday, I filed my 2013 tax return. I received $4712 from Amazon. Nook netted me a grand total of $75. The numbers speak for themselves.)
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In Britain and especially abroad, ebooks are booming

By James Bridle, The Observer, Saturday 25 January 2014

Over the past year, more and more people have been reading ebooks. Hardly a surprise, but after years of hand-waving by enthusiasts and detractors, we're finally getting to the point where we can actually measure what's going on. We can see, for example, that in 2013, Russia overtook the UK to become the world's third largest ebook market after the US and China – largely thanks to a site called LitRes, which was founded in 2006 with a stated mission to fight book piracy. Before LitRes, the only ebook market in Russia was the black market. Today, LitRes is the only serious seller on the market. A similar effect can be seen occurring in Brazil and China and elsewhere.

Read the rest of this article here.

Bad Reviews of Classic 20th-Century Novels

I enjoy reading bad reviews of famous novels - almost as much as I enjoy getting them. It comforts me to know that if a book of mine is called "lugubrious" I will be keeping company with Aldous Huxley. (Unlike Brave New World, not one of my books has been called "lugubrious," or even "nauseating," but this is probably due to an avoidance of polysyllabic adjectives on the part of contemporary reviewers.)

These books were panned primarily because they broke new ground. Innovative writing is rarely well received in the short run. However, in the long run, these books have stood the test of time, and are now considered classics.

Here are some truly harsh reviews of 20th-century classics assembled by Sean Hutchinson for Publisher's Weekly. If your book has the good fortune to be called "silly," know that you are right up there with Richard Wright.

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Really Harsh Early Reviews of 20 Classic 20th-Century Novels

By Sean Hutchinson

Ulysses – James Joyce

Joyce’s magnum opus redefined literature and was a major event upon its release in 1922. Some bought into its radical structure, but others didn’t—including fellow modernist Virginia Woolf. In her diary she called Ulysses “an illiterate, underbred book it seems to me: the book of a self-taught working man, and we all know how distressing they are, how egotistic, insistent, raw, striking, and ultimately nauseating ... never did any book so bore me.”

The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald

Cited by many as the Great American Novel, Fitzgerald’s inimitable The Great Gatsby remains a staple in classrooms and on bookshelves the world over. Critic and journalist H.L. Mencken, however, called it “no more than a glorified anecdote,” and that “it is certainly not to be put on the same shelf, with, say, This Side of Paradise [Fitzgerald’s debut novel].” In her review for the New York Evening World, critic Ruth Snyder said, “We are quite convinced after reading The Great Gatsby that Mr. Fitzgerald is not one of the great American writers of to-day.”

Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

Nabokov’s novel about a literature professor who becomes obsessed with a 12-year-old girl wasn’t without controversy when it was published in 1958. Orville Prescott’s review in the New York Times listed two reasons why Lolita “isn't worth any adult reader's attention.” “The first,” he said, “is that it is dull, dull, dull in a pretentious, florid and archly fatuous fashion. The second is that it is repulsive.” Later in the same review, he called Nabokov’s writing “highbrow pornography.”

Brave New World – Aldous Huxley

The ritualistic and drug-filled dystopian world created by writer Aldous Huxley may have been too much for some when it was first published in 1931, but the New York Herald Tribune may have missed the point of the book altogether when their review called Brave New World “A lugubrious and heavy-handed piece of propaganda.”

Catch-22 – Joseph Heller

Heller’s satirical novel about World War II is so popular that the phrase “Catch-22” has become a ubiquitous modern idiom meaning a type of no-win situation. Heller was in a no-win situation, according to critic Richard Stern, whose New York Times review called the book “an emotional hodgepodge.” He added, “No mood is sustained long enough to register for more than a chapter.”

Under the Volcano — Malcolm Lowry

Lowry’s novel—about an alcoholic British consul in Mexico during the Day of the Dead celebration on the eve of World War II—has both dazzled and frustrated readers since its debut in 1947. The New Yorker only reviewed it in its “Briefly Noted” section, saying, “for all [Lowry’s] earnestness he has succeeded only in writing a rather good imitation of an important novel.”

To the Lighthouse – Virginia Woolf

The New York Evening Post’s cleverly snide review of Woolf’s highly abstract Modernist masterpiece managed to praise her and shoot her down all in the same sentence: “Her work is poetry; it must be judged as poetry, and all the weaknesses of poetry are inherent in it.”

An American Tragedy – Theodore Dreiser

This sprawling tale of love and deceit's influence has been made into an opera, a musical, a radio program, and more. When the novel was first published in 1925, the Boston Evening Telegraph called its main character, Clyde Griffiths, “one of the most despicable creations of humanity that ever emerged from a novelist’s brain,” and called Dreiser “a fearsome manipulator of the English language” with a style that “is offensively colloquial, commonplace and vulgar.

Invisible Man – Ralph Ellison

Invisible Man won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1953, cementing its reputation as one of the most important books about race and identity ever written. In its 1952 review, however, the Atlantic Monthly thought it suffered from “occasional overwriting, stretches of fuzzy thinking, and a tendency to waver, confusingly, between realism and surrealism.”

Native Son – Richard Wright

Richard Wright’s Native Son is another classic American novel about the African American experience, but the New Statesman and The Nation found the book to be “unimpressive and silly, not even as much fun as a thriller."

Henderson the Rain King – Saul Bellow

Bellow’s uniquely comic and philosophical novel about an American millionaire who unwittingly becomes the king of an African tribe was the author's personal favorite. But it wasn’t a favorite for critic Reed Whittemore. In his review for the New Republic, Whittemore posed this question to himself: “The reviewer looks at the evidence and wonders if he should damn the author and praise the book, or praise the author and damn the book. And is it possible, somehow or other to praise or damn, both? He isn’t sure.”

Read the rest of these really harsh reviews here.

2 Literary Agents Seeking Romance, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Kidlit, YA, Sci-Fi &more

Updated 3/16/21

Here are two agents seeking to expand their client lists. Cate Hart is interested in romance, MG and YA fiction, fantasy, sci-fi, magical realism, and nonfiction. Rena Rossner wants Literary and Upmarket Women’s Fiction, Historical Fiction and Thrillers. Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculative Fiction in all genres. She is also actively seeking Young Adult, Middle Grade and Picture Books.

Always check the agency website before submitting. Agents may switch agencies or close their lists, and submission requirements can change.

If these agents don't suit your needs, you can find a comprehensive list of new and established agents seeking clients here: Agents Seeking Clients.

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Cate Hart of Harvey Klinger Literary Agency

About Cate: Cate joined Harvey Klinger Literary Agency in 2019 after 5 years with a New York agency where she represented Middle Grade to Adult fiction. A graduate of the University of Tennessee, studying Theatre and History, Cate currently lives in Nashville with her children.

What she is seeking: She specializes in Historical, whether in Young Adult, Women’s Fiction and Romance, or narrative nonfiction. She is particularly drawn to oft forgotten stories of the past and underrepresented voices, and especially personal to her is unexplored Southern history and culture. She also loves high-concept fantasy in YA and Adult fiction.

How to submit: Please use her query form HERE.

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Rena Rossner of Deborah Harris Agency

About Rena: Rena handles foreign rights for the Deborah Harris Agency, a literary agency based in Jerusalem. She is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University’s Writing Seminars Program, where she double-majored in poetry and non-fiction writing. She studied at Trinity College, Dublin and holds an MA in History from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. She worked at bookstores in four countries, has written extensively for The Jerusalem Report and The Jerusalem Post, and worked in PR, grant-writing, and website development at The Jerusalem Foundation. She is a writer of both fiction and poetry.

She is seeking: Rena is interested in representing Literary and Upmarket Women’s Fiction, Historical Fiction, Thrillers, Horror, and Science Fiction and Fantasy. She has a particular love for novels in verse. She accepts queries for Adult, Young Adult, Middle Grade and Picture Books projects and also works with illustratorsing Young Adult, Middle Grade and Picture Books.

How to submit: Please include a synopsis of your book, a short biographical note and the first two chapters of the work— or an equivalent of up to fifty pages. Email: rena@thedeborahharrisagency.com

How to Buy a Top Spot on the New York Times Bestseller List

I have long suspected that the rank of "NYT bestseller" could be purchased. Now, there is proof.

Does this mean you can buy a bestseller slot for your upcoming book? Not unless you have a couple hundred thousand dollars to spare.

Or conversely, you could get the RNC to spend $98,400 on your book, but only if you are Donald Trump, Jr. 
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How to Buy a Top Spot on the New York Times Bestseller List

By Dennis Abrams, Publishing Perspectives, March 10, 2014

Carolyn Kellogg reports in the Los Angeles Times that while every author wants to get a book on the bestseller list, “those who can pay for the services of ResultSource Inc just might get one.”

The company which describes itself as “a boutique marketing firm that works with today’s thought leaders to build bestsellers” apparently has done so. In 2013, Kellogg reports, the Wall Street Journal talked with the authors of two books who paid thousands of dollars to ResultSource and soon ended up on the Journal’s bestseller list. “Precisely how [ResultSource] goes about [its business] is unclear, Jeffrey Trachtenberg reported at the time.

Now, Warren Cole Smith reports at www.worldmag.com that “Seattle’s Mars Hill Church paid [ResultSource] at least $210,000 in 2011 and 2012 to ensure thatReal Marriage, a book written by Mark Driscoll, the church’s founding pastor, and his wife Grace, made the New York Times best-seller list.”

Smith writes that a document obtained by WORLD shows that ResultSource Inc. (RSI) entered into an agreement with Mars Hill “to conduct a bestseller campaign for your book, Real Marriage, on the week of January 2, 2012. The bestseller campaign is intended to place Real Marriage (Thomas Nelson) on The New York Times bestseller list for the Advice How-To list.”

ResultSource also promised Mars Hill that they would be able to help place Real Marriage on the Wall Street Journal Business, USA Today Money, BN.com (Barnes& Noble) and Amazon.com bestseller lists.

Find out how they did it HERE.

14th Free “Dear Lucky Agent” Contest: Contemporary Middle Grade Fiction

Hey, it's Spring! That means contest time.

This one is FREE. (I am a strong believer in free contests.)

What do you get if you win?

Essentially, you get a chance to be represented by the agent who is reading the entries. So, make sure you check out Christa at McIntosh and Otis (scroll down). You never know - she could become your agent!
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Writer's Digest, March 4, 2014 | Chuck Sambuchino
     
Welcome to the 14th (free!) “Dear Lucky Agent” Contest on the GLA blog. This is a recurring online contest with agent judges and super-cool prizes. Here’s the deal: With every contest, the details are essentially the same, but the niche itself changes—meaning each contest is focused around a specific category or two. So if you’re writing contemporary middle grade fiction, this 14th contest is for you! (The contest is live through EOD, March 18, 2014.)

WHY YOU SHOULD GET EXCITED

After a previous “Dear Lucky Agent” contest, the agent judge, Tamar Rydzinski (The Laura Dail Literary Agency), signed one of the three contest winners. After Tamar signed the writer, she went on to sell two of that writer’s books! How cool! That’s why these contests are not to missed if you have an eligible submission.

HOW TO SUBMIT

E-mail entries to dearluckyagent14@gmail.com. Please paste everything. No attachments.

WHAT TO SUBMIT

The first 150-200 words of your unpublished, book-length work of contemporary middle grade fiction. You must include a contact e-mail address with your entry and use your real name. Also, submit the title of the work and a logline (one-sentence description of the work) with each entry.

Please note: To be eligible to submit, you must mention this contest twice through any any social-media. Please provide a social media link or Twitter handle or screenshot or blog post URL, etc., with your offical e-mailed entry so the judge and I can verify eligibility. Some previous entrants could not be considered because they skipped this step! Simply spread the word twice through any means and give us a way to verify you did; a tinyURL for this link/contest for you to easily use is http://tinyurl.com/kva3w9j. An easy way to notify me of your sharing is to include my Twitter handle @chucksambuchino somewhere in your mention(s) if using Twitter. And if you are going to solely use Twitter as your 2 times, please wait 1 day between mentions to spread out the notices, rather than simply tweeting twice back to back. Thanks.

WHAT IS ELIGIBLE?

Contemporary middle grade fiction. This means any middle grade set in our present world and time — mainstream, thriller, romance, mystery, adventure, humor, etc. What the agent judge will NOT consider as part of this contest is stories set outside our present world — sci-fi, fantasy, historical, steampunk.

CONTEST DETAILS

This contest will be live for approximately 14 days—from March 4, 2014 through the end of March 18, 2014, PST. Winners notified by e-mail within three weeks of end of contest. Winners announced on the blog thereafter.

To enter, submit the first 150-200 words of your book. Shorter or longer entries will not be considered. Keep it within word count range please.

You can submit as many times as you wish. You can submit even if you submitted to other contests in the past, but please note that past winners cannot win again. All that said, you are urged to only submit your best work.

The contest is open to everyone of all ages, save those employees, officers and directors of GLA’s publisher, F+W Media, Inc.

By e-mailing your entry, you are submitting an entry for consideration in this contest and thereby agreeing to the terms written here as well as any terms possibly added by me in the “Comments” section of this blog post. (If you have questions or concerns, write me personally at chuck.sambuchino (at) fwmedia.com. The Gmail account above is for submissions, not questions.)

PRIZES!!!

Top 3 winners all get: 1) A critique of the first 10 double-spaced pages of your work, by your agent judge. 2) A free one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com ($50 value)!

JUDGE

Christa Heschke is an agent with McIntosh & Otis. (Find her on Twitter, and see her blog, Neverending Stories.) Christa graduated from Binghamton University with a major in English and a minor in Anthropology. She started in publishing as an intern at both Writers House and Sterling Lord Literistic, where she fell in love with the agency side of publishing. Christa has been at McIntosh and Otis, Inc. in the Children’s Literature Department since 2009 where she is actively looking for picture books, middle grade, young adult and new adult projects and is currently building her list.

3 Major Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishers Accepting Unagented Manuscripts

Updated 3/9/21

Speculative fiction publishers have a tradition of accepting manuscripts directly from authors.

This is a genre that attracts readers who think in terms of possibilities, and who don't, as a rule, like to follow the mainstream.

These readers also have their own networks, which means a speculative fiction novel can achieve fame strictly through word-of-mouth ( e.g. Wool). Publishers in this genre realize that mavericks have a place in the sci-fi world, and are thus willing to work directly with writers.

As always, go to the publisher's website before submitting your work. Submission requirements often change.

[Also see Top 5 Sites for Science Fiction Writers]
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Baen Books 

Baen Books was founded in 1983 by science fiction editor and publisher Jim Baen (now deceased). Baen was one of the first publishers to use the Internet as a means of "spreading the word" about a book or author.

In addition to publishing emerging authors, Baen republishes older science fiction in collections and omnibus editions, such as the works of the 1960s authors Christopher Anvil and others.

What they are looking for: Science fiction and fantasy. Powerful plots with solid scientific and philosophical underpinnings are essential for science fiction submissions. For fantasy, any magical system must be both rigorously coherent and integral to the plot, and overall the work must at least strive for originality. Manuscripts should be at least 100,000 words, but if your novel is really wonderful send it along regardless of length.

Reporting time: usually within 9 to 12 Months.

How to submit: Complete manuscript accompanied by a synopsis. No simultaneous submissions.

Electronic Submissions: Send your manuscript by using the submission form on the site.

Attach the manuscript as a Rich Text Format (.rtf) file. Any other format will not be considered.

Send the manuscript as a single file (do not break it into separate chapter files). The form only accepts a single file so any synopsis and contact info needs to be in the file with your manuscript.

Your submission must include your name, email address, postal mailing address, and telephone number on both your cover letter and the first page of the manuscript. If you have an alternate permanent email address, please include it, in case your primary account goes out of service. Include a plot outline if possible.

You may include your ideal cover treatment, including cover copy, a teaser page, and whatever else you would like.

Hardcopy Submissions: (for those who cannot submit electronically)

Standard manuscript format only: double-spaced, one side of the page only, 1 1/2" margins on all four sides of the page. They will consider photocopies if they are dark and clear.

Font must be seriphed or at least semi-seriphed, 12-point or greater.

Title, author (last name only is okay), and page number at the top of each page are mandatory. Include your name, mailing address, and telephone number on the first page.

All submissions should be accompanied by a stamped return envelope. Submissions from outside the U.S. should be accompanied by sufficient International Reply Coupons.

Send manuscripts to:

Baen Books
P.O. Box 1403
Riverdale, NY 10471

Read guidelines HERE.
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DAW

DAW is part of the Penguin Group.

From the website: Founded in 1971 by veteran paperback editor Donald A. Wollheim, along with his wife, Elsie B. Wollheim, DAW Books was the first publishing company ever devoted exclusively to science fiction and fantasy. Now more than 30 years and more than a thousand titles later, DAW has a well-deserved reputation for discovering and publishing the hottest talents in the industry. Many stars of the science fiction and fantasy field made their debuts in the pages of a DAW book, including Tad Williams, C. J. Cherryh, Mercedes Lackey, Melanie Rawn, C.S. Friedman, Jennifer Roberson, and Tanith Lee. Despite its high profile, DAW is still a small private company, owned exclusively by its publishers, Elizabeth R. Wollheim and Sheila E. Gilbert. Betsy and Sheila are strongly committed to discovering and nurturing new talent, and to keeping a personal "family" spirit at DAW—something they feel is all too rare in today's world of international conglomerate publishing.

What they are looking for: Science fiction and fantasy novels. The average length of the novels is almost never less than 80,000 words. They do not want short stories, short story collections, novellas, poetry, or novels in other genres.

How to submit: DAW accepts submissions through Submittable.

Please send the entire completed manuscript with a query letter. The manuscript should be double-spaced, with at least 1″ margins. Please number your pages consecutively, and put the title of your novel at the top of each page.

Read guidelines HERE. No longer accepts direct submissions from writers.
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TOR

TOR was founded by publisher Tom Doherty in 1980. It was sold to St. Martin's Press in 1986, making it part of the Holtzbrinck group. Tor has published more award-winning and -nominated science fiction books than any other publisher.

What they are looking for: Science fiction, as well as other genre fiction. Imprints include Starscape: science fiction and fantasy for middle grade readers ages 10 and up (grades 5 and up), published in hardcover and paperback, and Tor Teen, science fiction and fantasy for young adult readers ages 13 and up (grades 8 and up), published in hardcover and paperback. All titles are age- and theme-appropriate. Some editions include reader’s guides and other supplemental materials.

How to submit: TOR.com has an open submissions policy. Every proposal is reviewed by at least one member of the editorial staff.

Please note that these guidelines are intended for writers who do not have agents.

Your submissions packet should include:

Your submissions packet should include:

1. The first three chapters of your book, prepared in standard manuscript format on white paper. (If your chapters are really short or really long, or you don’t use chapter breaks, you may send the first 40-60 pages of your book, provided you stay under 10,000 words.) The submitted text must be made up of consecutive pages and should end at the end of a paragraph, not in mid-sentence.

Standard manuscript format means margins of at least 1 inch all the way around; indented paragraphs; double-spaced text; and Times New Roman in 12 pitch. Please use one side of the page only. Do not justify the text. Do not bind the manuscript in any way. Make sure the header of the ms. includes your name and/or the title of the book as well as the page number (on every page).

2. A synopsis of the entire book. The synopsis should include all important plot elements, especially the end of the story, as well as character development for your main characters. The synopsis should run between three and ten pages in standard manuscript format. The first page of the synopsis and the first page of the text should also include your name and contact information and the title of the manuscript.

3. A dated cover letter that includes your name and contact information and the title of the submitted work. Briefly tell us what genre or subgenre the submission falls into and mention any qualifications you have that pertain to the work. Please list any previous publications in paying markets.

4. A self-addressed, stamped, business-size envelope for our reply letter.  We understand that writers living outside the United States may not be able to supply International Reply Coupons. You may submit regardless; please send a self-addressed, business-size envelope for our reply. We recycle all proposals in accordance with corporate sustainability directives and local laws. If you do not include an SASE, you will not receive a reply.

Please send only one proposal in each submissions packet. If you have written a series, send a proposal for the first book only. If we like what we see, we’ll ask for the rest.

Many people include postcards to be returned when the proposal reaches us. Unfortunately, we don’t open submissions until we’re ready to read them, so it’s probably best to save your money.

Address submissions as follows:

* Science fiction and fantasy: Acquisitions Editor, Science Fiction and Fantasy

* Fiction of all other types including but not limited to general fiction, historical fiction, horror, mystery, paranormal, suspense/thriller, urban fantasy, and women’s fiction: Acquisitions Editor, Fiction

* Children’s and Young Adult: Acquisitions Editor, Children’s and Young Adult Division Note: We publish books for the chapter book, middle grade, and young adult audiences. We do not publish picture books.

If you do not receive a reply after six months, please resubmit. It’s likely that your project or our response disappeared in transit.

Thank you for your interest.

Don’t stop reading! Here are some tips to help the whole process work smoothly:

1. Don’t send a query letter. It’s practically impossible to judge a project from a query. We’d rather see your proposal.

2. Don’t send submissions or inquiries by email or fax. We do not respond to emailed or faxed submissions, queries, or inquiries about the status of submissions.

3. Don’t send disks. We want to read words in black type on white paper. And it’s not that we don’t trust you, but your system might have viruses you don’t know about.

4. Don’t send us the only copy of anything. Things get lost in transit.

5. Don’t send interior or cover art or an author photo. There’s time for that later, if we like your project.

6. Don’t send jewelry, food, toys, 3-dimensional representations of anything, or anything that might be construed as a bribe. Over the years, we’ve seen all of the following and more: handmade bracelets and earrings, anatomical models, home-baked cookies, fine fabrics, fancy bookmarks, cocoanuts, fancy manuscript boxes . . ..None of this has any impact on our consideration of your work. The work has to sink or swim on its own merits.

Thanks! Send submissions to:

Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010

Read guidelines HERE. Submissions temporarily suspended during pandemic.

25% of Top 100 Kindle Books on Amazon from Indie Publishers

Somehow, it does not surprise me that a quarter of the top 100 Kindle books are self-published.

These books consistently underprice the competition from traditional publishers, and are often available for free through Amazon's KDP Select program. Readers are more then willing to take a chance on a book that costs nothing.



And, of course, now that Amazon owns Goodreads, a whole new world of reviews and reader endorsements has opened up.

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Source: The Guardian, Dec 4, 2013

As many as a quarter of the top 100 Kindle books on Amazon.com are from indie publishers, according to data revealed at a trade presentation by the retailer.

A chart detailing the 25 top-selling indie titles in 2012 was passed on by an audience member via Twitter. Though the term indie is broad, covering everything from self-published authors to publishing houses that fall outside the big six, the news has been interpreted as a victory for the go-it-alone author. However in the US the term has come to mean self-published. A spokeswoman for Amazon.com said: "This figure is referring to Kindle books on Amazon.com in 2012, with 'indie' meaning books self-published via Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). So a quarter of the top 100 bestselling Kindle books on Amazon.com in 2012 were self-published via KDP."

Writer.ly , an online marketplace that connects authors with freelance editors, book designers and marketeers, tweeted a picture of the chart on Wednesday. It displayed the top 100 books, with about a quarter of the covers highlighted, under the title "A Quarter of top 100 on Amazon.com Indie-Published".

The figure refers to Amazon's US book market but is a strong indicator of what's ahead for the UK. "If the UK isn't quite there yet then it's just a time lag – we are seeing that more and more of the top books around the world are published by authors themselves," said Orna Ross, director of the UK Alliance of Independent Authors, which represents self-published writers.

"We are in the middle of a major change. I wouldn't be at all surprised if we reached a situation where the majority of the top books are author-published. I don't see what would stop that," Ross said.

Read more HERE.

5 Publishers Accepting Unsolicited Manuscripts from Writers - No Agent Needed

Updated 7/27/24

These publishers accept manuscripts directly from writers. As is the case with most publishers that don't require an agent, they have a narrow focus. But, if your work falls into the categories they publish, you will have a good chance of having your proposal read.

As always, go to the website, look at their other publications to see if yours will be a good fit, and follow all of their submission guidelines carefully. Guidelines can change!

If you are looking for publishers in specialized genres, click on these links.

4 Romance Publishers Looking for Writers - No Agent Needed

17 US Children's Book Publishers Accepting Manuscripts Directly From Writers

21 UK Children's Book Publishers Accepting Manuscripts Directly from Writers

7 Graphic Novel Publishers Accepting Manuscripts Directly From Writers

5 Horror and Dark Fiction Publishers Accepting Unsolicited Manuscripts

22 Cookbook and Nonfiction Publishers Accepting Unagented Manuscripts

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Kensington Publishing Corp.

Kensington Publishing Corp. is an independent, family-owned book publisher founded in 1974 and based in New York City. Known for the diversity of the authors and books it publishes, Kensington releases more than 300 fiction and non-fiction titles each year, providing readers with a range of popular genres such as thrillers, romance, historical fiction, cozy mysteries, and non-fiction, as well as true-crime, western, sci-fi, and speculative fiction titles. The house of New York Times bestselling authors, including Fern Michaels, Lisa Jackson, William W. Johnstone, Joanne Fluke, Mary Monroe, Dr. Jen Gunter, Ellen Marie Wiseman, and many others, its imprints include Kensington Books, Dafina, Zebra, Pinnacle, Kensington Cozies, John Scognamiglio Books, Citadel Press, Lyrical Press, and Erewhon Books.

Read submission guidelines HERE.

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Allworth Press

Allworth Press publishes business and self-help information for the general public and creative professionals.  They share distribution with Skyhorse Publishing, using W. W. Norton in the United States. Allworth Press titles are now distributed in Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, Southern Africa, the Philippines, Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Books from Allworth Press have been translated into many languages, including Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, German, and Japanese. Allworth Press currently has 300 titles in print.

What they are looking for: Graphic Design, Business, Performing Arts, Interior Design, Art, Theater, Web Design, Book Arts, Photography, Crafts.

How to submit: Prospective authors should submit a book proposal that includes a query letter, synopsis (1-2 pages), annotated chapter outline, market analysis, sample chapter (or two), bio, and SASE.

Send all submissions to: submissions[at]skyhorsepublishing[dot]com. If they are interested, they will get back to you within 4-6 weeks

Read full guidelines HERE.

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Chicago Review Press

Academy Chicago Publishers is one of the oldest publishing houses in Chicago. They publish both fiction and nonfiction and have more than two hundred published titles on their list. Academy Chicago publishes about 60 new titles yearly under five imprints: Chicago Review Press, Lawrence Hill Books, Ball Publishing, Zephyr Press, and Academy Chicago. 

What they are looking for: Chicago Review Press publishes general nonfiction on a wide range of subjects including history, popular science, music, film, biography, autobiography, DIY, craft, and travel, as well as an award-winning line of children's activity books and young adult biographies. Lawrence Hill Books publishes nonfiction on topics of African American interest, progressive politics, Middle Eastern studies, and feminism. Ball Publishing specializes in gardening books, and Zephyr Press publishes professional development titles for teachers. Academy Chicago publishes memoirs, mysteries, and other exciting, new, and well-crafted fiction and nonfiction. 

How to submit: For non-fiction send:

• A brief synopsis of your proposed book in 1–2 paragraphs
• The estimated word count of the final manuscript
• The estimated completion date
• Author biography or resume specifying credentials and publication credits, where appropriate
• Approximate sales of previous books published, if any
• A complete table of contents and/or a complete outline of the proposed chapters
• 1–2 sample chapters

For children's activity books, include a few sample activities and list the others

• Any information regarding photographs or artwork for the book
• A description of the target audience and any information about the market
• A list of competing and comparable titles and how your book differs—be sure to tell us what makes your book unique

Please e-mail your proposal to frontdesk@chicagoreviewpress.com

Their turnaround time on reviewing proposals is about 4–6 weeks.

Read full guidelines HERE.

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Chronicle Books

Chronicle Books  "We're always looking for the new and unusual." Chronicle Books publishes 90 titles per year.

What they are looking for: Art and design, art, craft, graphic design, interior design, photography, food and drink, kids and teens, literature, lifestyle, pop culture. Chronicle Books publishes fiction and nonfiction books for children of all ages, as well as board books, decks, activity kits, and other unusual or novelty formats. No adult fiction.

How to submit: They review all proposals. However, they do not personally respond to unsolicited proposals unless they are interested in pursuing the project. Chronicle accepts submissions by mail or e-mail. See guidelines for children's books.

What to Include in Your Proposal:

• They currently accept submissions by email only, which can be sent to submissions@chroniclebooks.com.
• Please attach your proposal to your email as a single Word file or PDF, and keep the file under 5MB or less to ensure delivery. Outside links and downloads may not be opened due to security risks.
• Please allow six months for the editors to review a proposal.

Read full guidelines HERE.

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Arsenal Pulp Press

Arsenal Pulp Press is a book publisher in Vancouver, Canada with over 400 titles currently in print, which include literary fiction and nonfiction; books on social issues; gender studies; LGBTQ and diverse literature; graphic novels and non-fiction; cookbooks; alternative crafts; youth culture and young adult literature; visual arts; and books in translation. "We are interested in literature that engages and challenges readers, and which asks probing questions about the world around us." Read submission guidelines HERE.