Publishing Contracts You Shouldn't Sign

When writers finally get that long-awaited offer of publication, their first reaction is jubilation, rapidly followed by "Yes, yes, a thousand time YES!!!" But with contracts, as with marriage proposals, it's better to step back before making a commitment, because divorces are long, messy, emotionally draining affairs. 

Here are a few of the red flags - taken from real contracts I haven't signed - that should serve as indications that your work deserves to be in better hands. 

Rights in Perpetuity

Granting rights "in perpetuity" has become increasingly common in the age of the Internet. The idea is that once your work is published online, it is there "forever." This is patently false. Anything that is published online can be removed. But once you have relinquished all your future rights, you have effectively given away your copyright. 

Most standard book contracts ask for limited rights, either extending until the book goes out of print, or until the author asks to have the rights returned. But some literary journals follow the egregious practice of asking for rights in perpetuity. 

Here is an example of a contract clause to avoid:

"The Author grants the Publisher ... perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide rights to copyedit, publish, translate and distribute in all electronic and print formats ... in all languages throughout the world."

(I've left out the long list of every format, but suffice it to say that with this initial clause, the Author has forfeited all rights.)

It gets worse.

On page two of the contract, Article 5 stipulates that "If the Publisher changes its legal form, is acquired by another entity, or otherwise changes ownership, all rights and responsibilities granted in this Agreement will be transferred to the succeeding entity."

Not only does the publisher retain all rights, but any succeeding publisher does as well.

When I received this contract from Six Hens Publishing (a contract that was actually longer than the CNF piece I sent them),  I immediately contacted the editors and explained why I could not sign. "But a lawyer drew it up!" they protested. That was precisely the problem. A lawyer's job is to obtain the best possible terms for the client, not to further the lofty aims of literary achievement.

So, how should a contract for short work be worded? 

One sentence: "All rights revert to the author upon publication." Sometimes a literary journal will request a short period of exclusivity. That's perfectly reasonable. It is also reasonable, and courteous, to mention the first publisher when you submit your work as a reprint elsewhere. Paying journals should also state how much they are paying you, and when. But if the contract is longer than a paragraph, run away.

Requiring authors to do their own marketing

Small book publishers will sometimes require that the author market their own book. While authors are certainly encouraged to promote their work, this should be in addition to everything a publisher does. After all, the reason writers sign with a publisher is precisely because they have marketing and publicity channels unavailable to writers. 

You won't normally find marketing specifics in the contract you receive. And chances are you will feel so overwhelmed by the sheer length of your contract, it won't occur to you to ask what they do for marketing.

You need to ask.

The contract that TouchPoint Press sent me for my YA fantasy, ROWENNA, was fairly standard for the industry. It specified advance (none, in this case) royalty rates, right of first refusal, and many of the other clauses included in contracts from larger publishers. (My contract with Random House was 17 pages long.) I didn't sign it immediately, because I had questions. Specifically, I wanted to know what they would do for marketing. This is what I asked:

1) The contract mentions Ingram. What other 3rd party distributors does TouchPoint use?

2) I am pleased to see that there is a clause mentioning libraries. Does Touchpoint distribute titles through Overdrive? Are reviews solicited from the major publications received by librarians (Library Journal, Booklist, etc)?

3) To which trade/industry publications does TouchPoint send requests for reviews?

4) In addition to these, does TouchPoint submit a marketing plan to authors? If so, what does a typical marketing plan include?

5) What is TouchPoint's usual advertising budget for marketing/promotion?

Their reply was cut and pasted into my original email (which I considered unprofessional), and while it contained some details, it was essentially generic. But the real clincher was that the books they had published were only getting two or three ratings on Amazon, and no industry reviews at all. If their marketing department had been up to snuff, there would have been far more ratings on Amazon, and certainly reviews.

Charging writers

Vanity presses are businesses that charge people for printing their books. They are completely upfront about what they charge (which can be a lot), because, typically, their customers only want to give a few books to family members and friends. There is no oversight, so what you submit is what they print.

Hybrid presses, on the other hand, portray themselves as a "partnership" between publisher and author. However, in the end they are actually not much better than vanity presses. They charge exhorbitant fees for each publishing function (cover design, editing, printing, etc.) while offering very little of what an author actually needs from a publisher. Though hybrid publishers like to present themselves as selective, in reality they are a form of self-publishing. But instead of keeping 100% of the royalties, authors only get to keep half. 

A contract that charges a writer for anything is not a publishing contract. It is a printing arrangement minus the pedigree conferred by a publishing house. 

Recommendations

Always read contracts carefully. Book contracts are almost invariably drawn up by lawyers, which means they are long and complicated. Writers need help to understand them. So, if you haven't joined Authors Guild yet, go ahead and join before you start sending queries to publishers. Authors Guild offers invaluable legal assistance with contracts of all types. (Even if you have an agent, it's worth your while to join Authors Guild. It's always good to get a second opinion,)

Contracts can (and should) be negotiated. In most cases, royalty rates are carved in stone, but if you don't like how a clause is worded, or you would like more author copies, you can make a request for changes. Remember: You are the source of income for publishers. Publishers merely handle what you produce.

Do your homework. Look up books the publisher has published. Do they have reviews? Are the covers professional, or do they look cobbled together from open source images? How many books have they published? Are they all written by staff members? Look "inside" a few of them on Amazon. Do you spot any editing errors? A small publisher is not necessarily a bad publisher, but be aware that their resources may be limited.

Last, but not least, Google them. Have other writers posted good or bad experiences with the publisher?

Forewarned is forearmed. 

Further reading

Publishing Contracts: What Are Some Red Flags?

When Your Publishing Contract Flies a Red Flag: Clauses to Watch Out For

Red Flags That Authors Should Be Aware of With Contracts

A Publishing Contract Should Not Be Forever

IMHO: A Nuanced Look at Hybrid Publishers

Substack for Fiction Writers

Subscription services for writers have had a spotty history. For one thing, these services have previously been based on borrows, rather than sales, and authors tend to focus on sales. As a consequence, there aren't many subscription services that have stood the test of time. Oyster collapsed after a scant two years, leaving Scribd and Kindle Unlimited to hold down the fort, at least for book borrows.

Substack, takes a different approach. Readers can subscribe to anything the writer produces: short stories, essays, commentary, serialized novels, how-tos, you name it. Authors have the option of charging a fee or not charging anything at all. 

Why bother with yet another publishing platform? There are already so many of them.

Substack has a Similarweb ranking of 283 globally and 123 nationally (USA). That means it's among the top 300 websites in the world, as far as traffic is concerned. (A few digits under 300 may not seem significant, but consider the fact that the New Yorker ranks around 5000 globally.)

One of the reasons for its impressive amount of traffic has been Substack's ability to attract big names. Salman Rushdie is one of them. Substack contacted Rushdie through his agent and invited him to publish on their platform. Surprisingly, he accepted. Someone of Rushdie's stature has absolutely no need of another platform, but his reasoning was that he wanted to reach readers with "something new." 

The reason most writers give for signing up with Substack is artistic freedom. They can write whatever they please without a publisher monitoring their output. Salman Rushdie says it gives him a more "complex relationship with readers." That "complexity" is that it gives writers who have already signed up with a publisher an additional source of readers, and of revenue. Another is that writers can publish views that would otherwise be discouraged.

But is Substack really any better than a traditional publisher? Some authors have answered that question with a resounding yes. A former Forbes media and entertainment writer, Zack O’Malley Greenburg, received an advance from Substack comparable to what a major publisher would offer, and on top of that, he is charging for his weekly newsletters. Comic book writers, among them James Tynion IV, are also turning down lucrative deals with Marvel and DC in favor of Substack. Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club, turned down Hachette to sign a deal with Substack for his forthcoming novel, Greener Pastures. He plans on distributing it through weekly newsletters over a span of 52 weeks. 

Serializing novels is nothing new. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas was originally published in serial form in 1844. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, and Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea were also serialized. But while Substack is willing to offer famous authors a substantial advance, an unknown author would probably have no greater chances of a sale than trying to get the attention of a traditional publisher. Substack's only appeal to unknown authors it that, like self-publishing, it allows an author to simply put a book out there, come what may.

I have not seen any statistics on how Substack compares to self-publishing platforms, but my guess is that there probably isn't much difference in sales. Like Medium, Substack provides a certain amount of searchability by topic, but an awful lot of promotional work would be required if you are just starting out. 

That being said, Substack offers of couple of features that make it appealing to writers, one of which is that you can import your existing blog, or create a new one. You can also send newsletters via Substack. And if you already have a newsletter, you can import your subscriber list. 

The monthly fee for newsletters can vary anywhere from free to $2 a month to a yearly fee of $200. The writer sets the fee. While writers don't have to pay to sign up, Substack charges 10% of the subscriber fee. An additional 2.9% of your billing rate, plus 30 cents per transaction will be taken out by Stripe, the service Substack uses for billing. Like many self-publishing platforms, Substack offers editing, proofreading, art and design, and legal services as part of their packages.

In addition to subscriptions, Substack also runs a monthly short story competition. Their mission is to "revive the art of the short story, support artists, and produce something wonderful." The prize is $100 for the chosen story plus 50% of subscription revenue to be sent by Paypal, Zelle, or check. Submit stories by the end of the month. (Only one story receives the full payout.) Their preferred length is 6000 - 10,000 words. Reprints are ok so long as you still have the rights to distribute. Read more about the competition HERE.

Find out more about Substack:

Substack

Serialized Books Are a Burgeoning Business at Substack

Using Substack as Your Blog

The one where writing books is not really a good idea

Chuck Palahniuk to Serialize a Novel on Substack

Authors Choosing Paid Substack Serials Over Full Books Worries Me as a Reader

How Much Money Can You Really Make on Substack?

Substack Review: Can This Platform Help You Get Paid to Write Newsletters?

Why authors are turning down lucrative deals in favour of Substack

The Rise Of Substack—And What’s Behind It

The End of Trade Publishing As We Know It?

Publishing has gone through a great many upheavals over the past few decades. There has been an increasing consolidation of publishing houses into the Big 4, which used to be the Big 5, and before that Big 7, etc. And with Random House's merger with Penguin, there was speculation that soon there would only be the Big 1. But mergers and monopolies aren't the only trend on the horizon. The increasing acquisition of publishing houses by private equity firms is another disturbing development.

In an article posted in Publishers Weekly, Gary Gentel bemoans the demise of Houghton Mifflin. Gentel, who was president of the HMH trade division from 2007 to 2016, traces the trajectory of the purchase of Houghton Mifflin by Riverdeep Holdings, which then purchased Harcourt Education and created Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, which in turn led to the eventual cash purchase of Scholastic’s EdTech business by HMH, which created HMH Books and Media (Trade), which was then sold again. HMH, which doesn't really exist anymore as a publishing house, is now focused entirely on digital sales to grades K - 12.

So, why is this a problem? After all, mergers and acquisitions are not a new phenomenon. The problem, as many people in the publishing industry see it, is that publishing companies are increasingly being bought and sold ("flipped") by private equity firms, which are merely leveraging capital. Unlike publicly owned companies, private equity firms require a certain amount of money for entry, anywhere from $250 thousand to several million. These firms have absolutely no interest in publishing. As they buy publishers, including magazines and journals, they are simply stripping them down, selling them off, and drawing as much cash out of them as possible. And in the process they are destroying what publishing is, or rather what is once was, and should still be, which is a forum for ideas.

When the intellectual clarity of historians and philosophers, the creative imagination of novelists, the insights of poets and memoirists are no longer of interest to publishers, these things cease to be readily available to the general public. Unlike the production of shoes or cars, books are not mere physical objects: Books are ideas. Once publishers cease to have interest in what books contain, the ideas perish, because like everything else in the ephemeral world of the mind, ideas must be shared.

Related articles: Platinum Equity to buy McGraw Hill from Apollo for $4.5 billion

‘Valuations had shifted’: What a private equity acquisition means for legacy media

Bonnier Corp to Sell Its Biggest U.S. Magazines to Venture Equity Group

Hachette Book Group Will Acquire Workman Publishing for $240 Million

Image by Christine Engelhardt from Pixabay

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Saluting HMH, a Storied Trade Publisher by Gary Gentel, June 18, 2021

I came to the trade division at Houghton Mifflin in fall 2003 as senior v-p of trade sales, at the tail end of the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. The French conglomerate Vivendi had purchased Houghton a few years earlier, taken it private, and had sold it to a consortium of bankers and investors at a huge loss. Vivendi was the first, but it wouldn’t be the last disastrous foreign investor in what had historically been the highly profitable U.S. education business. Meanwhile, the trade division was coming off an outstanding three-year run thanks to Tolkien—perhaps the best in its long and storied history.

The longevity of HM (founded in 1832) isn’t unique among publishing houses, but it was certainly a source of pride inside the division and within the larger corporation. There was a deep respect for the history, close attention to the present, and a vision for the future. In other words, it was a company that knew what it was about: educating and entertaining children and adults. But dark clouds were forming on the horizon.

Read the rest of this article HERE.

Book Fairs: Are They Worth It for Self-Published Authors?

Frankfurt Book Fair

Updated 619/25

Large international book fairs, such as Frankfurt and Bologna, are where industry professionals meet to buy and sell rights, arrange for subsidiary rights, such as film and games, and scope out what's hot in the literary market.

Can self-published authors set up a table at international book fairs? Technically, no. But in 2013, Tina Seskis formed a shell publishing company (hers was the only published book on the list), and exhibited at Frankfurt. She ended up nabbing a $500,000 deal with HarperCollins.

In general, setting up a shell company is frowned upon, and venues are tightening up their restrictions. But you can still exhibit if you have self-published. Combined Book Exhibit offers self-publishers the opportunity to showcase their books (print or ebook) and/or advertise it for a few hundred, rather than a few thousand dollars. There is an annual membership fee of $150.

The question is: Should self-publishers invest a few hundred dollars? Showing your book at a book fair can be an advantage, provided you (the author) intend to make an appearance and know how to make a sale. Tina Seskis actually attended the Frankfurt Book Fair and set up a booth, so she was able to negotiate a deal. If you aren't there to represent yourself, and your book is merely displayed, it won't attract anyone's attention.

The other thing to consider is whether your book already has a track record. Most publishers are reluctant to make a deal with an author who has no fans, and whose books have not garnered significant sales. (Selling over 10,000 books in the first year is considered significant.)

The bottom line for first-time self-publishers is not to waste your money on an international book fair. However, if you happen to live near one of these events, it is worth attending as a member of the public, if only to get a taste of what is available to publishers.

While international book fairs may not be the best option for self-published authors, local and regional book fairs are another matter entirely. These present many opportunities for local authors to read, sell and sign books, and lead workshops. Local fairs are an excellent means of building a fan base, as well as making contact with other authors. If you would like to exhibit, costs are much lower than for international fairs, and the logistics are easier to manage. You can find out if there is a fair in your region by contacting your local chamber of commerce, or by googling "book fair" and your city.

Recommended reading

Read Jane Friedman's article on BEA before investing your time and money: Authors: Think Twice Before Paying to Exhibit at Book Expo (BEA)

Indie Author Fringe advises against international book fairs: Authors, Don’t Waste your Money: Book Fair Bewares: David Gaughran

Debbie Young points out that even if you don't exhibit your book, fairs are a good opportunity for meeting people in the industry, attending talks, and learning about publishing: Publishing Conferences & Book Fairs – What’s In Them for Self-published Authors?

For a complete list of all international fairs (there are over a hundred) see: 2 Seas International Book Fair Calendar

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International Book Fairs

New Delhi World Book Fair

New Delhi, India

The New Delhi World Book Fair is India's second oldest book fair after the Kolkata Book Fair. India is the third biggest market for English publications with almost 12,000 publishers that publish around 90,000 titles a year in more than 18 languages. Visitors come from India as well as the USA, Bangladesh, France, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Canada, Malaysia, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Germany.

Bologna Children's Book Fair

Bologna, Italy

The Bologna Children's Book Fair is the world's leading event for children's book authors and publishers. This is where all industry professionals involved with creating and publishing children's books buy and sell rights for books, translations, and for derived products like movies or animated series. Major awards are also given at the fair, the Bologna Ragazzi Awards, in four categories: Fiction, Non-fiction, New Horizons (for the non-Western world) and Opera Prima (for first works).

London Book Fair

Olympia, London, UK

The London Book Fair is the second largest international book fair, after Frankfurt. Over 1700 exhibitors participate in The London Book Fair, representing a wide range of interests and markets within the publishing industry.

American Library Association Annual Conference
New Orleans, LA

The American Library Association (ALA) is the oldest and largest library association in the world with more than 62,000 members. The ALA annual conference is one of the largest professional conferences in existence, typically drawing over 25,000 attendees.

Beijing International Book Fair

Beijing, China

The Chinese market is one of the largest and fastest growing in the world. With over 2 billion people, education is a high priority for the government. Every Chinese child is required to learn English when they enter school which puts English language content in high demand. The Beijing Book Fair is attended by over 30,000 people each year. In attendance are publishers, distributors, literary agents, consumers, digital media companies, film and production companies and bookstores.

Frankfurt Book Fair

Frankfurt am Main, Germany

The Frankfurt Book Fair is the world's largest trade fair for books. With 7,000 exhibitors from over 100 countries representing book publishing, multimedia and technology companies, it is considered the most important book fair for international deals and trading.  Publishers, agents, booksellers, librarians, academics, illustrators, service providers, film producers, translators, professional and trade associations, institutions, artists, authors, antiquarians, software and multimedia suppliers all participate in the events.

Tickets for individuals range from 19 Euros for one day to 30 euros for two days. Exhibition space costs 372 - 450 euros per square meter. Custom-designed stands can be over 40 square meters. There are additional charges to set up early. In addition there are lighting fees, furniture rentals, surcharges, which bring costs up to the thousands.

Major Book Fairs in the US

Brooklyn Book Festival

The Brooklyn Book Festival is the largest free literary event in New York City, presenting an array of national and international literary stars and emerging authors. One of America’s premier book festivals, this diverse gathering attracts thousands of book lovers of all ages to enjoy authors and the festival’s lively literary marketplace. If you live in New York, the publishing hub of the US, plan on attending this event.

National Book Festival

This yearly festival is held in Washington, DC and is sponsored by the Library of Congress. Tens of thousands of visitors from all over the country attend. The Library live-streamed the entire Main Stage event on its Facebook page, where it was watched by thousands of viewers. The Festival is free and open to the public.

The Miami Book Fair International

The Miami Book Fair International describes itself as an "eight-day literary party." The highlight of the event is the Festival of Authors, with more than 450 authors reading and discussing their work, including the Latin American and Spanish authors who participate in the IberoAmerican Authors Program. More than 250 publishers and booksellers exhibit and sell books, with special features like the antiquarians, who showcase signed first editions, original manuscripts and other collectibles. There are programs for children, workshops, presentations, and every kind of literary event you can think of.

Baltimore Book Festival

The Baltimore Book Festival is sponsored by the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts (BOPA) is a non-profit organization that serves as Baltimore City’s official arts council, events agency and film office. 

Virginia Festival of the Book

The Virginia Festival of the Book is the largest community-based book event in the Mid-Atlantic region and has attracted audiences of more than 20,000 for each of the past thirteen years. Authors have ranged from international bestsellers to debut authors. Past participants include Rick Atkinson, Edward Ayers, David Baldacci, Maureen Corrigan, Edwidge Danticat, Kate DiCamillo, Rita Dove, Alan Furst, John Grisham, Jan Karon, Jim Lehrer, Frances Mayes, Colum McCann, David McCullough, Alice McDermott, Yewande Omotoso, Katherine Paterson, Jon Scieszka, Lisa Scottoline, Pete Seeger, Karin Slaughter, Alexander McCall Smith, Lee Smith, Bryan Stevenson, Joseph Stiglitz, Elizabeth Strout, Judith Viorst, and Charles Wright. The headliner for the 2018 Festival is Khizr Khan, author of An American Family and This Is Our Constitution.

Texas Book Festival

The Texas Book Festival features 250 nationally and critically recognized authors, more than 20 venues including the State Capitol, 80 exhibitors, live music, local food trucks, family activities, and  opportunities to meet authors. Founded in 1995 by First Lady Laura Bush, the Festival has hosted thousands of notable and award-winning authors over the years, including Margaret Atwood, Robert Caro, Sandra Cisneros, Salman Rushdie, Cheryl Strayed, Walter Mosley, Molly Shannon, Frank McCourt, Ziggy Marley, Liz Carpenter, Doris Kearns Goodwin, and many others.

Los Angeles Times Festival of Books

The LA Times Festival is held every year on the University of Southern California campus. Over 150,000 people typically attend the Festival, which features writers, poets, artists, filmmakers and musicians. Past participants have included Margaret Atwood, T.C. Boyle, Bryan Cranston, Cory Doctorow, and more writers and performers than I can count. Don't miss this event if you live in LA.

Louisiana Book Festival

This one-day annual festival held in Baton Rouge attracts tens of thousands of visitors. The event is sponsored by the State Library of Louisiana, the Louisiana Center for the Book, the Louisiana Library Foundation and local businesses.The festival features author signings and readings, workshops, exhibits, food, activities for children, and (of course) live music.

Chicago Tribune Printer's Row Lit Fest

The Printers Row Lit Fest was founded in 1985 by the Near South Planning Board to attract visitors to the Printers Row neighborhood (once the city's bookmaking hub). By 2002, it had grown to five city blocks (South Dearborn Street from Harrison to Polk, Harold Washington Library Center and Jones College Prep High School), attracting more than 100 booksellers from across the country displaying new, used and antiquarian books and featuring more than 200 authors participating in panels, discussions and a variety of other programs. It is now the largest literary festival in the Mid-West.

Jewish Book Festivals

There are more Jewish book festivals than I can name. You can find a list of them HERE. (If you type "Jewish Book Festivals" into a Google search, you will find dozens more.) Jewish culture places a high value on literacy and on literature. If you are a Jewish author, these are great events to participate in. 

Calls for Submissions: Speculative Fiction and Fantasy

Reading periods will soon be closing for several speculative fiction and fantasy publications.

All of these magazines are open to submissions right now.

(Don't worry, if you miss the deadline, there will other opportunties to submit. See their submission guidelines for future reading periods.)


Note: These are all paying markets.

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Midnight Breakfast 

Deadline: November 30. 

 "We’re open to loose genre, though we tend to skew more towards literary and speculative fiction. We also love a good, well-written humor piece. What we’re not looking for: fan-fiction, erotica, or anything that requires excessive world-building (as much as we love Game of Thrones in these parts, that kind of work isn’t for us)."

Payment: $50 per accepted work. Read submission guidelines here.

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Lakeside Circus 

Deadline: November 30 (?) 

"We want speculative fiction, particularly science fiction (hard, soft, near-future, etc), urban fantasy, magic realism, mad science, and apocalypse tales. Whether prose or poetry, we’re looking for the same kind of almost-weird fiction we publish in our anthologies. We like fiction with layers of meaning; stories that are odd or different without being too strange to understand. We enjoy interstitial, genre-bending, and “literary SF/F” writing. Your work has to encapsulate a complete moment; more than a vignette, each submission must have a beginning, middle, and end. Something has to change along the way, but parts of the story can happen off stage. As always, we want beautiful, dark, unusual, and meaningful." 

Payment: 2 cents per word (fiction or non-fiction), with a minimum of $10 US, payable on publication. In addition, Authors will receive a one-year digital subscription to the magazine. Read submission guidelines here.

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Crossed Genres 

Deadline: November 30.  

"It’s the mission of Crossed Genres Publications to give a voice to people often ignored or marginalized in SFF, which has led us to publish titles focused on older women, overweight women, immigration, skilled laborers, QUILTBAG families, and people marginalized throughout history." Crossed Genres Magazine is an official SFWA Qualifying Market. 

Payment: 6¢ per word for fiction. Authors will also receive a gratis print and ebook copy of the anthology in which their story appears. Read submission guidelines here.

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Betwixt 

Deadline: November 30. 

"Betwixt publishes speculative fiction of all sorts—fantasy, science fiction, speculative horror, slipstream, weird fiction, steam/diesel/cyber/etc.punk, you name it. We particularly like stories that smash genre boundaries to smithereens, but we also love fresh takes on established genres and in-depth explorations of ultraspecific niches. Experiments in form and style are welcomed enthusiastically—but a straightforward narrative with tight, crisp language is just as beautiful." 

Payment: $0.03 per word up to $225, payable upon receipt of completed contract and author questionnaire. Read submission guidelines here.

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Urban Fantasy

Deadline: November 30. 

"Urban Fantasy Magazine is a professional fantasy magazine publishing fiction, articles, and reviews.We are looking for urban fantasy fiction of up to 4000 words (we may accept longer stories, but only the first 4000 words are paid). We like to read stories set in the world where we all live, albeit with fantastical elements. We’d like for our readers to imagine that our stories are taking place in the city next door. We do accept stories about vampires, werewolves, and zombies, but keep in mind that you’ll be facing strong competition from other writers, including established writers whom we solicit directly." 

Payment: 6 cents a word. Read submission guidelines here.

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Shock Totem 

Deadline: November 30. 

Shock Totem Publications (commonly referred to simply as Shock Totem) is an American small-press publisher specializing in dark fantasy and horror. Shock Totem’s main goal is to promote and support new and established authors by focusing primarily on fiction, but also through editorials, essays and interviews. "We’re not interested in hard science fiction, epic fantasy (swords and sorcery), splatterporn (blood and guts and little more), or clichéd plots." 

Payment: 5 cents per word for original, unpublished fiction; 2 cents per word for reprints. There is a $250 cap on all accepted stories. Read submission guidelines here.

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Sci-Fi Romance Quarterly

Deadline December 1.  

The Sci-Fi Romance Quarterly is an online magazine devoted to science fiction romance. Each issue includes news, reviews, opinion columns, and an original, exclusive short story. 

Payment: 2 cents/word (US) paid upon publication, promotional biography with two links, and a complimentary quarter-page advertisement. Read submission guidelines here.

Are the Horror Stories About Traditional Publishing True?

In 2014, Dana Weinberg conducted a survey analysis of author satisfaction. This survey was followed a year later by another one conducted by Jane Friedman.

These surveys compared how happy authors were with royalties, editorial help, copies sold, and so on across three publishing platforms: traditional, self-published and hybrid (a combination of the two).

Are the horror stories about traditional publishers true? The conclusion was a resounding "meh." Self-publishing outperformed traditional publishing, but by only a small margin.

I have a few observations to make about this survey. The first is that people are more reluctant to give negative answers on surveys than positive ones, so every survey is slanted towards positive or neutral responses.

The second thing is that while authors may be somewhat satisfied with the pedigree offered by a large publisher, the majority of books that are traditionally published don't make back their advances.

What this means is that publishers don't put a lot of time or energy into promoting books by authors who aren't already celebrities. The reason they don't bother is that they would rather invest their resources in promoting cash cows. With hundreds of authors, and thousands of titles on their lists, this makes sense for large houses.

The third thing that comes to mind is that some of these horror stories are actually the norm. Authors who are "cursed with ugly covers ... receive very little assistance or support in the way of marketing and promotion, or learned that their publishers had little investment in their careers as writers and/or no interest in their future books" is not an exception - this is standard practice in the publishing world.

Just to give you some perspective, here are a couple of true horror stories:

An author signs a contract with a major publisher, only to have is scrapped when the house goes through an organizational shake-up. The author can't find another publisher. (That happened to a friend of mine.)

An author submits a manuscript, and the editor wants the author to take out any word longer than two syllables, shift the POV, change the title, and delete half the chapters. (That happened to me.) 

While traditional publishing is not all it's cracked up to be, believing that self-publishing is the road to the Land of Milk and Honey is ingenuous.

Those who find themselves dissatisfied with traditional publishing and turn to self-publishing have to ask themselves some hard questions. Will I spend several hours a day marketing and promoting my work? Will I research the market to find out how I can reach my audience, or am I assuming that simply "putting it out there" is enough? Do I expect instant fame and fortune?

No  matter how you publish - whether you take the traditional route, or do it yourself - great expectations must be matched by a great amount of work. There is no substitute.

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How Common Are Traditional Publishing Horror Stories?—Author Survey Results

By Dana Beth Weinberg, Digital Book World

I have heard numerous horror stories on the fiction front from authors who sold their books to publishers only to find they had lost control of content, were cursed with ugly covers that doomed any hope of sales, received very little assistance or support in the way of marketing and promotion, or learned that their publishers had little investment in their careers as writers and/or no interest in their future books. Such horror stories often seem pervasive, and they easily become rallying cries for self-publishing and the greater control it provides authors. Are these tales of dissatisfaction with traditional publishing notable exceptions, or are they the norm?

The traditional-publishing victims I’ve encountered typically report that they had been thrilled to receive their contracts and had accepted neglect or poor treatment or disadvantageous terms because they felt they had no choice. Indeed, before self-publishing became a viable option, few of them did. Worse, such experiences could harken the death spiral for an author’s career: no investment from the publisher could lead to sluggish sales which in turn could lead to poor chances of selling a subsequent title either to publishers or bookstores. Authors would be forced to abandon series or throw away their brands and try to reinvent themselves.

Cautionary tales capture our attention, and they tend to get repeated and even embellished. In other posts, I reported survey results showing a preference for traditional publishing among authors. I also found that authors had expectations for several advantages of traditional publishing relative to self-publishing. With so many authors positively disposed toward traditional publishing, perhaps these horror stories are very visible and heartbreaking exceptions, a disappointing conclusion to the struggle to break into the traditionally published ranks.

What Do Authors Want?

Not too long ago, Digital Book World and Writer’s Digest conducted an enlightening survey of 5,000 authors - "What Authors Want: A Survey of Authors to Understand Their Priorities in the Self-Publishing Era."

The survey was prompted by the enormous jump in revenues from self-published books. The migration of authors to epublishing, and of the book-reading public, which took advantage of the accessibility of low-priced self-published ebooks, took a huge bite out of the traditional publishing market, leaving, as the report put it, "publishers ... scrambling to explain to authors, agents and the rest of the world how they add value to the publishing process."

Explanations demand research. The input of 5,000 writers provided information useful to the publishing industry (which, for some reason, does not already understand what writers want). More to the point, it provided useful information to writers - especially aspiring authors, who, hopefully will one day join the ranks of the published.

Four types of authors

Of the 5,000 authors who participated in the survey, 90% wrote fiction. The writers had completed an average of roughly six manuscripts, and were currently working on their next book, which means they took their work seriously on the whole.

The survey identified four types of authors:

1. aspiring authors, who have not yet published 
2. traditionally published authors, who have only published their books with traditional publishers 
3. self-published authors, who have only self-published
4. hybrid authors, who have both traditionally published and self-published their work.

Of the four groups, published authors had completed an average of roughly nine manuscripts, while aspiring authors had completed only two. Not surprisingly, published authors also garnered the greatest income.

Priorities: Why do writers publish their work?

What was most interesting about this survey was the way the priorities, and subsequent behavior, of these four groups sorted out.

Dana Beth Weinberg, in her analysis of self-publishing, wrote that "emotions run high when writers and publishers debate the merits of self-publishing." Although many writers like to believe that the debate centers around income (traditional publishing houses are notorious for the tiny percentages they allot to writers), or perhaps artistic control, a brief look at the survey results gives a different picture.

The principal motivation behind an aspiring author's desire for publication is not money, or fame - it is personal satisfaction. They wish to publish their writing to fulfill a lifelong ambition ("living the dream"). Self-published writers don't differ much from aspiring authors, but they have a greater drive to share a personal experience.

Hybrid authors have the most interest in making money. This is not a surprise; those who self-publish and have the backing of a publishing house can reap the benefit of higher royalties from self-published ebooks, as well as enjoying the wide print distribution offered by a publisher. Those who take the traditional route are primarily interested in building their careers. For these writers, having a pedigree is more important than raking in big bucks.

Priorities determine behavior

Because each group of writers has a unique set of priorities, they approach the business of writing using entirely different strategies. For example, if a writer's desire is to build a career, it will be crucial to build a platform - to become known. (Of course, this is the area agents and publishers are most concerned about. If you are well known, marketing and promotion are that much easier.)

Aspiring writers spend relatively little time on building a platform, in part because they have no idea what the publishing world is really like, but in part because their motivation for writing is strictly personal. Aspiring writers are, in that regard, similar to aspiring mothers. Women looking forward to having their first baby seldom envision life with a teenager.

Here are some key ways in which the groups differed:

1) Published authors are far ahead of aspiring writers when it comes to social media and self-promotion:

• 54% of published authors post writing-related Tweets on Twitter versus
• 30% for aspiring authors
• 66% of published authors have an author or book page on Facebook versus 18% for aspiring authors
• 52% of published authors maintain an author presence on Goodreads versus 10% for aspiring authors
• 24% pin writing-related items on Pinterest versus 14% for aspiring authors
• 59% of published authors write a blog relating to either their books or writing versus 37% for aspiring authors.

2) Their increased efforts have led to increased results in terms of platform building:

• Published authors have, on average, 1,271 more Twitter followers
• Published authors have, on average, 715 more “likes” on their Facebook fan pages
• Published authors have, on average, 277 more friends on Facebook
• Published authors have, on average 176 more followers of their boards on Pinterest
• Published authors get, on average, 2,012 more visits per month on their blogs

Attitudes and platitudes

The report not only revealed a striking, if expected difference, in the priorities and behavior of published versus aspiring authors. It also showed some important differences in attitude.

According to the report,

"While self-published authors seem to be fairly invested and in favor of the institution of self-publishing and traditionally published authors seem to be slightly more wary of self publishing and invested in and in favor of the world of traditional publishing, hybrid authors-those who have done both self- and traditional publishing-are mostly in favor of self-publishing and critical of traditional publishers, even more so than the self-publishing group."

The reasons for the critical attitude of those authors who had opted for both routes - traditional and self- publication can be chalked up to experience. The vast majority of writers who publish their work through traditional publishing houses receive very little compensation for their work. Their royalties seldom exceed their advances, and publishers - as a rule - spend very little time and energy promoting works by authors who are not already famous. In short, they get a raw deal. And if they wish to devote themselves to a career as writers, they have no choice but go hybrid.

The writers of this report consider the critical attitude of hybrid authors towards the publishing industry to be "unreasonably" bitter, perhaps due to "some slight they experienced at the hand of a publisher." This has more than a grain of truth to it, not because authors are unreasonable in their quest for recognition, and perhaps even reimbursement for their efforts, but because publishing houses treat authors - at least the non-famous ones - the same way dairy farmers treat their cows. 

The good news, according to this report is that "aspiring writers still believe in publishers' ability to help them. It’s not too late for publishers to improve their services to authors to attract and retain the next generation of best-selling authors."

The question is, will those aspiring writers turn into embittered authors once they get published? My guess is that they will. While it's not too late for publishers to treat authors with a modicum of respect, it's also not very likely.

Copyrights Generate More Than $1 Trillion

The International Intellectual Property Alliance released a report in November analyzing the contribution of intellectual copyrights to the U.S. economy. Last year copyrights for music, games, books, newspapers, videos, software and other creative products generated more than $1 trillion. Foreign sales of creative products were more than double those of pharmaceuticals or agriculture.

What does this mean? In part, the rapid growth of copyrighted material is a reflection of the Information Age. But, it also indicates the value people place, not just on knowledge, but on entertainment. A large chunk of the copyright industry relies on the sale and distribution of copyright-protected movies, games, music, and radio and television programming.

Those of us who write books are in there somewhere.

The report’s key findings:

• Copyright Industries Contribute Significantly to US Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

In 2012, the value added by the core copyright industries to US GDP exceeded $1 trillion for the first time, accounting for nearly 6.5% of the US economy

The value added by the total copyright industries to GDP exceeded $1.7 trillion, accounting for 11.25% of the US economy. (Total copyright industries include those which are "partial copyright," "non-dedicated support" and "interdependent industries.")

• Copyright Industries Employ Millions of Workers in Good Paying Jobs

The core copyright industries employed nearly 5.4 million workers in 2012, accounting for 4% of the entire US workforce, and 4.8% of total private employment in the US

The annual 2012 compensation paid to core copyright workers - $85,644 - far exceeds the average annual compensation paid to all US workers ($64,594), amounting to a 33% "compensation premium" over the average US annual wage

The total copyright industries employed more than 11.1 million workers in 2012, accounting for 8.35% of all US employment, or 10% (9.99%) of all private employment nationally. The average annual compensation paid to employees of the total copyright industries in 2012, $75,926, exceeds the US average annual wage by 18%

• Copyright Industries' Real Growth Rates Outpace the Rest of the US Economy

During the period 2009-2012, the core copyright industries grew at an aggregate annual rate of 4.7%, more than twice as much as the entire US economy. The average annual growth rate of the entire US economy over the same period was only 2.1%

During the same period, the total copyright industries grew at an annual rate of 4.99%

• Copyright Industries Contribute Significantly to Foreign Sales and Exports, Outperforming Many Major US Industry Sectors

Sales of select US copyright sectors in overseas markets amounted to $142 billion in 2012, a significant increase over previous years

As a comparison, the foreign sales of select copyright industry sectors exceed foreign sales of other major US industries including aerospace exports ($106 billion), US agricultural exports ($70.1 billion), food ($64.7 billion) and pharmaceuticals and medicines ($50.9 billion).

Read the full article HERE.

3 Publishers That Accept Manuscripts Directly from Authors

Updated 12/8/22

Small publishers are more apt to accept manuscripts directly from writers than large publishing houses. Generally, this is because they have very few books on their lists, and are eager for more. And in some cases, the publisher may have a narrow focus that warrants a more open submissions policy.

If you are thinking of submitting to a small publisher, always check to see what they have published, and by whom. See if they have a catalog, and check online to see if there have been any complaints.

Make sure you go to the publisher's website and follow the guidelines to the letter before submitting.

NOTE: You can find a list of over 450 publishers that accept submissions directly from writers at: Publishers Accepting Unagented Manuscripts
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BlazeVOX [books] BlazeVOX [books] is an independent small press publisher located in Buffalo, New York. It began in 1999 as a college project. To date, BlazeVOX has published 280 books and over 1000 writers in their online journal and other publishing outlets. Their authors include Bill Berkson, Anne Waldman, Clayton Eschleman, Lee Ann Brown, Tom Clark, Ray Federman, Barbara Henning, Michael Boughn, Gloria Frym, Ron Silliman and Steve McCaffery.

What they are looking for: From the website: "BlazeVOX [books]presents innovative fictions and wide ranging fields of contemporary poetry. Our books push at the frontiers of what is possible with our innovative poetry, fiction and select non-fiction and literary criticism. Our fundamental mission is to disseminate poetry, through print and digital media, both within academic spheres and to society at large."

How to submit: BlazeVOX has a year-round open submission period. Potential authors should submit via e-mail to editor@blazevox.org or use the online submission form. All submissions will be reviewed and the author will receive feedback.

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Filbert Publishing. Filbert is a very small, Print on Demand (POD) publisher located in Kandiyohi, Minnesota. Most of their titles consist of how-tos for freelance writers (many of which were written by the editor). They have only four novels and three nonfiction titles on their list. Essentially, this publisher is just one step up from doing it yourself. But, if you'd rather have a publisher's backing than self-publish, this is one avenue you can take. They release all books initially as ebooks. Don't expect an advance.

What they are looking for: From the website: "We really like to publish books that creative people can use to help them make a living following their dream. This includes books on marketing, books that encourage living a full life, freelancing, we’ll consider a fairly wide range of subjects under this umbrella. We also will also give consideration to books on healthy living, and plant based cooking. Make sure your cookbook has a strong hook. We’ve got a few awesome books in this category on the horizon and are anxious to extend that line."

How to submit:  Potential authors should send an e-mail with a query, synopsis, and manuscript information. Read guidelines HERE.

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Rio Nuevo Publishers. Rio Nuevo is a non-fiction only publishing house located in Tucson, Arizona. They focus exclusively on the American West. Their list of publications includes 69 back titles and 13 new titles. Be sure to look at their catalog when visiting their site. (This is how a small publisher's catalog should look!)

What they are looking for: From the website: "At Rio Nuevo Publishers we present the best of the West in words and pictures. Our award-winning books focus on arts and crafts, cooking, history, gardening, memoir, Native America, nature, spirituality, and travel."

Founded in 1999, Rio Nuevo Publishers is an independent regional press and family business owned by Ross Humphreys and Susan Lowell, located on the west bank of the Santa Cruz River in the historic heart of Tucson, Arizona. Our new building stands on the site of a former brickyard close to the home Susan’s family built in Arizona Territory a century ago. Instead of bricks we now make books as bright and beautiful as the West itself.

How to submit: Queries may be sent via e-mail to info@rionuevo.com or by post to: Acquisitions, Rio Nuevo Publishers, PO Box 5250, Tucson, AZ 85703. Do not send email attachments. Your snail mail query should include a SASE. Read guidelines HERE.

Rio Nuevo Publishers
PO Box 5250
Tucson, AZ 85703 - See more at: http://www.rionuevo.com/authors.php#sthash.GD1e1E67.dpuf

3 Publishing Houses That Accept Unagented Submissions - Poetry, Fiction, Cookbooks, Nature Writing

Updated 12/2/22

It is becoming increasingly rare to find publishing houses that will accept manuscripts directly from writers.

Fortunately, smaller houses still accept unagented submissions. Be sure to follow directions to the letter when submitting. (These publishers get a lot of submissions. Don't give them an excuse to throw yours out.)

For a list of over 150 publishers accepting unagented submissions - broken down by genre -  see: Publishers Accepting Unagented Manuscripts


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Willow Creek Press

Willow Creek Press publishes 25 titles per year. This press specializes in gift books, cookbooks, and nature books.

What they are looking for: "Willow Creek Press is a publisher whose primary commitment is to publish books specializing in nature, outdoor and sporting topics, gardening, wildlife and animal books, and cookbooks. We also publish nature, wildlife, fishing, and sporting calendars. Personal memoirs, children's books, and manuscripts dealing with limited regional subject matter may be considered, but generally stand little chance of acceptance."

Submissions: Read full submission guidelines HERE. (Note: Does not accept electronic submissions.)

CQ Press

CQ Press is an imprint of Sage, an academic publisher. It focuses exclusively on political science, journalism, and reference. 

What they are looking for: "CQ Press is your first source for information on politics, policy, and people. We are the leading publisher of books, directories, subscriptions, and Web products on American politics, federal and state government, American institutions, campaigns and elections, current events, and world affairs. Our content is known for its objectivity, breadth and depth of coverage, and high standards of journalistic and editorial excellence."

Submissions: Prospective authors should submit a complete proposal. (Even if you don't write political science texts, take a look at their proposal outline HERE. It's quite useful for any nonfiction manuscript proposal.) Go HERE for general guidelines.

BlazeVOX

BlazeVOX [Books] publishes poetry, fiction, and literary criticism, with an emphasis on poetry.

What they are looking for: "Our books push at the frontiers of what is possible with our innovative poetry, fiction and select non-fiction and literary criticism. Our fundamental mission is to disseminate poetry, through print and digital media, both within academic spheres and to society at large. We seek to publish the innovative works of the greatest minds writing poetry today, from the most respected senior poets to extraordinarily promising young writers. We select for publication only the highest quality of writing on all levels regardless of commercial viability. Our outlets of publication strive to enrich cultural and intellectual life, and foster regional pride and accomplishments."

Submissions: Prospective authors can submit via e-mail or an online contact form. Submission guidelines are HERE.

You're an Expert! How to Make Money Writing Nonfiction Articles

Updated 5/11/24

One of the best ways to build a platform is to become an expert, especially if you are a nonfiction writer. Having your articles published not only establishes your authority, it enables you to publicize your blog, your website, and your books.

If you are a nonfiction writer, there are seemingly endless resources for publishing articles. I say "seemingly" because numbers are deceptive. Getting a nonfiction article published in a reputable magazine can be just as daunting as publishing a short story in The Atlantic. Unless you are a recognized expert in your field, the competition will be fierce.

But what if you are a fiction writer? Let's say you are a gardener with years of experience with soil types, plant requirements, vegetable varieties that do well or poorly in certain climates. Having a degree in horticulture doesn't add to your qualifications. The same holds true for numerous areas in which experience counts more than academic credentials: raising children, raising chickens, dealing with aging parents, marketing your own crafts, and so on. I am sure you can think of several areas in which you have a body of knowledge that would be beneficial to others.

Internet sites that will pay for your articles

The best way to capitalize on that knowledge is to write articles on highly trafficked sites on the net. How does it work? Some sites offer writers a share of the income generated by ads on their site. Others give you a set payment for a certain number of clicks.

Here are two income-generating sites:

Wikinut - Another Among the Many Online Writing Sites - a Review

An Overview of Making Money on HubPages

HubPages 

Additional resources:

70+ Publications That Pay $1 Per Word 

Get Paid to Write: 23 Sites That Pay Freelancers $100+

Write Jobs

Freelance Writing - Numerous freelance writing jobs are posted here.

Who Pays Writers - a list of hundreds of nonfiction markets and what they pay

What the Heck Are New Adults?

This article, published in The Independent a few days ago, answers a question I have been pondering for, well, it must be minutes now - What the heck are New Adults? The answer, not surprisingly, is that they are a demographic that has not, as yet, been sufficiently exploited by publishers. 

For the uninitiated, "demographics" are people who buy books. In this case, "New Adults" (as opposed to Young Adults, Recent Adults, Old Adults, Senile Adults, and Adults Who Have Been Validated by Their Inner Children), are college students who, apparently, have money to waste on yet another redundant genre.

So, you may ask, what is New Adult fiction? Lots of swearing, lots of sex, and, of course, unemployment.

From Young Adult to New Adult: Books for the inbetweeners

By John Walsh, The Independent, July 28, 2013

Does the book world need a new genre? The “Young Adult” demographic began in living memory and dealt with parents, teachers, good friends, treacherous friends, crushes, body-consciousness, social diseases, moral issues and lots of snogs. Then it splintered into sub-genres of teen vampires and playground werewolves, school gangs and school romance. Teenage readers were spoilt for choice, provided they had a ceaseless appetite for pubertal trauma and pustule management.

Stand by, then, for the newest genre on  the block: “New Adult.” Although the term was coined in 2009 by Dan Weiss (who masterminded the Sweet Valley High series of mild school romances for 12-year-olds), it’s only recently acquired credibility among major publishers. NA novels are written about (and often by)  18 to 25-year-olds, charting the lives of post-school, university-age friends as they encounter the world of work, offices, money, identity, rented flats and dates with people they’ve met online.

Read the rest of this enlightening article here.

When You Don't Need an Agent: 3 Publishers That Accept Submissions Directly From Authors

Note: Post updated on 1/25/21

Finding an agent is harder than finding a needle in a haystack. But most major publishers, and even most mid-range publishing houses, will not look at manuscripts submitted directly to them by authors. Miraculously, there are some exceptions. Apart from DAW, these tend to be small houses. However, in matters of publishing, size doesn't always matter. Chicken Soup for the Soul was published by a small publishing house.

In all of these cases, be prepared to wait three to six months for a response. Make sure you follow their submission guidelines to the letter. If you don't, they will toss your manuscript into the recycling bin without a second thought. Whenever there is stiff competition, remember: Do not give anybody an excuse to throw your submission out.

Note: You can find over 150 publishers which don't require an agent for submissions HERE.

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1. DAW Books Inc. (now owned by Random/Penguin) is one of the few major publishers that accepts work directly from novelists - no agent required.  DAW publishes science fiction and fantasy novels only. (No short stories, short story collections, novellas, poetry, or novels in other genres.) The average length of the novels they publish varies but is almost never less than 80,000 words. Hard copy submissions only! Go here for complete submission details. Check for open submission calls. Now closed to unagented submissions.

2. Peachtree Children's Books, located in Atlanta, Georgia, publishes 30 books per year, including picture books, middle grade and young adult novels. Authors should submit either a full manuscript or table of contents and first three sample chapters. For submission guidelines go here. Now closed to unagented submissions.

3. Kensington Publishing Corp. prides itself on being a major independent publishing house. For fiction, send cover letter, first three chapters, and synopsis (no more than five pages). They do not publish science fiction or fantasy. Nor do they publish poetry. For non-fiction, send cover letter/query, including the author's qualifications and connections relevant to the book's content and marketing, and summary or outline of book's content. All submissions should be double-spaced, paginated, cleanly printed and readable. Do not bind pages together. For more information go here.

HAVE YOU WRITTEN A LOVE STORY? THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO WIN $10,000 AND GET YOUR BOOK PUBLISHED!

Quirk Books has announced its “Looking for Love” Fiction Contest. First prize is $10,000 and publication by Quirk Books. They are looking for love stories that are fresh, fun, and strikingly unconventional. Boy Meets Girl. Girl Meets Girl. Girl Meets Shark. Shark Meets Pirate. Anything goes! (Except vampires.)

Best of all, this contest does not require an entry fee. It's FREE.

The contest deadline is October 1st, 2013. For official rules and entry form, go HERE. Good luck!

Here are the rules. 

1. There is no entry fee.

2. The contest is open to any professional or nonprofessional writer, regardless of nationality. Writers may only enter one manuscript into the contest—so take your best shot. If you are under the age of 18, you must have the permission of your parent or legal guardian to enter the contest.

3. All manuscripts submitted: a) must be original works of book length (at least 50,000 words) written in the English language by the contestants; b) must not violate the rights of any third party; and c) must feature a love story. The editors of Quirk Books will have sole and absolute discretion and authority to decide if a manuscript meets these criteria. All decisions will be final.

4. All entries must be postmarked no later than October 1, 2013 and must include:

a) A double-spaced and neatly typed copy of the manuscript (photocopies are acceptable), with pages numbered consecutively from beginning to end. The author’s name should appear only on the title page and otherwise not appear anywhere on the manuscript pages.
b) A synopsis of no more than 250 words.
c) This application form, signed and completed.
d) a self-addressed stamped envelope if you would like us to acknowledge
receipt of your manuscript.

5. All entries must be mailed to: “LOOKING FOR LOVE” FICTION CONTEST, Quirk Books, 215 Church Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106.

6. You should keep a copy of the manuscript for your own protection. Quirk Books will not be responsible for lost, stolen, mistransmitted, or mislaid manuscripts. Because of the great volume of submissions (and because, hey, there’s no entry fee) we anticipate manuscripts will not be returned. Please do not send return postage or envelopes.

7. Manuscripts submitted to the contest cannot be shopped by literary agents or other third parties during the submission period, which runs from June 1, 2013, through October 1, 2013. However, you may be represented by a literary agent provided that you—and not your agent— agree to abide by these official rules.

8. The winner will be selected by the editors of Quirk Books. Quirk reserves the right not to select any winner if, in the sole opinion of the editors, none of the manuscripts submitted are of publishable quality. An attempt will be made to notify the contest winner, if any, no later than January 15, 2014.

9. If a winner is selected, Quirk Books will be prepared to publish the winning manuscript pursuant to Quirk’s standard form author’s agreement with the contestant. The winner will receive an advance against future royalties of $10,000 after that standard form author’s agreement has been executed by both parties. Additional terms will be determined by Quirk Books at its sole discretion. The contestant may request reasonable changes in the offered terms, but Quirk Books shall not be obligated to agree to any such changes. Quirk Books may, but will not be required to consider for publication manuscripts submitted by other contestants.

10. No critical evaluation or commentary will be offered by the editorial staff of Quirk Books unless, in the sole opinion of the editorial staff, evaluation or commentary is appropriate in the case of a manuscript being considered for publication.

11. This competition is void where prohibited or restricted by law.

12. Good luck!

Despite Gains Made by Digital Books, Paperbacks Remain Most Popular Book Format

If you aren't already reading Publisher's Weekly, you need to sign up and get their free newsletter. This is where you will find Industry news, trends, and occasional juicy gossip. In this article, Bowker director Carl Kulo reveals that paperbacks are still garnering the lion's share of the market. (It's hardly surprising ... which would you rather take to the beach, an old paperback or your brand-new Kindle Fire?)

Online Retailers, E-books Gained in 2012

By By Jim Milliot, PW, May 11, 2013

At Publishers Weekly’s May 8 discussion series on trends in consumer book-buying, held at the offices of Random House in New York City, Carl Kulo, U.S. director of Bowker Market Research, highlighted the major shifts that took place in 2012 in such key areas as sales by format and by channel.

E-books captured 11% of all book spending last year, up from 7% in 2011, Kulo reported, while e-books accounted for 22% of units in 2012, up from 14% the prior year. In 2010, e-books accounted for only 2% of spending. Despite the gains made by digital, paperback remained the most popular format last year, accounting for 43% of spending, down one percentage point from 2011, while hardcovers represented 37% of dollar sales, down from 39%.

Read the rest HERE.