publishing

Submission to a Publisher

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Okay, this is it. My post on submitting to a publisher.

Since I’ve actually only submitted to one publisher, Less Than Three Press, that’s what my post will mostly draw on for experience. Make note: my publisher is chiefly an online publisher and receives everything by email. Some big publishers require an actual, physical copy of your manuscript, a cover letter, an agent, and any number of annoying things.

Okay, so you’ve finished actually writing your story. You’ve gotten it checked over by beta readers, you’ve done revisions and several rounds of editing.

If you haven’t done all these steps, then don’t bloody submit it yet. It’s not actually done if you haven’t done these things yet. And don’t come to me and say that you’re good enough that you don’t have to do one of these steps. This is your work of art that you want other people to read and enjoy. You want to do everything that you can to make this work as best as it can possibly be. Especially do not skip editing it, because editors can tell, and they will hate you.

Okay, so now you are definitely sure that you are ready to submit it.

Right, now the first thing you do is go to the publisher’s website and make sure that you’re following all of their guidelines. If you are submitting to a collection, anthology, or a specific submission call of any sort, you should have already been here to make sure you were following thematic guidelines. If you are submitting to a romance publisher, some of them have guidelines on content. Less Than Three Press in particular does not allow any rape/non con, bestiality, tragic endings, and underage sex, etc. Make doubly sure that you have not included any of these things in your story.

Next, make sure you have the correct formatting guidelines down. These are usually very basic and easy to follow. Some of these formatting rules might require you to do yet another round of quick editing. Most changes will require nothing more than a quick “find and replace,” adding or taking out an indent, paragraphing, font change, or something equally simple.

Now you actually have to submit the thing.

Some publishers absolutely require you to have an agent. I haven’t had to use an agent for my work so far, but if the publisher says in their submission guidelines that you need one, then they’re pretty serious about it.

Okay, this is the part where you have to actually talk to the editor that is going to look over your manuscript and decide if they like your work. I know. This is the hard part. Please bring back the boring formatting, because this is terrifying.

Usually, you have to include your name, pen name (if you have one), your contact info, a summary of your work, word count, and a completed manuscript. Make sure you know the name of the person you’re sending it to, and their email. For Less Than Three Press, depending on if you’re submitting to a general call, a collection call or an anthology call, you might be sending it to a different editor.

Things you should not send to an editor because they are busy people and it will enrage them:

  1. an uncompleted manuscript
  2. an unedited manuscript
  3. ideas for a manuscript
  4. a manuscript that is already on submission to another publisher (unless the submission guidelines say that it’s okay)

 Double and triple check that you have included all the information that the submission guidelines require and that you’re sending it to the right place.

Press send.

Wait. Be patient, because the wait length for finding out if you’ve been accepted can be anywhere from weeks to months. Some publishers will send you an automated message to assure you that they received your submission.

Don’t give up! Whatever the outcome is, you made it to this step, which means you’ve come pretty far, in terms of writing.

Choosing Your Publisher

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This is certainly a process, and is not done lightly.

I found my publisher, Less Than Three Press, because my good friend of ten years, J.K. Pendragon, recommended them to me.

However, I did not chose my publisher based on hearsay. I made sure that the publisher I had found was the publisher that I really wanted. There are a few specific things that I made sure to look for when I checked out their website.

Content: I am a writer of LGBTQ fiction and romance. I wanted to make sure that the publisher that I chose was aligned with my views on that. I’ve heard horror stories of other publishers that straight-washed good queer stories, or rejected stories based on queer content. Luckily, LT3 is actually an LGBT romance publisher, and is actively trying to expand their repertoire to include many different minority groups including trans and genderqueer stories, asexual and aromantic stories, and bisexual stories, not just gay and lesbian. LT3 also accepts many different sub-genres, which makes it easy for me to write fantasy and science fiction works with LGBTQ characters.

Royalties: I checked to make sure the publisher has a good royalty system in place. This makes certain that I am paid properly for my works. Make sure that you know the market before you decide on a publisher. Are they paying the standard royalties? How are they paying? Based on percentage, by the word, on a one-time payment/lump sum deal? Don’t settle on a publisher if you’re unsure of what you will be paid and how. Make sure you know how they mean to pay you as well.

Contract: A contract protects both the author and the publisher by ensuring that all the bases are covered. That includes making sure that there is a promise to publish your work, that you will do all the work required to have it published, and that your rights will revert to you after a certain period of time. This will include the royalty rates, deadlines, when your work will be published, when you will be paid (ie quarterly, monthly, etc). Read this very carefully, as you will have to ensure that you are protected in all circumstances. If you are unsure for any reason, get someone with a legal background to check it over for you.

Marketing: I always check to see how publishers are marketing their books. The one thing that I always check is to see how their website is run. If it’s accessible, easy to use, if I like how they’ve presented their books. How easy it is to make a purchase, if it’s easy to contact them. If they have any promotions or sales on, how interesting I find their collection and anthology calls. I also check to see which social media sites they use for marketing. Are they going to events, conventions or conferences? Check all these things out, because if you sign a contract with them and you want to be successful, you will have to be able to market efficiently, and it’s easier if your publisher also knows how to market their work.

Those are the main reasons that I went with my publisher, and I intend to stick by them. Not all small publishers are built the same, so choose wisely.

Reasons to Write for an Anthology

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As a writer, I started off in the publishing industry by writing for anthologies. There are a lot of publishers out there that do submission calls for anthologies a few times a year. Writing for an anthology is a great way to start off or provide cushioning for your writing career, and here’s why:

  1. Anthologies are looking for new authors. It’s like getting a foot in the door in your chosen writing field, and once your story is accepted at an anthology, the publisher will usually accept submissions for longer works from you. This is important for publishers that don’t accept unsolicited work.
  2. Anthologies are usually themed. If you’re a writer that has problems coming up with new ideas or really want to know what a publisher or a reader is looking for, anthologies usually tell you exactly the kind of story they want. Take note that if you’re writing for a theme, don’t write the same, overdone trope. Try and put some sort of new twist on the theme, something that makes the reader think to themselves “that was really clever.”
  3. Anthology stories are usually either short story or novella length. This way, you can get a taste for getting something published and all the other editing, revision and proofreading that goes into it.
  4. Author print copies of anthologies are going to give you writing samples from lots of other authors writing in the same genre as you. You get an example of other writing styles and get a good look at the quality of writing your publisher is looking for. Do your research. If there’s an author in your anthology that has a lot of their other works published, take note of what makes their story exemplary.
  5. It gives your writing resume a boost. Other publishers both in the same genre and out will want to know if you have past publications. Having an array of different story styles will show off your diversity.
  6. Anthologies are fun and the publisher is probably really excited about it, so if you’re excited about it too, you’ll all be happy.

What I’m Working on this Spring (2014)

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The life of a writer can sometimes be quite hectic. Often, you get a new idea, and before you know it, you have five different projects, three of which you have writers’ block on. I have a list of things I have to work on, and that includes finishing the writing part, having them beta read by a couple of different people (fellow authors for the most part), revising (adding/deleting scenes), editing and submission to my publisher of choice (currently Less Than Three Press).

So, my list of things I am currently doing work on:

  1. The novel I started for NaNoWriMo 2013 that I didn’t finish in the required time. It’s a dystopian cyberpunk novel that’s looking to be between 50-60K words. I’m 95% finished that one and have at least two betas lined up for when I do finish it. I’m looking at a completion date before the end of February, beta reading by the beginning of March, revising/editing by mid-March and submission before the end of March.
  2. I started a novella before I started my NaNo novel, but that was put on the back-burner while I was writing Project#1. This one is contemporary, set in Seattle and is primarily a romantic comedy taking place in university. It involves a lot of cross-dressing and confusion. That one is only 5-10% done, but I’ve already done the plotting, planning and character design. No idea when that will be done, I’m hoping end of April, but who knows.
  3. I’m in the plotting and planning stages of a story for one of Less Than Three’s anthology calls: Damsels in Distress, which is a femslash anthology focusing on ladies that can rescue themselves. This one is historical fantasy taking place in WW2 Russia. I’m still doing lots and lots of research, because a lot happened to Russia in WW2. Also, not many people are aware, but Russia had really badass lady pilots. Ladies in leather jackets and goggles? Count me in. Have to finish this one by the end of May, as that’s the submission deadline.

That’s the ones I’m definitely in the process of writing. I’ll keep everyone updated as to how that’s going and do another of these posts in summer. Got to keep up a writing schedule!