ctg
weaver of the unseen
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2007
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For one of our Friday Reads today, rather than talk about a book we are reading, I thought I’d talk about the things we are prepared to read... one of the things we read, every week, is direct manuscript submissions.
We don’t always get to them quickly and our responses aren’t always the fastest (fair warning: it may take us six months!), but we do always take a look in the end. So if you want to send us something, these are the guidelines to bear in mind.
Please follow them to give yourself the best chance.
The Do’s:
Happy writing!
http://www.gollancz.co.uk/2012/09/friday-reads-our-submission-guidelines/
*If the first fifty pages end mid-scene, either finish your sample earlier or send in an extra page or two. But less is more: an extra five pages is too many.
We don’t always get to them quickly and our responses aren’t always the fastest (fair warning: it may take us six months!), but we do always take a look in the end. So if you want to send us something, these are the guidelines to bear in mind.
Please follow them to give yourself the best chance.
The Do’s:
# Gollancz publish Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Urban Fantasy, Steampunk, Dystopia and a little YA cross-over fiction. If you’re writing in these areas, we’re happy to take a look at your work.
# Only get in touch when you have a complete, spell-checked manuscript of 80,000 words or more.
# Send us a cover letter, a full one-page synopsis and the first fifty pages* of your manuscript, double-spaced.
# Make your manuscript recyclable.
# Send it to:
The Don’ts:# Only get in touch when you have a complete, spell-checked manuscript of 80,000 words or more.
# Send us a cover letter, a full one-page synopsis and the first fifty pages* of your manuscript, double-spaced.
# Make your manuscript recyclable.
# Send it to:
# Please do not send us other genres. We will simply recycle them.
# We will only consider completed novels – not works in progress, not partial manuscripts, and not synopses of great ideas you’ve had.
# We do not currently consider novelettes, novellas, short stories or poetry.
# Don’t submit your manuscript in an unreadable format: not handwritten, not printed in colour, not printed in a tiny font. We need to read it easily, which means font size 11 or 12, double spaced.
# Don’t send in a random sample from the middle of your manuscript. We want the first fifty pages – if you’re worried those aren’t good enough, maybe your manuscript needs more work before you submit anything.
# Don’t send your manuscript to ‘Dear Sir/Madam’ or ‘To Whom it may concern’, because it’s annoying. ‘Dear Gollancz Team’, ‘Dear Gillian’, ‘Dear Simon’ or ‘Dear Marcus’ are all perfectly acceptable instead.
# Don’t chase us endlessly about your manuscript. We’re busy, but we will get to you.
We do not acknowledge receipt of manuscripts, return submission material to you (it will be recycled), or undertake to give you detailed feedback about your work . . . but we do undertake to consider it.# We will only consider completed novels – not works in progress, not partial manuscripts, and not synopses of great ideas you’ve had.
# We do not currently consider novelettes, novellas, short stories or poetry.
# Don’t submit your manuscript in an unreadable format: not handwritten, not printed in colour, not printed in a tiny font. We need to read it easily, which means font size 11 or 12, double spaced.
# Don’t send in a random sample from the middle of your manuscript. We want the first fifty pages – if you’re worried those aren’t good enough, maybe your manuscript needs more work before you submit anything.
# Don’t send your manuscript to ‘Dear Sir/Madam’ or ‘To Whom it may concern’, because it’s annoying. ‘Dear Gollancz Team’, ‘Dear Gillian’, ‘Dear Simon’ or ‘Dear Marcus’ are all perfectly acceptable instead.
# Don’t chase us endlessly about your manuscript. We’re busy, but we will get to you.
Happy writing!
http://www.gollancz.co.uk/2012/09/friday-reads-our-submission-guidelines/
*If the first fifty pages end mid-scene, either finish your sample earlier or send in an extra page or two. But less is more: an extra five pages is too many.
