Submission Guidelines
Any manuscript submitted without following these guidelines will be rejected, therefore, you should read these very carefully. Print for reference if needed. Thank you!
*To be published in the above mentioned months, you MUST submit THIS MONTH.
NOTE TO WRITERS: SENDING A QUERY LETTER DOES NOT MEAN SENDING A BLANK E-MAIL! ANYONE WHO DOES NOT HAVE THE COURTESY TO WRITE A LETTER WILL BE REJECTED WITHOUT READING YOUR SUBMISSION! WE DO NOT OPEN ATTACHMENTS ON BLANK E-MAILS.
Before submitting your completed manuscript, you must first send a query letter, and as separate attachments only, include a 3 to 4 page synopsis, and the first three chapters. For Short Story Collections, submit up to 60 pages or to the end of a story. For poetry collections, submit up to 20 poems or no more than 20 pages. Each poem must start on a separate page. Please do not submit an entire manuscript unless invited to do so. We do not take chapter by chapter outlines except for non-fiction books.
All manuscripts should be done in Word2000 or Word2003, as a document, double-spaced between lines, and carefully checked for spelling, punctuation, and grammar usage. It should be as free of errors as possible. We will not accept manuscripts in any other format (WordPerfect, Adobe, Publisher, Works, ASCII, etc.) than Word2000 or Word2003 documents.
On the first page of your manuscript, in the upper right corner, single-spaced, should be your real name, address, phone number, and e-mail address. In the upper left corner, should be your copyright notice and the year copyright is claimed, the category (genre) of your book, and the approximate word count. Then skip down to the middle of the first page, center the text, and put the title of your work. On the next line put the word "by" then on the next line should be your name, or the name you wish to use for your books. Skip two double-spaced lines and put the Chapter Number (e.g. Chapter One, or if a Short Story or Poem, use the title). Skip two lines, and start your story. Each chapter should start on a new page, and each page should be numbered in the HEADER, not the footer or typed into the document. In the header, the title of your book goes on the left, and the page number with your last name goes on the right (ie., Smith-2, Smith-3, etc. ). Chapters should not be saved as different files. At the end of each chapter, insert a Page Break, skip to one-third down the page, center the next chapter number (e.g. Chapter Two, etc) and continue your story.
We do not accept porn, hate, racism, cult, bondage, or any other demeaning or humiliating type of material. True Crime novels must be based on actual events, although names and places may be changed to protect innocent or lawsuits. For more information, contact: Publisher.
The following list can keep your manuscript from being accepted:
Passive writing. Writing must show active content. Example: Passive: It was raining Active: It rained. Passive: She had no idea why he was affecting her the way he was. Active: She had no idea why he affected her in such a way that it confused her.
Poorly written dialogue, or lack of.
Poor grammar and punctuation usage throughout the manuscript.
Wimpy characters that do not grow and change in the story.
Lack of descriptive settings.
Poetry that does not make sense or is stale.
Vulgar language, porn-explicit love scenes.
Lack of plot - a reason for the story being told.
Not formatted correctly! (This cannot be emphasized enough!) Download our guidelines on properly formatting your manuscript here: FORMATTING
A Note to Remember: eTreasures does not sell books if we do not believe in them. Please be sure your manuscript is as error free as possible.
If you do not know how to write a query letter, here are links to learn how:
http://www.carolynjewel.com/craft/query.shtml
http://www.writerswrite.com/journal/apr98/keegan7.htm
http://www.writing.org/html/a_query.htm
Sincerely,
eTreasures Publishing