Cheryl Cowtan on Writing

Literary Mama: Calls for Submissions Round-Up: June

In a previous post, I submitted a link to a list of publishers at  http://myperfectpitch.com . It's a great resource that seems to be kept up to date. You can also narrow down the list by searching genre, which I did. The returned list of approx. 35 fantasy publishers included companies from the UK, Canada and the US. Almost all were active, and were accepting submissions. Awesome stuff. So, the next step was for me to match myself to the perfect publisher for my book. Clicking the links took me directly to the submissions page, which is very convenient. This page always provides all of the important details for authors on word count, formatting, submission requirements etc. However, I quickly learned that I needed to look at the publisher's entire site in detail for a number of reasons listed below: Book Covers cheap looking novel covers (cartoonish) out-dated looking novel covers (1950/60 style) novel covers with poor layout design (basics of design elements no evi...

I completed my high fantasy novel manuscript, The Precious Quest , months ago. Then began the submission process. I submitted the full manuscript to DAW Books. Why DAW? Because they were accepting complete manuscripts without needing a query letter or a synopsis. After DAW's rejection, I had to write a synopsis. The second submission went to Medallion Books. I loved the way they embrace technology and cross mediums for their clients. This one required a synopsis, which was harder to write than I thought it would be. However, I did it and submitted. And now I wait. Each publisher takes approximately 3 to 6 months to respond, and many do not take simultaneous submissions (submitted to more than one publisher at a time). That means, I'm doing a lot of waiting, when I'm really just anxious to see my novel published. So, am I tempted by self-publishing? Not a chance! Traditional publishers are my best bet for marketing and distribution. I want to spend my time writing more...

Thanks to an ingenious author, an updated database of publishers is available to you (and me) for free. http://myperfectpitch.com/fantasy-book-publishers/