Thank you for your interest in submitting to Spectrum Books. Before we go any further, we'd like to point out right away that we are NOT A VANITY PUBLISHER. Sorry for shouting! There are many companies out there who charge you to publish your book. We at Spectrum Books are categorically against this practice. You've already done the hard work of writing a book - why should you have to pay upfront for the privilege of being published?
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Here's what we'll do for you if we sign you as an author:
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Professionally edit your book
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Work with you to design a cover
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Format the book for eBook and paperback
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Assist with marketing
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As with all smaller publishers, our authors are in charge of marketing their books. This will require knowledge and understanding of social media. Of course, we will help and guide you with this, we don't simply abandon you once your book hits the store. We're in this together.
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We're currently open to submissions for LGBTQ+ fiction or non-fiction. Please note that we are a new publishing company and are currently receiving a large number of submissions. Please allow up to two months for a response.
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We want you to be proud of your work. We don't expect it to be perfect, but submissions with the best chance of being accepted will:
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Be more than 40,000 words and fewer than 150,000 words in length
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Be edited to the best of your ability
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Be written with a high level of grammar without plot holes
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We do not generally accept submissions that feature:
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Sexual content with underage characters
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Bestiality (not including mythical creatures in fantasy settings)
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Incest
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Extreme sexual violence
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Our professional editor will be with you every step of your journey to publication, so we aren't overly strict on formatting rules. However, the following is a good guide to help improve your chances of publication:
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Use double quote marks for speech and include punctuation inside quote marks
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Don't use tabs for indentations on first lines, use paragraph formatting instead
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Use page breaks rather than hitting return to get to a new page
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Don't use two spaces after a full stop/period.
To submit to us, please either fill out the form below, or send the following to carl@spectrum-books.com:
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The title of your manuscript and your full (real) name and pen name (if using one)
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A short bio of yourself, including publishing history (if any, don't worry if this is your first book!)
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Why you feel your book is right for Spectrum Books
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Genres of your work
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Your elevator pitch (a brief summary of the manuscript)
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Word count of your complete manuscript
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Your marketing plans and experience with social media
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How you heard about us
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If we like what we see at this stage, we'll ask you for a sample of your manuscript.
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We receive a high volume of submissions, so please allow up to two months to hear back from us. We aren't able to respond to all submissions, so if you haven't heard from us by then, then unfortunately your submission has not been successful.
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If you have further questions, click on the chat window and we'll get back to you as soon as possible. If you're ready to submit, hit the button below to send us an email or fill out the submissions form.
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We can't wait to hear from you!