PUBLISHING GUIDELINES

Submitting for consideration to publish is something an author should research carefully. Many different requirements for book publishers, magazine publishers, scriptwriters, and self-publishing depending on genre, format requirements, length of content, and other variables that must be followed accurately. Not every publisher wants or requires the same information, nor do they want the content submitted the same way.

There are several ways to submit for publication. Some publishing companies no matter if it is for a book, magazine, or self-publishing use a dedicated form for the author or agent to fill out. Others want the submission to be sent by email only, snail mail only, the provided form on the website only, and by agent only. Sometimes there are submissions allowed by any of these different methods giving the agent or author a choice. Most companies will accept submissions from either the author, author representative (other than the agent), or author agent. Other companies and publishing houses will only accept submissions from an agent.

Unsolicited submissions are not often accepted but if they are accepted, then discern if by author or agent, or both. If submissions for solicited works may be submitted by the author, agent, or both. Be aware that there are open submission times which are posted on a submission page and that any submission submitted during closed submission times is rejected. Take the time to research what is required, what is being published, style, topic(s), designated submission time requirements, formats, and all other necessary and required information. These rules must be adhered to before any submission is even through the first step of the publishing process.

Unsolicited submissions not only are rejected but it is possible that any further submissions will not be considered even during open submissions dates.

General Considerations

Following explicitly all directions does not guarantee being published however, disregarding these guidelines guarantees that a submission most likely will not be read.

Be diligent in the reading of important specific directions because some publishing companies will return your written work, but most of the time they will not return it to you. Postage is required if you have the option for your work to be returned.

The format for a submitted item is critical because if it is not followed to the letter the submission will be rejected and often not returned. The line spacing and margin spacing is often the cause for rejection because single or double spacing or margins of one or two inches are required. A certain font or size of the font when specifically asked for is something else that would cause a submission to be rejected because these guidelines were not adhered to as directed.

Multiple submissions sometimes are or are not allowed. Usually, if a multiple submission is allowed it is asked that the author or agent notifies the publisher immediately if that particular piece is chosen for publication by another publishing company so that the submission can be removed from consideration.

Some other things which may be requested are a market analysis of the potential readership for the book. Who is the reader? To what trends does the title speak, a list of similar titles including the publisher, date of publication, and a brief explanation of how your book differs from what's currently available. and author/illustrator/photographer biography that includes publishing credits and credentials in the field.
When this option is available, a confirmation of receipt should include a self-addressed stamped postcard for the editor to put in the mail upon receiving your proposal. After searching and reading about submitting for publication requirements I have not often read many of the above options.

Book Publisher

Book publishers may or may not accept unsolicited submissions. Occasionally there are divisions or cousin companies that are a branch or part of the parent publishing house where authors mostly, or sometimes agents may submit manuscripts instead of to the parent company because usually this parent company only will accept solicited manuscripts.

Some publishing houses want a list of things that another will not accept. Additional information may be wanted by one publishing company while another may ask for the minimum. The requirements vary greatly and so does the required quality of the potential product and the details for the submission form/guideline information.

It is good practice to inquire about submitting for publication whenever no or limited information is available. Sending a query letter is often the best approach.

Usually, entire manuscripts or partial manuscripts are required and other times the publisher only requests a synopsis or proposal explaining the details for the written item.

A Caution About Publishers

Be careful about your choice for publishing houses because there are publishers who will publish just about anythingfor a fee.

You will be obligated to pay the bill for every service needed for the publishing process in advance. Sometimes you will receive bills that are binding agreement to pay.


Magazine Publisher

Submitting to magazines requires diligence in knowing and understanding the requirements because there are usually several different types of content that may be submitted for consideration to publish.

Submissions for: contest Submissions - poems, short stories, creative nonfiction, videos, and sometimes blog posts may be accepted especially when they are submitted during "call for submissions" which happens usually between certain months of the year.

When a submission is accepted it may be restricted from additional publication for a fixed amount of time, or until at minimum after publication in that periodical is completed with no additional republishing commitments with the periodical. Depending on the situation, payment for submissions can be a copy of the magazine in which the submission was published, or a gift card of a small amount such as $15 dollars to $100. There are times when the more popular magazines have a larger budget and may pay as much as $100 to $1000 for a submission that has been accepted for publication.


Self-Publishing

There are many more considerations for self-publishing which the author needs to learn about and consider before embarking on a self-publishing venture. the link below is for a publishing company that has a nicely laid out page of self-publishing resources which may be helpful to you. I am Not recommending any particular self-publishing company. This information is strictly for educational purposes which I hope will give you an idea about the period steps and tasks needed to get your book published.

https://www.millcitypress.net/author-learning-center

What's Next?

Publishing is something that should not be rushed because editors and other staff members whether they are volunteers or paid employees know the difference between a piece that was thrown together quickly with no editing or very little editing. Doing the research is of greatest importance so that the work you intend to submit goes to the correct publisher who is looking for what you have written. There are so many guidelines and so many publishing opportunities to submit to that haphazardly submitting to whichever one comes up first for example will usually result in rejection. It's very important to get to know the publication you are interested in submitting to by reading some of the content, studying the submission guidelines, and very closely following them. Only when the work of editing is complete, the research and studying is complete, and the most appropriate book, magazine, and self-publishing company are carefully chosen to match your situation and work should you submit for publication.

After submitting do not expect to hear from anyone soon because there are far too many submissions for the staff to consider. it can take months to about a year for confirmation of publication. Usually, after the conformation time period is over and you've not heard from the companies or publishers for which you submitted the work, it is likely that the submission did not get considered for publishing. This doesn't mean you should hurry to submit again because every submission is should be reexamined for errors and other possible issues. The publishing company was looking for different content, or there were other problems. Submitting without further investigation into the content for improvement, checking the requirements and types of content that is published or any other outside influences will make collecting more rejections happen on autopilot.

Submitting to a multitude of publishing houses is not a good idea because this causes a major traffic jam in the functioning of the publishing houses. It is far better to choose about 7 to 9 places for submitting and then wait a little while before submitting to other different publishers. After you have honed the skills for submission to publishing, then you should gradually add more pieces.

Make certain you keep a detailed and organized record of the publishing submissions process for each manuscript and other content. This is crucial for preventing errors of submission, sending content to the right places, noting any submission changes, and other information gleaned from your research and experience.

As you submit to the publishers you should keep organized records of the details about your material submitted and the publishing house where you sent that material. This will help you to keep track of the time frame, what material and to whom it was sent. another bit of information that I think would be most helpful is to keep track of any rejected materials and if possible finding out why or how these materials can be improved. When you send out only the best of the best in my opinion is it worth trying to get published.

9988 characters, 1597 words. Readability level: college student.