Speculative fiction publishers have a tradition of accepting manuscripts directly from authors.
This is a genre that has a market of readers who think in terms of possibilities, and who don't, as a rule, like to follow the mainstream.
These readers also have their own networks, which means a science fiction novel can achieve fame strictly through word-of-mouth ( e.g. Wool). Publishers in this genre realize that mavericks have a place in the sci-fi world, and are thus willing to work directly with writers.
Because many sci-fi houses publish fantasy as well, fantasy writers also get a break.
As always, go to the publisher's website, and read everything on it before you submit your work.
__________________________________
This is a genre that has a market of readers who think in terms of possibilities, and who don't, as a rule, like to follow the mainstream.
These readers also have their own networks, which means a science fiction novel can achieve fame strictly through word-of-mouth ( e.g. Wool). Publishers in this genre realize that mavericks have a place in the sci-fi world, and are thus willing to work directly with writers.
Because many sci-fi houses publish fantasy as well, fantasy writers also get a break.
As always, go to the publisher's website, and read everything on it before you submit your work.
__________________________________
Baen Books
Baen Books was founded in 1983 by science fiction editor and publisher Jim Baen (now deceased). Baen was one of the first publishers to use the Internet as a means of "spreading the word" about a book or author.
In addition to publishing emerging authors, Baen republishes older science fiction in collections and omnibus editions, such as the works of the 1960s authors Christopher Anvil and others.
What they are looking for: Science fiction and fantasy. Powerful plots with solid scientific and philosophical underpinnings are essential for science fiction submissions. For fantasy, any magical system must be both rigorously coherent and integral to the plot, and overall the work must at least strive for originality. Manuscripts should be at least 100,000 words, but if your novel is really wonderful send it along regardless of length.
Reporting time: usually within 9 to 12 Months.
How to submit: Complete manuscript accompanied by a synopsis. No simultaneous submissions.
Electronic Submissions: Send your manuscript by using the submission form at: http://ftp.baen.com/Slush/submit.aspx
Attach the manuscript as a Rich Text Format (.rtf) file. Any other format will not be considered.
Send the manuscript as a single file (do not break it into separate chapter files). The form only accepts a single file so any synopsis and contact info needs to be in the file with your manuscript.
Your submission must include your name, email address, postal mailing address, and telephone number on both your cover letter and the first page of the manuscript. If you have an alternate permanent email address, please include it, in case your primary account goes out of service. Include a plot outline if possible.
You may include your ideal cover treatment, including cover copy, a teaser page, and whatever else you would like.
Hardcopy Submissions: (for those who cannot submit electronically)
Standard manuscript format only: double-spaced, one side of the page only, 1 1/2" margins on all four sides of the page. We will consider photocopies if they are dark and clear.
Font must be seriphed or at least semi-seriphed, 12-point or greater.
Title, author (last name only is okay), and page number at the top of each page are mandatory. Include your name, mailing address, and telephone number on the first page.
All submissions should be accompanied by a stamped return envelope. Submissions from outside the U.S. should be accompanied by sufficient International Reply Coupons.
Send manuscripts to:
Baen Books
P.O. Box 1188
Wake Forest, NC 27588
_______________________________
Baen Books was founded in 1983 by science fiction editor and publisher Jim Baen (now deceased). Baen was one of the first publishers to use the Internet as a means of "spreading the word" about a book or author.
In addition to publishing emerging authors, Baen republishes older science fiction in collections and omnibus editions, such as the works of the 1960s authors Christopher Anvil and others.
What they are looking for: Science fiction and fantasy. Powerful plots with solid scientific and philosophical underpinnings are essential for science fiction submissions. For fantasy, any magical system must be both rigorously coherent and integral to the plot, and overall the work must at least strive for originality. Manuscripts should be at least 100,000 words, but if your novel is really wonderful send it along regardless of length.
Reporting time: usually within 9 to 12 Months.
How to submit: Complete manuscript accompanied by a synopsis. No simultaneous submissions.
Electronic Submissions: Send your manuscript by using the submission form at: http://ftp.baen.com/Slush/submit.aspx
Attach the manuscript as a Rich Text Format (.rtf) file. Any other format will not be considered.
Send the manuscript as a single file (do not break it into separate chapter files). The form only accepts a single file so any synopsis and contact info needs to be in the file with your manuscript.
Your submission must include your name, email address, postal mailing address, and telephone number on both your cover letter and the first page of the manuscript. If you have an alternate permanent email address, please include it, in case your primary account goes out of service. Include a plot outline if possible.
You may include your ideal cover treatment, including cover copy, a teaser page, and whatever else you would like.
Hardcopy Submissions: (for those who cannot submit electronically)
Standard manuscript format only: double-spaced, one side of the page only, 1 1/2" margins on all four sides of the page. We will consider photocopies if they are dark and clear.
Font must be seriphed or at least semi-seriphed, 12-point or greater.
Title, author (last name only is okay), and page number at the top of each page are mandatory. Include your name, mailing address, and telephone number on the first page.
All submissions should be accompanied by a stamped return envelope. Submissions from outside the U.S. should be accompanied by sufficient International Reply Coupons.
Send manuscripts to:
Baen Books
P.O. Box 1188
Wake Forest, NC 27588
_______________________________
DAW
DAW is part of the Penguin Group.
From the website: Founded in 1971 by veteran paperback editor Donald A. Wollheim, along with his wife, Elsie B. Wollheim, DAW Books was the first publishing company ever devoted exclusively to science fiction and fantasy. Now more than 30 years and more than a thousand titles later, DAW has a well-deserved reputation for discovering and publishing the hottest talents in the industry. Many stars of the science fiction and fantasy field made their debuts in the pages of a DAW book, including Tad Williams, C. J. Cherryh, Mercedes Lackey, Melanie Rawn, C.S. Friedman, Jennifer Roberson, and Tanith Lee. Despite its high profile, DAW is still a small private company, owned exclusively by its publishers, Elizabeth R. Wollheim and Sheila E. Gilbert. Betsy and Sheila are strongly committed to discovering and nurturing new talent, and to keeping a personal "family" spirit at DAW—something they feel is all too rare in today's world of international conglomerate publishing.
What they are looking for: Science fiction and fantasy novels. The average length of the novels is almost never less than 80,000 words. They do not want short stories, short story collections, novellas, poetry, or novels in other genres.
How to submit: DAW does not accept electronic submissions. Send the complete manuscript with a cover letter. Manuscripts must be letter-quality computer-generated. Clear photocopies are acceptable. The manuscript should be on 8 1/2" x 11" paper or a close equivalent, double-spaced, with at least 1" wide margins all around. Please use only one side of the page, number your pages consecutively, and put the title of your novel at the top of each page if possible. Manuscripts should always be unbound.
Type your name, address and phone number in the upper right hand corner of the first page of your manuscript. Right under this, please put the length of your manuscript in number of words.
Enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope with your submission for our correspondence. Manuscripts will not be returned,
Send manuscripts to:
Peter Stampfel
Submission Editor
DAW Books
375 Hudson St
New York, NY 10014
_____________________________
DAW is part of the Penguin Group.
From the website: Founded in 1971 by veteran paperback editor Donald A. Wollheim, along with his wife, Elsie B. Wollheim, DAW Books was the first publishing company ever devoted exclusively to science fiction and fantasy. Now more than 30 years and more than a thousand titles later, DAW has a well-deserved reputation for discovering and publishing the hottest talents in the industry. Many stars of the science fiction and fantasy field made their debuts in the pages of a DAW book, including Tad Williams, C. J. Cherryh, Mercedes Lackey, Melanie Rawn, C.S. Friedman, Jennifer Roberson, and Tanith Lee. Despite its high profile, DAW is still a small private company, owned exclusively by its publishers, Elizabeth R. Wollheim and Sheila E. Gilbert. Betsy and Sheila are strongly committed to discovering and nurturing new talent, and to keeping a personal "family" spirit at DAW—something they feel is all too rare in today's world of international conglomerate publishing.
What they are looking for: Science fiction and fantasy novels. The average length of the novels is almost never less than 80,000 words. They do not want short stories, short story collections, novellas, poetry, or novels in other genres.
How to submit: DAW does not accept electronic submissions. Send the complete manuscript with a cover letter. Manuscripts must be letter-quality computer-generated. Clear photocopies are acceptable. The manuscript should be on 8 1/2" x 11" paper or a close equivalent, double-spaced, with at least 1" wide margins all around. Please use only one side of the page, number your pages consecutively, and put the title of your novel at the top of each page if possible. Manuscripts should always be unbound.
Type your name, address and phone number in the upper right hand corner of the first page of your manuscript. Right under this, please put the length of your manuscript in number of words.
Enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope with your submission for our correspondence. Manuscripts will not be returned,
Send manuscripts to:
Peter Stampfel
Submission Editor
DAW Books
375 Hudson St
New York, NY 10014
_____________________________
TOR
TOR was founded by publisher Tom Doherty in 1980. It was sold to St. Martin's Press in 1986, making it part of the Holtzbrinck group. Tor has published more award-winning and -nominated science fiction books
than any other publisher.
What they are looking for: Science fiction, as well as other genre fiction. Imprints include Starscape: science fiction and fantasy for middle grade readers ages 10 and up (grades 5 and up), published in hardcover and paperback, and Tor Teen, science fiction and fantasy for young adult readers ages 13 and up (grades 8 and up), published in hardcover and paperback. All titles are age- and theme-appropriate. Some editions include reader’s guides and other supplemental materials.
How to submit: TOR has an open submissions policy. Every proposal is reviewed by at least one member of the editorial staff.
Please note that these guidelines are intended for writers who do not have agents.
Your submissions packet should include:
The first three chapters of your book, prepared in standard manuscript format on white paper. (If your chapters are really short or really long, or you don't use chapter breaks, you may send the first 40-60 pages of your book, provided you stay under 10,000 words.) The submitted text must be made up of consecutive pages and should end at the end of a paragraph, not in mid-sentence. Standard manuscript format means margins of at least 1 inch all the way around; indented paragraphs; double-spaced text; and Courier or Times Roman in 10 or 12 pitch. Please use one side of the page only and do not justify the text. Do not bind the manuscript in any way. Make sure the header of the ms. includes either your name or the title of the book and the page number (on every page).
A synopsis of the entire book. The synopsis should include all important plot elements, especially the end of the story, as well as aspects of character development for your main characters. The synopsis should run between three and ten pages in standard manuscript format.
A dated cover letter that includes your name and contact information and the title of the submitted work. Briefly tell us what genre or subgenre the submission falls into and mention any qualifications you have that pertain to the work. Please list any previous publications in paying markets.
A self-addressed, stamped, business-size envelope for our reply letter. Unfortunately, it's no longer possible for us to return submissions due to a change in postal service policy that requires packages weighing more than a pound be mailed at a post office. Since we use a company mailroom rather than a post office, when we try to return submissions, they are sent back to us by the postal service or disappear in transit. We recycle your proposals. (That's not a euphemism for being tossed in a wastebasket--we recycle all white paper.) If you live outside the United States, please go to http://www.usps.com/onlinepostage to see internet postage options. If you do not include an SASE, you will not receive a reply at all.
Please send only one proposal in each submissions packet. If you have written a series, send a proposal for the first book only. If we like what we see, we'll ask for the rest.
Many people include postcards for us to return when the proposal reaches us. Unfortunately, we don't open submissions until we're ready to read them, so you'll likely get the "I got it" postcard the same day you receive our response to your project.
If you want to be sure that your manuscript was delivered to our offices, please ask for a return receipt or a signature confirmation when you post it.
Here are some tips to help the whole process work smoothly:
Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
______________________________
TOR was founded by publisher Tom Doherty in 1980. It was sold to St. Martin's Press in 1986, making it part of the Holtzbrinck group. Tor has published more award-winning and -nominated science fiction books
than any other publisher.
What they are looking for: Science fiction, as well as other genre fiction. Imprints include Starscape: science fiction and fantasy for middle grade readers ages 10 and up (grades 5 and up), published in hardcover and paperback, and Tor Teen, science fiction and fantasy for young adult readers ages 13 and up (grades 8 and up), published in hardcover and paperback. All titles are age- and theme-appropriate. Some editions include reader’s guides and other supplemental materials.
How to submit: TOR has an open submissions policy. Every proposal is reviewed by at least one member of the editorial staff.
Please note that these guidelines are intended for writers who do not have agents.
Your submissions packet should include:
The first three chapters of your book, prepared in standard manuscript format on white paper. (If your chapters are really short or really long, or you don't use chapter breaks, you may send the first 40-60 pages of your book, provided you stay under 10,000 words.) The submitted text must be made up of consecutive pages and should end at the end of a paragraph, not in mid-sentence. Standard manuscript format means margins of at least 1 inch all the way around; indented paragraphs; double-spaced text; and Courier or Times Roman in 10 or 12 pitch. Please use one side of the page only and do not justify the text. Do not bind the manuscript in any way. Make sure the header of the ms. includes either your name or the title of the book and the page number (on every page).
A synopsis of the entire book. The synopsis should include all important plot elements, especially the end of the story, as well as aspects of character development for your main characters. The synopsis should run between three and ten pages in standard manuscript format.
A dated cover letter that includes your name and contact information and the title of the submitted work. Briefly tell us what genre or subgenre the submission falls into and mention any qualifications you have that pertain to the work. Please list any previous publications in paying markets.
A self-addressed, stamped, business-size envelope for our reply letter. Unfortunately, it's no longer possible for us to return submissions due to a change in postal service policy that requires packages weighing more than a pound be mailed at a post office. Since we use a company mailroom rather than a post office, when we try to return submissions, they are sent back to us by the postal service or disappear in transit. We recycle your proposals. (That's not a euphemism for being tossed in a wastebasket--we recycle all white paper.) If you live outside the United States, please go to http://www.usps.com/onlinepostage to see internet postage options. If you do not include an SASE, you will not receive a reply at all.
Please send only one proposal in each submissions packet. If you have written a series, send a proposal for the first book only. If we like what we see, we'll ask for the rest.
Many people include postcards for us to return when the proposal reaches us. Unfortunately, we don't open submissions until we're ready to read them, so you'll likely get the "I got it" postcard the same day you receive our response to your project.
If you want to be sure that your manuscript was delivered to our offices, please ask for a return receipt or a signature confirmation when you post it.
Here are some tips to help the whole process work smoothly:
- Don't send a query letter. It's practically impossible to judge a project from a query. We'd rather see your proposal.
- Don't send submissions or inquiries by email or fax. We do not respond to emailed or faxed submissions, queries, or inquiries about the status of submissions.
- Don't send disks. We want to read words in black type on white paper. And it's not that we don't trust you, but your system might have viruses you don't know about.
- Don't send us the only copy of anything. Things get lost in transit.
- Don't send interior or cover art or an author photo. There's time for that later, if we like your project.
- Don't send jewelry, food, toys, 3-dimensional representations of anything, or anything that might be construed as a bribe.
Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
______________________________
Ace
Note: Ace appears to have changed its policy. It is no longer accepting submissions directly from writers.
ACE Books is the oldest continuously operating science fiction publisher in the United States. It is now part of Penguin Group. It issued some of the most outstanding science fiction writers of the 1950s and 1960s, including Samuel R. Delany, Philip K. Dick, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Robert Silverberg. Ace was known for marketing innovations such as the Ace Doubles, which contained two short novels bound back to back, and for the critically acclaimed Ace Specials edited by Terry Carr.
What they are looking for: Science fiction and fantasy. (The publisher recommends that you look at their list to see what they publish.) Ace and Roc do not accept submissions of short stories, non-fiction, children's books, poetry, or artwork.
How to submit: The usual length for a manuscript is between 80,000 and 125,000 words.
All work should be submitted by emailing a query letter with the first ten pages of your book pasted in the body of the email. Do not attach any documents. Text should be formatted in the industry standard of Times New Roman 12 point font.
Our email address is sff@us.penguingroup.com. Please note that we no longer accept paper submissions.
No simultaneous submissions.
Reporting time: 5 months for a reply to an e-mail query.
Note: Ace appears to have changed its policy. It is no longer accepting submissions directly from writers.
ACE Books is the oldest continuously operating science fiction publisher in the United States. It is now part of Penguin Group. It issued some of the most outstanding science fiction writers of the 1950s and 1960s, including Samuel R. Delany, Philip K. Dick, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Robert Silverberg. Ace was known for marketing innovations such as the Ace Doubles, which contained two short novels bound back to back, and for the critically acclaimed Ace Specials edited by Terry Carr.
What they are looking for: Science fiction and fantasy. (The publisher recommends that you look at their list to see what they publish.) Ace and Roc do not accept submissions of short stories, non-fiction, children's books, poetry, or artwork.
How to submit: The usual length for a manuscript is between 80,000 and 125,000 words.
All work should be submitted by emailing a query letter with the first ten pages of your book pasted in the body of the email. Do not attach any documents. Text should be formatted in the industry standard of Times New Roman 12 point font.
Our email address is sff@us.penguingroup.com. Please note that we no longer accept paper submissions.
No simultaneous submissions.
Reporting time: 5 months for a reply to an e-mail query.
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