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GENERAL INFORMATION
Submissions from new authors are welcomed.
Provided that the work is of a sufficiently high merit and fits in with our forthcoming planned list of titles, a contract will be offered which can include certain benefits.
Many authors may already have an independent but non-writing career which has ensured previous public acclaim for related good works, charity fund raising, local voluntary work in the community, etc. This can mean that they would be already acknowledged by their local Media in, eg, in newspaper articles, or have acquired for themselves a degree of fame. This is an important asset and should be mentioned when submitting work for publication.
Books are published in paperback and hardback and the present-day methods now used in the publishing and the printing process. We have the up-to-date fresh opportunities in sales promotion and marketing of each book we publish, and these are employed to the benefit of our authors.
It is unlikely that first-time and unknown authors gain the success that is credited to published well-known authors. Sales of books are limited and, at times, it is difficult for investments to bear fruit by the fact that the author is untried but, with commitment and hard work, it is possible to gain moderate success.
We are looking to publish books written by a diverse choice of authors. This extends from, eg sports and pop music stars to romantic novelists, to the writers of historical fact and those who specialise in well-researched non-fiction subjects.
Manuscripts can include: biographies of famous individuals alive or dead, contemporary and current international matters of political interest, educational books, religious subjects, and those concerning literary and womens issues. Non-fiction historical accounts and well-researched general non-fiction manuscripts are also fully considered.
Our Imprint, Nightingale Books, is for the publishing of childrens books. Another, which specializes in mainly horror and human relations, together with other controversial issues is Chimera. Vanguard Press is the imprint for a wide variety of genres. Please refer to next pages for more specific information regarding each one our Imprints. For further details about our imprints click here.
ADVICE TO AUTHORS
Please read the following carefully before preparing your work for submission to us as publishers. Bear in mind that our publishing house is always eager to consider the work of new writers as well as that from published authors. It will accept unsolicited manuscripts provided they are appropriate to our standards and to our publishing lists.
As you will appreciate, only a small proportion of the manuscripts submitted to publishers are finally accepted for publication. Some of these are not looked at because the publisher’s particular submission procedure was not adhered to or ignored.
It is obviously logical and helpful to your own case, therefore, to choose a publisher who is interested in promoting the genre in which you have written. For example, certain publishers never publish poetry.Some only concentrate upon non-fiction titles. Others specialise in specific genre. The best way to find this out is to go to the local library and study ‘The Writer’s Handbook’ for its lists of publishers and a resume of what they publish.
Ideally:
FOR FICTION The work should have an exciting, strong plot, be well-planned and believable. The interest should be generated by the characters themselves and also by what they do. The content should correspond to a good, powerful story-line and there should be an appropriate and stimulating ending.
and
FOR NON-FICTION
The work should be well researched as appropriate, on a topic that is not too obscure to be of interest to a general sector of the reading public. It should be well-written, very competently checked for errors, with clear illustrations only as and if applicable. It should be preferably endorsed by having been viewed by another person with knowledge in that particular field. (Please view our Non Fiction book list to see examples of the wide range and types of books we publish in that section.)
PUBLISHING YOUR BOOK
How to Attain Success in Having your Manuscript Accepted
In all publishing constraints and in a publishing world dominated by a few very large publishing houses, presentation by the author is important if you are to get your work noticed. Some including Pegasus Elliot Mackenzie do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.
We do accept submissions from authors but expect our authors to follow the normal, acceptable procedures that are logical and already in place. The way you submit your work is important and will have a beneficial effect on the Pegasus editors receiving it.
HOW TO SUBMIT
Unlike some publishing houses, however, we do not restrict submissions.
The author usually needs initially to submit to the editors a synopsis of the whole manuscript and two sample chapters.
A decision can then be made by the editors as to whether or not this title would be suitable for inclusion in our forthcoming publication lists and under which imprint it should be placed.
Should the affirmative good news for the author be the case, then that author is sent a contract for approval and for this document to be scrutinized by any legal representative whom he or she may wish to employ.
We ask you, as the author, to submit your work to us in the reasonably straightforward and logical way listed below:
1. First approach to us as publisher
* Send initially to us a synopsis which is a precis of the whole book together with at least two sample chapters
* Do keep the original of your work and only send us a copy
* Do make sure that the hard copy you submit is in double line spacing
* Be courteous and enclose a short covering letter addressed to the editor
* Send return postage (from UK, or use an International Reply Coupon from abroad) and an envelope with your current address when submitting by post if you wish the enclosures to be returned to you
2. If we now have, in reply to your first submission, indicated to you that we wish to see your full manuscript
* Send the full manuscript in hard copy with a disk (CD or floppy) of the whole m/s (click HERE for more info about size of manuscript)
* Again send return postage if you wish your work returned
* Make sure there is a short accompanying letter with your details on it
* Please make it clear when submitting your manuscript to us the individual imprint for which you wish to be considered. This will mean that, after reading your work, we can make a reasonably swift decision without wasting your time. For further details about our imprints, clIck HERE.
Very few other publishers welcome discussions on the telephone but we do reply to telephone enquiries and our editors extend an amount of time to each author and also reply individually to emailed questions
FINALLY HERE ARE SOME USEFUL HINTS WHICH MAY WELL ENDEAR YOU TO THE EDITOR:
Since we publish authors from a wide range of countries world-wide, it is particularly useful if you yourself have submitted work within the range of classifications which is not exhaustive (you can, if you wish, check the full list from Nielsen Book Services):
* Some Examples of Fiction: crime, novels (romantic), horror, science fiction, fantasy, medical, myth & legend, short stories, anthologies and collections, classic fiction, etc
* Some Examples of Non Fiction: The Arts, biography, autobiography, historical, scientific or cultural genre, sport, travel, film, cookery, psychology, language, hobbies, pets, education, religion, technology, computing, sociology, travel and leisure, English for Foreigners, etc
* Other: Poetry and Short Stories
* Make your covering letter business-like, to the point, and practical. Give essential details like your reply address, date of writing, title of m/s, and size of m/s
* Bear in mind that we as publisher will at some stage want a copy of the disk if we are going to publish your book. So, if you do not work at present on a computer, then say so in your letter.
* Make your work as well-presented as possible
* Never send us a handwritten script
* Use good quality paper
* Only use one side of the paper
* Leave a wide margin of at least 4 cm around the text
* Chapters must begin on a new page
* Justify the left hand side only
* Use double line spacing for the text
* Poetry should be typed in the same format as you wish it to appear – possibly centred or justified to the left hand side
PEGASUS PUBLISHING POLICY
1. We do acknowledge the receipt of your m/s and it usually takes about three to six weeks after receipt of the full m/s before we send to you any information regarding possible publishing agreements for consideration.
2. There are a number of criteria which we use when considering or assessing a piece of work for publication. Commercial viability is, of course, important but we also look for originality together with a sense of style and poise in writing. We look too for something unique within the writer’s skills. Whilst we always hope that an author’s work is accessible to a wide readership, we are also keen to hear from authors who are capable of quality writing but whose work would have a more limited appeal.
3. If we have requested the full manuscript, we may then send this to one of our experienced Readers. These are editors who have together accumulated a wealth of knowledge in assessing a variety of literary genres and some of whom are also specialists in non-fiction material. We select the appropriate Reader in terms of their particular expertise as it appertains to your particular work. A confidential report is prepared for us and we then decide whether or not we wish to take that author’s work further, possibly to publication stage.
4. Every submission is considered on its individual merits; Work is never rejected or accepted automatically. However, we know you will understand that we cannot promise to publish all books sent to us for appraisal. We do give a very generous amount of time and consideration to authors who submit their work to us.
5. When you are asked to submit to us the full manuscript, then please send a hard copy in double line spacing with wide margins all around to enable comments to be made, as and when necessary. Make sure that the copy you send us is not the only one you possess and please ensure your name and address is on the manuscript. Send a self addressed stamped envelope in the event that you wish the material returned to you.
6. This is the key to your being published, ie To summarize – your submission of the full m/s to us is the pivotal point of your manuscript arriving on an editor’s desk for a decision regarding publication: All the effort you have put into preparation and presenting it will then be appreciated and, with luck, you will become a published author.
Synopsis – This is a short description of the entire book and may contain up to 700 words. It describes the content of the book, and is an essential adjunct for the author to use when making an initial submission of his or her work. Not to submit a synopsis is a mistake. It may indeed show the publisher that you, the author, do not appreciate the need for this and may even prevent your manuscript being considered.[back]
Sample Chapters - These are chapters that give good examples of the author’s writing and can be seen as representative of your capabilities. Print off in double line spacing on good quality paper to include title of the book, and your name and address affixed. These chapters you send do not have to be consecutive. It is a good idea to submit those chapters with which you are happiest as regards the quality of your writing. [back] |
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