Questions tagged [submitting-work]
This tag should be used for questions about the process of submitting your work once you are finished and are looking for a way to publish it. This includes for example the research you have to do to find a publisher, the work you have to do to write query letters and the problem of keeping track of all of your submissions.
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I'm afraid of being accused that I copied, even when I'm the one writing earlier
My apologies for potential errors, I'm not a native English speaker
Hello. I don't really know, who else I could ask, so I'm putting it here.
First of all, I know, that my writing isn't something ...
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How do you reduce a 5-page book proposal down to 1 page?
An article says to write a 5-page book proposal and a 1-page version. When submitting to agents and book publishers, read their submission guidelines for which length they prefer.
How much weight ...
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After submitting a "complete" manuscript, what role does the author take?
After many years of work, I'm ready to send the manuscript of my textbook to a university publisher. This is a very professional publisher, with a large team, who publishes dozens of books quarterly.
...
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Is it unprofessional to criticize competing works in a cover letter?
I am a few days away from sending in a manuscript for a textbook to a publisher. The publisher's site instructs prospective authors to attach a cover letter describing the work, including why the ...
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Is a Prologue a Chapter?
Many agents ask for the first 3 chapters. Is a prologue a chapter? So send the prologue & chapters One & two?
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How to write a cover letter when submitting fiction to a magazine?
How should I write the cover letter, when submitting some fiction to a magazine? What is the format? What are the things that I must and should include in it?
I am not an established writer. I have ...
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Is Duosuma really free and if so what exactly is one able to do and not able do with it for free?
https://writing.stackexchange.com/a/442/49757 says "For tracking short stories and direct submissions to publishers, use Duotrope, a free online tool that contains every market you've ever heard ...
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A Medium publication contacted me at my Medium blog and asked for one of my published articles for free. Might they pay if I negotiated for that?
A nonprofit magazine called NFT (Nerd For Tech) with a Medium account (https://editorialteamnft.medium.com/) and its own website (https://www.nerdfortech.org/) contacted me out of the blue at my ...
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Medium platform - how do you withdraw your draft article from consideration at a publication?
I am new to Medium and submitted a link of my draft article to a Medium publication 4 days ago (via an online form). I have not heard back from the editor with a decision. I want to submit the link of ...
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When applying to Literary Agents do you attach the query letter or paste it into the body of the email?
I'm applying to agents, most of whom want a query letter and most of which want applications via email. I'm confused by the format. Do they want the query letter attached or pasted into the email, and ...
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If unstated, do literary magazines generally publish work submitted by minors?
Unless a literary magazine/journal is looking for work from a certain age range (ex. the teen experience, 20 to 30-year-olds), I rarely see age restrictions under submission guidelines. If unspecified,...
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Why aren't literary magazines more honest in their rejections [closed]
Many literary magazines routinely send out form rejections with the following types of statements:
Thanks very much, bla bla… Unfortunately, the story is not right for
us at this time. We wish you ...
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When submitting an article to a journal, should the article be an attachment or a link to my blog?
I have a research article (not really an article with academic standards, but display my analysis nevertheless) and I would like to submit it to a journal (not an academic one either, but has ...
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How do I proofread my work before submitting it to competitions when I have dyslexia?
I'm in my mid 20's and all my life I have avoided reading books and writing because of how bad my dyslexia can be. Up until 2 years ago when I found out how fun and interesting this hobby is.
I want ...
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Should I contact agents/publishers to see if they would be interested in my book before finishing it?
I've spent a year writing a book and still probably have a year to go. And all of this work may be wasted, if I don't get published. Should I contact agents/publishers now to garner their interest to ...
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Which masthead editor to address a cover letter to for a short fiction submission?
Most advice says to include the editor's name in the cover letter. In researching mastheads, however, I find: Executive Editor, Managing editor, Regional Editors, Senior Editors, etc. (of course if I ...
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Simultaneous querying to publishers and agents
I am a first-time author, and a few months ago I completed a picture book manuscript. After completing the manuscript, I had it professionally edited. I also completed a query letter, which was ...
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Querying a book that already has public exposure on Wattpad. What do agents think of this?
My novella won the 2017 Watty Award and has garnered a lot of reads- currently at 67k reads (if were longer, it'd be double that number, but the reads are counted per chapter- It's only 8 chapters in ...
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When do you stop "pushing" a book?
Let's suppose you have finished your novel, through all the appropriate stages of drafting and editing needed. You begin submitting the book to various agents and/or publishing companies, but none of ...
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Page count conversion from single to double-space for submissions
When an agent/publisher limits manuscript submissions to your first 50 pages, and goes on to say it should be double-spaced as an attachment, does that mean your first 50 pages from your single-spaced ...
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Should a short story be submitted to a publisher in order to know if they would be interested in a book based on it?
I wrote a very compelling science fiction short story. I am currently writing a book about an entirely different universe, not related to this short story.
I made this story rest for a long time, had ...
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How is the monetary value of a single submission determined?
I have read couple of submission guidelines and publisher notes that pays on the "word" unit for descriptive essays, articles and lists. (For ex, 2₹/word). Then there are different guidelines for ...
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Are submission services worth pursuing?
I have found a company called Writer’s Relief. Their service is to write compelling submission and query letters to genre appropriate agents and publishers.
They ask for a synopsis, fifteen pages of ...
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Sending manuscript to multiple publishers
As an addendum to this question, I have written a children's picturebook, and as I understand it, the process of sending off a manuscript and getting it reviewed is expected to take 3-6 months (I am ...
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Add copyright notice before submitting manuscript?
I have written and illustrated a rhyming picturebook (for approx 0-7 year olds) and have it in PDF format which I prepared in InDesign. When I am sending the manuscript off, do I need to worry about ...
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What to submit when asked for "sample chapters"?
For a submission (to a grant program, competition, agent, or publisher) that asks for sample chapters, which chapters do you choose?
For example, a grant program for unfinished works I'm interested ...
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Library of Congress filing: answering "intended for children or young adults"
I'm going to submit a request for a Library of Congress Preassigned Control Number (PCN). One of the questions on the form is:
Is this title intended for children or young adults?
Because of the "...
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What keeps most authors writing after receiving multiple rejections?
Last year, I completed a heavily researched 95,000-word novel about an emerging pandemic that targets primarily children. I am a former scientist and current nurse and wanted to do teaching about what ...
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How to convey a concept without illustrations when submitting?
Everything I have read or been told, and every guideline I have seen regarding submitting a picture book manuscript to a publisher has indicated that illustrations should not be included in the ...
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Is it true that stories get rejected simply because the stories are not appealing enough and not because of the quality of the writing?
In other words, if the writing is poor or not good enough but the editor likes the story, then a revision is requested.
I'd like to add that part of the reason for asking this question is because ...
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Alternative publishers like Dover
I have a manuscript that is a derivative of a mathematical work in the public domain. It is a diamond in the rough which was unpalatable due to its prose. The new manuscript is a modernized and ...
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How can I determine good comparative titles to include in my query letter?
Typically, a writer includes one or two recent titles that are similar in some fashion to the story they are telling, in their query letter.
I'd like any advice for finding good comparative titles.
...
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What's the least distracting method to inform editors I'm a woman?
I have a gender-neutral name, so people often assume I'm a man.
However, a portion of the writing I do is for tech companies. Because of the lack of diversity in the tech industry, many of these ...
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If magazine submission guidelines say nothing, are they expecting Standard Manuscript Format?
A lot of current science-fiction and fantasy magazines have online submission systems, accepting Word documents. And where I remember, way-back-when, submission guidelines noting that (printed) ...
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Can I pay to win at publishing?
Are there paid editing and submission services out there that are worth while for someone who is looking to work with a real publisher?
I have been doing research into what it takes to get published. ...
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What do magazines mean when they say they don’t accept reprints?
I want to submit fiction to magazines. Some of them say they do not accept reprints. What exactly do they mean by this? Does it just mean my fiction should not have been officially published, or ...
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How to sign a contract to publish in a literary magazine?
I sold a piece to a magazine and am a little confused by the contract. I don't want to ask them, and look like a neophyte. I've been published before, but never by a paying market.
The contract is a ...
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Can I resubmit a manuscript that has been rewritten and professionally edited?
Three weeks ago, my manuscript was "accepted" by a publisher and a contract signed. I immediately notified every literary agency to which I'd sent a submission of the contract signing.
The ...
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Has standard manuscript format changed since 2011?
This question was asked in 2011: Do editors still expect Courier font in book submissions for publication? A couple people said they found a monospace font helpful to have space to insert editing ...
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How much and which parts of a manuscript should I submit to an agent?
I've got a book that I think is interesting and action packed - a traumatic scene begins right in the prologue, but chapter one is a bit slow while I introduce characters, the setting, and weave ...
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Should I send my manuscript again if I forgot the synopsis after sending it to a publisher?
I emailed the manuscript and everything the guidelines said, and then realised the next morning I forgot to attatch the synopsis with it. I looked over the guidelines while I did the email. This is my ...
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A question about agents and multiple submissions
I very recently finished my first sci-fi novel and sent out agent queries, and fortune has smiled on me. Out of four responses, one was a request for the full manuscript, which was sent about a week ...
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How much does imperfect grammar put off an agent?
I've written a novel and looking back the story line was good but the grammar wasn't great. I submitted the book to a few agents and received some constructive comments which I took on board. I have ...
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What is an appropriate waiting time before resubmitting after I received positive feedback?
Should I resubmit it through the regular submission channel or directly to the editor who replied (she included her contact info)?
I have revised the MS quite a bit this week based on their comments, ...
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Submitting a partially complete draft?
I'm 50,000 words into my first book. Based on my plot and roadmap, that's about 25% of the way into it, so about 200k.
I have roughly 110 pages in a good place, as I've already re-drafted three or ...
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How to Write a Pitch Letter?
I've recently accepted a job working for a publicist who is linked to a well renowned celebrity chef. My first assignment is to compose an email that can be used to pitch blog post sales.
What ...
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What to do when my preview exceeds the requested submission length?
One of the agents I intend to query to requests the first fifty pages be attached to the query email. When I formatted the first four chapters and prologue into submission format, it reached 52 pages. ...
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Why would an agent request an exclusive submission?
I understand why publishers often ask for exclusive submissions. They're counting on a story that has been submitted to them to be available for them to purchase if they decide they like it and it ...
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Would I be breaking my exclusive submission by submitting similar works to different agents?
I've submitted some of my work to an agent that requested an exclusive submission. They say that after 6 weeks of no contact I can assume a rejection.
My question is this: would I be breaking my ...
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Submitting new work to another publisher while first deal is pending
A family member has had a verbal offer of publication for a book (a collection of pieces), though no contract has been signed yet and the printed book is probably quite a ways off. If all goes well, ...
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