Tuesday, June 19, 2012

UNSOLICITED MANUSCRIPTS

It can be difficult to find a publishing house that accepts unsolicited manuscripts. I can't count the number of times I've read 'we do not accept unsolicited manuscripts' or 'we will only read manuscripts which are sent via an agent'. Here are links to publishers who are willing to give both new and emerging authors a chance:

Allen and Unwin - The Friday Pitch

Pan Macmillan -  Manuscript Monday

Penguin Books - The Monthly Catch

Penguin Ireland

Harlequin Mills and Boon 

So if you've got a manuscript looking for a home check out the above guidelines - good luck!

Keep writing....




28 comments:

  1. Thanks for this info. Passing this along to a friend who is looking for a home for her manuscript.

    Have a great week,
    Karen

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    1. You are very welcome Karen. I will keep my fingers crossed for your friend :-)

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  2. Hi Diane, this is music to the soul. I just hope they'd be amenable to Brit thrillers!

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  3. Thanks for this, Diane. It's so important to do your research to avoid the disappointment of something being rejected even before it's been read.

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  4. Thanks for the links. I think it is such a shame that so many publishers will only read via an agent. So much talent out there that may never be seen x

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  5. Thanks for these, Diane - I'm wondering if the Australian ones only want home-grown talent? I've been compiling a list of publishers who take unsolicited/unagented submissions and there are fewer of them around - but there are many more e-publishers now.

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    1. From memory Rosemary (this can't always be counted on) there is one that specifies Australian writers but I think the others don't. True about the e-publishers.

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  6. I suppose this only applies to novels and not short stories. But the market for short stories has shrunk so much that I feel that unpublished writers barely have a chance at all. I've noticed how often the same author's names turn up over and over again on the contents page. Getting there in the first place is becoming harder and harder.

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    1. Hi Maggie - it is so true what you said about the short story market. I guess the more we write the better we get and the more chance of getting published. Don't give up! :-)

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  7. Thanks for all the links, Diane. Very welcome.
    Teresa's right though, publishers who won't read unsolicited manuscripts except via an agent are missng a turn. It's sad that so many of them now adopt this frustrating policy.

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    1. Hello Rena - it is sad and frustrating. I am happy though that there are some publishers who still do... hopefully that continues. :-)

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  8. great info Diane! Always handy to know where you can submit... As you say, there are so few openings for unsolicited ms nowadays.

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    1. Thanks Pat - hopefully this info will be of help to someone :-)

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  9. Thanks for the links, Diane.

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  10. And another thing ... I have an award for you.

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  11. Thanks for these great links, Diane. I agree with Maggie about short stories. It does seem as though the same names crop up all the time. Such a pity that so few mags now have a fiction slot.

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    1. Hi Gail - I too really wish there were more more fiction slots for us all. Hopefully one day the mags that have ceased publishing fiction will do us all a favour and begin again. We can only hope!

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  12. Thanks for the links, Diane. I think the Irish one might be worth a try for me here in the UK.

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    1. I wish you well Dream it - fingers and everything else crossed for you. :-)

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  13. Hi Diane, I found your blog through Patsy's - and I think it's great, especially the links on this post. I didn't think I could make use of them without following you though :-)

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    1. Welcome to my blog Annalisa and thanks very much for the following and your kind words :-)

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