01
Finish, then rest the draft
A manuscript is ready when you have stopped changing your mind about the ending. Put it down for three weeks before you reread it — you cannot see structure in a book you are still inside.
Submission guidelines
How to get your book in front of a publisher.
Everything an editor would tell you across a table: how to format the manuscript, what belongs in a query, how to research agents, and what happens after you press send.
The process
Six stages, in order.
02
Format it the boring way
12pt serif, double-spaced, 1-inch margins, indented paragraphs, no extra line between them, page numbers and your surname in the header. Word (.docx) unless asked otherwise.
03
Write the one-page query
Hook, book, cook. Two paragraphs on the story, one line on comparable titles, one short paragraph about you. Word count and genre in the first or last line. No rhetorical questions.
04
Write the synopsis
One to two pages, present tense, whole plot including the ending. This is not marketing copy — an agent reads it to check the structure holds up.
05
Research agents properly
Build a list of twelve to twenty who represent books like yours, and read their guidelines individually. Personalise the first line. Submit in batches of six so you can adjust.
06
Track, wait, and keep writing
Expect six to twelve weeks for a reply and treat silence as a no after three months. Start the next book while you wait — it is the only reliable cure for the waiting.
Before you send
The submission checklist.
- Title page with title, word count, genre and contact details
- Manuscript double-spaced in a single .docx file
- Chapters starting on a new page, numbered consistently
- One-page query letter, addressed to a named agent
- One to two page synopsis including the ending
- First three chapters or fifty pages, whichever ends cleanly
- A short author biography of no more than eighty words
- Two comparable titles published in the last five years
Choosing a route
Three ways a book reaches readers.
Traditional publishing
Agent first, publisher second. Slowest route, no upfront cost to you, and the widest bookshop distribution. Expect twelve to twenty-four months from deal to shelf.
Independent presses
Many accept unagented submissions and read open windows twice a year. Smaller advances, closer editorial relationships, strong for literary and regional work.
Self-publishing
You keep control and most of the royalty, and you carry the cost of editing, design and marketing. Budget for a professional edit before you upload anything.
Avoid these
Six reasons submissions get declined.
- Querying before the manuscript is finished and revised
- Sending the same generic letter to forty agents at once
- Withholding the ending in the synopsis to build suspense
- Comparing your book to bestsellers from twenty years ago
- Attaching a PDF when the guidelines asked for pasted text
- Replying to a rejection to argue with it
Want an editor to read the pages before an agent does?
We assess manuscripts, edit them, and tell you honestly whether the submission package is ready to go out.