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At this time, we are closed to submissions for Otherworlds, our speculative fiction imprint. We are actively seeking quality YA and middle grade chapter books and GLBT works with broad appeal. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES Zumaya Publications
is now open for submissions; we are currently seeking manuscripts for
publication in 2010. We publish approximately 35 titles each year, two-thirds
and more of which are written by authors already under contract. Before you send your
manuscript, read this page carefully. Then read this.
If you're appalled by any part of the latter piece, don't waste your
time and mine. That done: 1. Have you visited
the rest of our website, looked over the books we've already published?
If not, please do so now--I'll wait... 2. Like all small and
mid-sized publishers, Zumaya maximizes marketing by focusing on developing
what are known in the publishing industry as "niches." We
have several. One major one is our SF/F/H imprint, Zumaya Otherworlds.
However, even that is subdivided. This is particularly applicable to
our limited nonfiction. More on that later. The best way to get a hint
whether your book will appeal to me is to read one or more of the books
I've already published that are somewhat like yours. 3. We do not accept
hard copy submissions. I used to be a lot more forgiving of those
who sent them, because most found our address in the Novel and Short
Story Writers Market. However, since the information there is out-of-date,
those aren't coming anymore. So, all submissions
are to be sent as an email attachment in either Word or RTF. I can also
accept WordPerfect documents if they were written in a recent version.
However, I can't return them as WordPerfect documents, so if
you don't know how to save in Rich Text Format (RTF), now's the time
to learn. Your word processing program is your main writing tool, and
if you can't use it for anything more than a glorified typewriter, it's
not likely you'll be able to handle our editing process, which is done
solely by electronic means. More on that later, too. 4. We do not now
and do not intend to ever publish poetry,
children's picture books, single novellas,
collections of columns that ran in a local newspaper or daily inspirationals.
We also don't publish overtly religious books. That's not because of
prejudice. Religious works, especially Christian religious works, need
the extra cachet they get from being published by a publishing house
known for producing that kind of book. Furthermore, those publishers
have the distribution connections we don't that will get your book where
it needs to be. 5. We do publish memoirs,
but of a very specific kind--those niches again. I want memoirs that
give a personal view of some specific period in history, that bring
that period to life. Vallie Fletcher Taylor's Eyes in the Alley,
for example, describes her life as a child in Depression-era San Antonio,
Texas. 6. We do publish single
author literary short story collections, but the stories therein must
be tied together by some sense of place, either geographical, emotional
or psychological. Timothy Gager's Short Street has as its "place"
the world of substance abusers. We have other collections forthcoming--Jason
Cole's 50 Rooms revolves around an abandoned and derelict hotel
and the mean streets of LA; in another all the stories are set in the
Grand Canyon. 7. Do not send me
your first draft. Ever. I won't read it--and I likely won't read
anything else you send me in future. As an adjunct, don't send me a
manuscript where you've polished the first three chapters or so to perfection
and the rest reads like the proverbial forty miles of bad road. Grammar,
spelling and punctuation, not to mention vocabulary, are also important
tools in your toolbox. You wouldn't hire a plumber who didn't know a
pipe wrench from a screwdriver. No, it's not the editor's
job to clean up your work. The editor has way too much to do as it is.
The less work the editor has to do on your manuscript to make it suitable
for publication--and we have very high standards about that--the
better. That doesn't mean we won't look at a superbly written novel
by a writer who's just learning the trade, but even that has limits. 8. Our minimum word
count is 65,000 words for adult fiction, 45,000 for YA/middle reader
chapter books. We have a loose maximum of 150,000 words. However,
a particularly long work won't be rejected solely on that basis if
it can be divided into two or more individual books. Submission Instructions Warning:
failure to observe these instructions will result in your submission
being dropped to the bottom of the queue if not rejected outright. If that seems harsh or, as
has sometimes been said, controlling, bear in mind that while you have
your one manuscript I have 100 a month. At least. I read submission
on a handheld device. Samples sent according to directions can be loaded
on it with a minimum of time consumed. I won't spend half an hour reformatting
50 pages just so I can read them. 1. Query first with
a short synopsis. This should be a professional query letter--and
spelling, grammar and punctuation count. Contrary to popular opinion,
small publishers like Zumaya are not desperate for submissions,
so anything you can do to earn my respect for you not just as a writer
but as a professional is a plus. The synopsis may be in the body of
the letter or sent as a separate document but, please, no more than
two pages. Send it to this address.
I will review this and decide whether it sounds like it fits our needs.
If it doesn't, I'll say so. If it does, I'll ask for a sample. Please
don't send me the sample until I ask for it. Definitely don't send me
the full manuscript. 2. A sample is the first
5 chapters or 50 pages of the manuscript, whichever is longer. The 50-page
limit is flexible only insofar as to allow you to include the complete
chapter in which it falls. If you insist on sending me the entire
manuscript when I ask for the sample, on the grounds I really need to
see how it all fits together, you've already lost. I should be able
to see how it all fits together--and find the plot--from the sample;
the rest just tells me how it all turns out. On the first line of the
sample, put the TITLE IN CAPS: Your Real Name. 3. Send me the title
page as a separate file. It should include the following information:
name, mailing address, phone number, email address and word count. 4. Now we come to the
important part. The following formatting instructions apply to both
the sample and the complete manuscript, should I request it. Again,
those who follow directions are going to be read first.
Use a standard computer
font: Times New Roman, Arial, Helvetica. Although some publishers still
insist you use Courier, I'd rather you didn't--it is extremely difficult
to read on-screen. Those are the submission
specs. If I request your full manuscript, the same rules apply. Now, we'll address the
question of what I'm looking for. Men's and Women's
Fiction By this I don't mean what's referred to as "chick-lit"
and now "guy-lit." I want solid stories of what it means to
be a man or a woman that provide insight into why we do what we do.
These may be set in contemporary or semi-historical settings (the 50s,
60s, 70s, etc.). Historical Fiction
I'm particularly fond of historical novels that focus on the lives of
common people and how the great events of history affected them. Mystery Although
our current catalog at Enigma is mainly series books, stand-alones are
welcome as long as you're prepared to send more if the first one sells
well. Cozies are fine unless they involve incredibly smart animals.
I'm definitely in the market for police procedurals, noir and mysteries
with historical settings, but the history and the settings have to be
very well done. This is one area I'm particularly looking for books
suitable for YA and younger readers. Science Fiction
Like everyone else, I'm happy to have hard SF, but I don't enjoy being
buried by technology. I look for SF with strong female characters, for
books that address the impact of technology on society and for action
tales, which nobody else seems to want. Need YA/middle reader here,
too. And there's our growing catalog of SF noir and mysteries. Fantasy I'm not
really looking for any Lord of the Rings clones. Noir and mystery,
true sword-and-sorcery in the Robert E. Howard vein but updated for
modern readers, unique themes--all in both adult and YA/middle reader.
In the latter case, if you have yet another "unknown prince/princess
saves the world" tale, don't bother unless it has a really, really,
really unique twist. Humor in both SF and fantasy is good, but not
if it falls into farce. Satire, yes; slapstick, probably not. Paranormal Suspense
Which other people call horror. The fact we choose to call it "paranormal
suspense" should tell you what I look for. Slice 'n' dice isn't
for us, so books with heavy body counts and lengthy lists of disconnected
body parts won't make the cut. Paranormal mysteries like Nancy Mehl's
Malevolence would be included in this. Romance With
the introduction last year of our Embraces romance line we're particularly
interested in this genre. Strone heroines and all-too-human heroes are
a must; I want real people doing real things and having real problems.
I don't want category material ala Harlequin. Just about any subcategory
will do, including inspirational. Suspense/thriller/action
We do them all, but we want them to appeal to both men and women. The
more original they are, the better. Of course, that goes for all of
the other categories as well. Literary/Mainstream
We do a limited number. If it's really good, I might. Westerns I would
love to have these, but they need to be more than just cookie-cutter
remakes of pulp fiction. Not that I have anything against pulp fiction.
Think anything by Larry McMurtry. GLBT We don't
do erotica at Boundless--those you can take to http://www.extasybooks.com.
Mystery, suspense, SF, fantasy, Westerns, romance--just about any of
the previous categories with an appropriate focus. That doesn't mean
they can't be sexy, just that the sex has to be an integral part of
the plot, and the plot and characters have to be the most important
elements. So, after all that,
and if the knowledge your book might not see publication until 2010
or later doesn't discourage, I look forward to hearing from you. Liz Elizabeth K. Burton,
Executive Editor |
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