As of last night, I have officially read every single submission I received. Still, that leaves 142 manuscripts to respond too. Intern has a busy couple of weeks ahead.
Of course, Intern won't be going it completely alone -- there are at least 29 responses that I want to write myself. However, that still leaves 113. On the plus side that means everyone should have heard something from one of us by the end of the month. On the negative, all of the 113 (and most of the 29) are rejections. Man, all of us (you and me both) hate rejections.
Remember, today is the absolute last day to submit your picture book to CBAY Books. After today, we are going to close submissions again for a little while (specifically until we've responded to all of these.)
If you are planning to submit, be sure to read the submission guidelines, and then drop your manuscripts our way.
Normally submissions are great inspiration for the blog. I get all sorts of weird and wacky things when submissions are open, like that time the person submitted his/her entire manuscript on purple paper (because purple was a Blooming Tree color?) or the individual that packaged his/her submission with a handful of glitter.
Ah, memories.
But this submission round I so far find myself curiously lacking instructive submissions. Every one I've seen has been professional with well written cover letters and a decided lack of quirkiness.
Bravo.
The final days are approaching until we start picture book submissions. Based on some of the questions and emails I've been getting, I can tell that people are starting to get nervous. To help reduce some of that stress, I've compiled a handy little checklist to go through before you hit the send button submitting your manuscript to us. Admittedly, this list is geared for this particular submission, but you can use it for just about any submissions (both online and off) that you make.
For a printable version you can check off yourself (that does not have my colorful commentary of each item), click here.
Checklist for Submissions
(As compiled by the Buried Editor)
Cover Letter:
- Correct Editor/Agent Name and spelled correctly -- getting this wrong will get our backs up every time
- Correct Publishing House/Agency and spelled correctly -- ditto
- Correct Address/Email address -- or it might not get to us at all
- Formal salutation -- remember, this is a professional introduction
- Introductory paragraph providing context (why you are submitting, where you met editor, etc.) -- tell the truth, after all we don't really care that much, this just helps us jog our memories
- Pitch paragraph(s)
- Title of manuscript -- amazing the number of people that forget this
- Manuscript’s genre -- useful
- Age range for manuscript -- granted, we can tell when we read the manuscript, but this helps us in the beginning know whether or not its even something we are looking for and whether or not you know
- Summary of manuscript -- this is where you really sell us on the work
- Series paragraph (optional)
- Title of series -- a bad tentative title is better than nothing
- Projected number of books in series -- if you're working on an extended plot series (think Harry Potter) you should know, otherwise, the number you want to write
- Biography paragraph
- Publishing experience -- do not list every instance. Send a CV for that. Hit the relevant highlights here
- Relevant education
- Trade organization memberships (SCBWI, etc.)
- Thank you for allowing submission/Request to send manuscript if a query -- word politely, after all there's no point in alienating the editor/agent by demanding
- Signature -- remember to actually sign a physical letter (I forget all the time!)
- Your correct contact information
- Email -- if it's wrong I won't be able to reach you
- Phone -- ditto
- Website -- if you have one. If you don't, it's not necessary.
- Blog -- if you have one. If you don't, it's not necessary.
- Address -- optional in electronic submissions
- Proofread letter -- missing words in letters happen, but it can be annoying and make for strange sentences
- Spell-check -- computer should do it, but always double check
- Have someone else read & critique letter -- you will never find all of your own errors. This is very important to have someone who is honest with you do this
- Professionalism -- making sure it isn't too casual
- Coherence -- nerves can come out in writing leading to odd sentences (or sometimes a word is missing or its homonym was used)
- Interesting portrayal of pitch paragraph(s) -- did it interest your reader. If not, it probably won't interest me either.
Manuscript:
- Formatted Properly -- seriously, folks do this right. It's such a little thing but so frustrating when wrong. And it makes the things very hard to read.
- If printed or attached as document:
- Double spaced
- 12 point font (Arial, Times)
- 1 inch margins
Just think, in only 5 days (5 days!) our submission period for picture books will begin. We’ve been bracing ourselves getting very excited over the prospect of all of those submissions. We've also been getting some great questions that I want to share with you today.
If I'm submitting several books in a series, should they all go in one email or still be submitted in separate emails?
Actually, if you have several books in a series, you only really need to submit the first one. After all, if we don't like the first one, we probably aren't going to be to into the rest of the series, especially if they build on one another or are interdependent. What you should do for that first one though is make sure you include in your cover letter that it is the first in a series and then describe the series a bit.
However, if you would still like to send multiple books, be sure to send them in separate emails. With the dummies this is essential to make sure the emails don't get to large and don't come through, but even with the manuscripts we prefer that they be separate for internal housekeeping reasons.
Can I submit early?
No.
Really, there would be no point. We're not going to look at them before the 15th. In fact, this week is a busy week to ensure that we will have time to start processing through the submissions next week. Also, we're trying to keep that email open for questions right now. If a bunch of submissions start coming in, those questions are going to get lost.
Can I submit more than five?
No.
Seriously, if you can't narrow it down to five, you aren't being discriminating enough. Have a trusted, yet honest, friend help you. I really should only be asking for 1 or 2, but I'm aware that what I think is your best isn't what you may think is your best. So, I'm giving you the benefit of a few more submissions. After all, picture books are short and can be gone through pretty fast.
I don't have a completed dummy, but I am a professional illustrator interested in illustrating my own book. What should I do?
In that case, submit with the authors and do a regular manuscript submission (Subject line: Fantasy or Science Fiction Picture Book Submission), but attach a sample illustration from your book instead of a dummy. Illustrations should be high resolutions jpgs, gifs, or pdfs.
My dummy does not contain any color illustrations. Can I still submit it?
Obviously if you are never planning on black & white or spot color illustrations, you do not need to change your plan now. My request for a color cover and at least one full color illustration is to get an idea of your style, not because I am only considering color picture books. I'm willing to look at any illustrative style or medium or color palette. The more complete the dummy, the better sense I will get, but I can still work off rough but comprehensive sketches. However, again, please have at least the cover and one illustration complete. It's hard to visualize your water color style if all I see are pencil sketches.
As everyone knows, there is always a polite way to go about doing things. In this age of reality shows where screaming makes you famous and atrocious behavior makes you money, this concept is sometimes forgotten. However, there are people (like say me and every other editor and agent on the planet) who appreciate courtesy. In fact, it will make you look more professional than the rude louts we all cringe at having to deal with. So, in that spirit, I have compiled a small list of polite things to consider when making an electronic submission.
- If you are doing multiple submissions, you need to send multiple emails.
I am not saying you can't do a simultaneous submission if the editor/agent doesn't require exclusive submissions. That's fine. What I am saying is don't use the exact same "Dear Editor" email and then type a bunch of different editor emails into the To or Bcc field creating a mass email. For one thing, we can tell when this has happened, even when you use the Bcc field. (It's pretty obvious.) For another, it means that you haven't taken the time to personalize the email to anyone which means you probably haven't bothered to learn if your manuscript is even a good potential fit for the editor's list. You can use chunks of your cover letter for every editor (the pitch and bio paragraphs won't change much), but otherwise you should carefully consider each person you submit to, and make slight changes to suit that editor. Just as you shouldn't make xerox copies of a cover letter and stick it in a bunch of submission envelopes, you shouldn't send carbon copies of your email cover letter. Besides being kind of rude, it makes you look lazy. - Do not make demands.
Unfortunately for submitters, editors are the ones with all the power. (And let's face it, most of us only have a little bit compared to the Senior Editors or Editorial Directors or Publishers or other departments like Marketing that have a say in acquisitions. Very few have my luxury of owning the whole show.) We decide what is printed, when, and in what format, and our decisions are controlled by market forces as much as they are by our own tastes. This means that authors are in no position to make demands. Besides being annoying, they make you look clueless. - Do not tell me that passing on your book would be stupid or the greatest mistake of my life.
Do I really have to explain this one? No one, including me, likes having their intelligence doubted. It almost instantly puts a person in a negative mood no matter how much they try to resist it. Why would you want a person who is about to read your manuscript to now be in a less than stellar mood? And let's face it. I've done (and will do) many stupid things in my life, but passing on a manuscript has never even come close to making the top 1000. - Do not lie to me.
Lying makes you untrustworthy, and no one wants to do business with someone they can't trust. So, don't tell me that I critiqued you at a conference and asked for the manuscript if I didn't. Don't tell me your manuscript is under consideration with XYZ editor at ABC house if it's not. I will know if you're lying. Trust me. - Do disclose if you are doing a multiple submission.
They're fine with me, just tell me you're doing it. Also, let me know if it's under consideration at another house (an editor has told you he/she is considering it) or another house has offered for it. Although if you do have an offer and are submitting to me in the hopes of starting a bidding war, don't bother. I don't do bidding wars or participate in auctions. Finally, let me know if you are agented. (Because from that moment on I'll need to be talking to him/her not you.) - Do not email asking for progress on your submission.
If your m
