HarperCollins has announced that it is now accepting submissions on Wednesdays, via The Wednesday Post. They are looking for YA fiction manuscripts, but not picture books or short chapter books. See the website for details, and good luck!
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Ampersand Project submissions are open!
You may have already heard, but Hardie Grant Egmont has announced that it’s now taking submissions for the Ampersand Project.
Last year the Project accepted YA manuscripts written from a real-life perspective; this year, they’re broadening the scope and are allowing submissions from any genre. That’s great news for new writers, as it gives more of you an opportunity!
See HGE’s website for more information about the Ampersand Project and its submission requirements. Good luck!
Inky Awards shortlist is released!
The 2012 Inky Awards shortlisted books have been announced on the insideadog website this morning. Two of the books are the best books I’ve read this year: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, and A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. Both were books I didn’t want to end, with the most amazing characters.
For all the 12–20 year olds out there, get voting! Voting closes at midnight on 14 October. See the insideadog website for more details.
Submitting to a publisher
If you’ve finished writing your manuscript, you’ve had someone critique it and you’re sure you can do no more to improve it, you might now be ready to approach publishers. This can be a daunting prospect! It’s extremely difficult to secure a contract with a publisher, so you must do your research before trying to submit your work. If you get it wrong the first time, you’re unlikely to get a second chance with a publisher.
The first step is to identify the publishers that accept submissions in your genre (many publishers only accept specific genres). Also check that they are currently accepting submissions – some only accept them at certain times of the week or month, and some don’t accept them at all.
Publishers also have different procedures and guidelines for submissions. It’s vital that you check the submission guidelines of the publisher you’re researching, because if you don’t follow them correctly, your manuscript often won’t be considered.
They may request a synopsis and a few chapters of the work, or they may be happy to receive the whole manuscript, especially if it’s a picture book or a short chapter book. You may be asked to provide a document identifying the book’s market and competition, among other things. Publishers will usually also specify whether you should submit a hard-copy or electronic file.
Eliminate as many grammatical and spelling errors as possible from the text, and do not submit a first draft to a publisher. The manuscript must be in the best possible shape before submission.
See the Australian Publishers Association for a comprehensive list of Australian publishers, and SPUNC for a list of small and independent publishers.
Penguin’s ‘Monthly Catch’ puts children’s submissions on hold
As outlined in an earlier post, at the beginning of the year Penguin included children’s and YA submissions in their Monthly Catch, so that for the first week of every month authors of these books could submit their manuscripts.
Unfortunately, they have had to suspend the inclusion of children’s and YA manuscripts because of the number of submissions they received. Bad news for authors, but keep checking their website for updates, as they suggest they’ll reopen submissions soon.
Reviews are coming
One of the things this section is dedicated to is reviews of children’s books. We will be regularly reviewing picture books, books for younger and middle readers and YA novels, and we would love to know what you think of those books too.
If you would like to review a book and have it posted on this page, please contact us.
