Submission Guidelines
We are accepting short stories from 5,000-12,000 words for publication in our new short stories category. Especially interested in science fiction and fantasy for this category.
If you wanted to submit an unpublished book-length manuscript, we encourage you to hold onto the manuscript and give it one more proofreading, since we will be open for these submissions again in late 2003.
Sirius Publications is accepting quality, creative and well-written manuscripts for our publishing programs. We are selective. We do read submissions and accept about 20 percent of all submissions. To find out more about what kind of manuscripts we are seeking, read our call for submissions.
The steps to submit a manuscript are outlined below.
Would you like to receive a copy of these guidelines in your email? Just email our autoresponder at spguidelines@sendfree.com.
IMPORTANT:
Statement Regarding Editing/proofreading
Please be sure to thoroughly edit your manuscript before sending it in. We receive many manuscripts loaded with errors, and it is the most likely reason manuscripts are rejected by us and by any publisher/editor. For more information on this see this resource. We also recommend you review this free guide to grammar and usage.
As the title suggests, this is just a short, informal guide and is not comprehensive. It outlines the mistakes editors see most often in submitted manuscripts. If you find your manuscript has these errors in it, please self-edit or consider hiring a professional editor.
Don't misunderstand-- we do edit each manuscript upon acceptance; however, just as a traditional publisher or agent will not do extensive editing or rewrites, we will not do so either.
Statement Regarding Virus Protection
With all the computer viruses that continue to plague the Internet, we feel virus protection of our servers and those of our authors and customers is of utmost importance. We do our best to ensure all files are clean, and encourage you to do the same by using virus software such as Mcafee (that's what we use) and/or using email hosts who provide virus scanning of attachments (i.e., Yahoo.) Please scan all documents for viruses before sending them as attachments.
To submit a book for inclusion in the site, follow these five steps:
Step 1- Submit our Manuscript Query Form
Submit our manuscript query form, filled out in full. Be prepared to send a synopsis and the manuscript via email. Please follow the guidelines found here to develop your synopsis.If we reqest the entire manuscript from you, follow the rest of the steps. Be sure to review our contracts thoroughly before submitting anything; we will assume you have read them and agree to their terms.
Step 2- Email submission
If we request it, submit the manuscript via email according to these guidelines. You will also send a copy via regular mail.If you are not able to submit it via email, you may submit it via regular mail. You need to indicate you are doing so in your query, and you need our approval before submitting the manuscript. There is a fee involved (explained below), and we will bill you via PayPal for the fee. There may also be a longer wait before you are notified of acceptance.
Step 3- Digitally Sign Contracts
Read the Author Agreements and contracts carefully. Choose the contract that is right for you and sign it digitally. If you want the Print on Demand option, you should sign that digitally as well.
Step 4- Sign Contract
Print out two copies of the contract and sign and initial each copy of the contract in the appropriate places.
Step 5- Copies via Mail
Send two signed copies of the printed contract via regular mail. Include a cover letter that re-states the information you submitted with your query.
Steps 6 and 7 are performed by us, but we wanted you to know our timeline.
Step 6- Publisher Review
Your submission will be reviewed by our submissions editors. You will be contacted by e-mail within 4-12 weeks. You will be notified by email if your manuscript has been accepted or not. We may request revisions before publication.
Step 7- Acceptance or Rejection
If accepted, congratulations! One copy of the contract will be returned to you for your files. Your manuscript will then be prepared and posted to the site within 4-12 weeks.If your manuscript is rejected, we will notify you via email. Your signed contracts will be shredded unless you request they be returned to you within a week. We wish you the best of luck in your quest for a publisher.
Important: Be sure to run your manuscript through the spell checker and grammar checker. Always keep backup copies of all manuscripts/files. Please remove any extra formatting codes, such as extra font changes and tab settings. If you do not follow these guidelines and those below, your manuscript will be returned to you unread.
E-mailed (attachment) and disk copy
Hard copy
As an attachment:
Contact us before emailing the entire manuscript as an attachment in Word for Windows (preferred), WordPerfect 6 for Windows or other Word or WordPerfect format. Do not send in Macintosh or other formats. If this is a problem for you, please email us. You may send the book in two parts if you prefer. The name of the files should be:
yourmstitle1.doc, yourmstitle2.doc (replace 'yourmstitle' with the actual title of your manuscript, minus words such as 'the' and 'a'.)
Remember, you also need to submit the query form. You will then need to send the signed contract, and two copies of your manuscript via regular mail. Follow the electronic formatting guidelines below for the email version as well as that on diskette.
There is a $50 U.S. processing fee for this method of submission if you have not submitted the manuscript via email previously. You will be billed via PayPal.
You must contact us before sending a manuscript via mail. If you do not do this, your manuscript will be returned to you unopened. Do not send the manuscript unless we instruct you to do so.
If you have been told to mail a manuscript:
Send the manuscript as a hard copy (printout) and on a diskette formatted in MS Word for Windows. Format the printout of the manuscript according to the formatting guidelines.
There is a $125 scanning fee for this type of manuscript submission. You must contact us before submitting a manuscript by this method. You will be billed via PayPal if your manuscript is accepted. Print out and turn in the contract with your submission.
Note: Do NOT send manuscripts by mail without our permission. They will be returned to you unopened.
When your manuscript has been accepted, you will need to take several more steps. Or, take them now to get a head start.
