Manuscript Submissions
Submit Your Manuscript for a Publishing Quote
Send us your manuscript, or a sample of it, and we will read it, tell you honestly what it needs before publication and send a written quote. Here is what to include and what happens next.
- Read by our in-house editors, never subcontracted
- Manuscript kept confidential, NDA on request
- Honest assessment, with no obligation to buy
- Written quote listing every inclusion
Before you send
A publishing service, not a traditional publisher
It is worth being clear about what a submission to us means. Traditional publishers acquire a small number of manuscripts, usually through literary agents, pay the author an advance and royalties, and cover the costs of publication. They accept or reject submissions.
We are a publishing service. Authors pay us to edit, design and publish their books, and we do not reject manuscripts in the way a traditional publisher does. What we do is assess your manuscript honestly, so you know whether it is ready and what it would take to publish it well. If you would prefer a traditional deal, the usual route is to query literary agents, and we can help you polish your manuscript and query letter for that.
- The manuscript, or the first three chapters if it is not finished
- The total word count, or an estimate if it is still in progress
- The genre and who you imagine reading it
- Whether it has been edited before, and by whom
- The formats you want: paperback, hardback, ebook or audiobook
- Any images, illustrations or tables it includes
- Your target date, if you have one
Not sure which option fits?
Send us the brief. You will get a scope, a timeline and a fixed price within 24 hours — no obligation.
Preparing the file
How to prepare your manuscript
You do not need to format the book yourself; we do that later. A plain, clean file makes the assessment faster and more accurate.
Use a Word document
A .docx file is easiest to edit with tracked changes. Google Docs exported to Word works too. Send PDFs only for reference.
Keep formatting simple
A standard font, consistent paragraph style and a page break between chapters. Avoid text boxes and manual spacing.
Send images separately
Mark where each image goes in the text and send the original image files, not copies pasted into Word.
Send one final version
Choose the latest draft and name the file clearly. Assessing the wrong version wastes your time and ours.
What happens next
After you submit
1. Confirmation
We confirm we have received your files and ask any questions needed to understand the project.
2. Assessment
An editor reads the sample or manuscript to judge the level of editing needed and anything that could hold up publication.
3. Recommendation and quote
You receive our honest view of what the book needs and a written quote, with packages or individual services to choose from.
4. Your decision
There is no obligation. If you go ahead, we agree the scope and schedule; if not, your files are yours.
Confidentiality
How we handle your manuscript
Your manuscript is read only by the in-house team assessing it and is never shared or used for any other purpose. If you would like a non-disclosure agreement before sending a business book, memoir or anything sensitive, ask and we will sign one first.
You keep the copyright in your work. Sending it to us for an assessment does not give us any rights to it.
Free proposal
Tell us the goal. We’ll send the plan.
Share your requirements and a strategist gets back to you within 24 hours with scope, timeline and a fixed price. No obligation, no sales pressure.
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Response within 24 hours
Usually much sooner during business hours.
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Talk to a strategist
Not a call centre — the person who scopes your work.
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Fixed pricing upfront
You approve the number before anything starts.
Prefer to talk?
[email protected]Questions
Questions about submitting a manuscript
Still unsure about something? Talk to a specialist — no script, no sales pitch.
Use our proposal form or contact page to tell us about the book and send the file. Include the word count, genre, formats you want and whether it has been edited. If the file is large or includes many images, tell us and we will arrange the best way to receive it.
Not always. The first three chapters plus the total word count is usually enough for an initial quote. For an accurate editing quote on a finished book, the whole manuscript is better, because problems are not always visible in the opening chapters.
We are a publishing service, not a traditional publisher, so we do not select manuscripts for acceptance. We will be honest, though. If a manuscript needs substantial work before it is ready to publish, we say so and explain the options rather than taking it straight to design.
A Word document (.docx) is best, because our editors work with tracked changes that you can accept or reject. Exports from Google Docs or Pages to Word are fine. Keep the formatting simple; we handle the book layout later. Avoid sending scanned pages if you can.
Yes. It is read only by the team assessing it, it is not shared, and you keep full copyright. We will sign a non-disclosure agreement before you send it if you would like one. Your files are used only to assess the book and prepare your quote, nothing else.
Yes. We can edit the manuscript and help you write a query letter and synopsis. We cannot submit on your behalf or promise representation; agents choose what they take on, and the decision is theirs. If traditional publishing does not work out, self-publishing remains an option later.
Works well with
Pair it with the rest of the stack
Ready when you are
Ready to work with the pros?
Get a free proposal in 24 hours — scope, timeline and fixed price. No obligation, no lock-in contract.
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