Monday, February 20, 2017

Sample Chapters

Your manuscript is finished. It is no longer a first draft. You've gone over it a couple of times. Your friends and family have gone over it. Together you toast the thing and proclaim that it is ready.
 
Hopefully, that is true.
Just to be sure PRINT it and read it ALOUD. 
 
The internet is full of literary agents, small publishers, pay-to-publish outfits, and do-it-yourself sites. There are print directories to buy, should one choose. Just like we will do with your submission, sort through them and find the 'best fits' for your work. 
 
Whatever method you use to develop a list of places to query, the main thing to do is to follow the submission guidelines completely.
 
What we are expecting for sample chapters at Cactus Rain Publishing:
  • Manuscript format
    • full page - 8.5" x 11"
    • double spaced lines
    • standard font -- I'm going to change it to Tahoma, because that is more readable for me (remember that I'm dyslexic?)
    • standard form for fiction -- no space between paragraphs, that is for non-fiction. Fiction indents each paragraph. Start a new paragraph (with quote marks) for dialogue. We accept the non-American single quote marks or the American double quote marks -- be consistent throughout the sample.
  • No front matter -- you are way head of yourself doing this
  • No cover -- you are way head of yourself doing this
  • ONLY the first three chapters
  • A prologue is not a first chapter, don't send it to us.
The fastest route to a rejection letter is to stand out in a bad way. We don't advertise. We don't need to advertise. If we published all of the queries we have right now, we have enough for the next 5 years. It is truly survival of the fittest, not the quirkiest.
 
Send us something that meets our submission guidelines and you are highly likely to see a request for the full manuscript.
 

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