How can I send a copy of a four-hundred-page-long novel to an editor and to publishing companies? I hold the addresses for an editor and for the publishers but no email addresses...
That is something I wondered too. They (the publishers) always say (on their homepages) to send 'a copy, not the original', but what is the original and what is the copy if I print it from the word-document? to me they are all original, or copies, I don't get that. Maybe it isn't what you meant though, but I took the opportunity to ask this anyway. Hope you don't mind. As for your question, usually they want a paper copy, not a file through mail, and you just have to print it and send it by mail.
Hey Don't mind at all. That's an interesting question and I look forward to you getting an answer. Now regarding my question - I can fit the novel into 200 pages of A4 paper, but that is still a lot. So I have to print it all, wrap it up into a package and send it by mail?
Ummm, okay. First of all is this a requested a submission or is the publisher accepting open submissions? Second, as far as I know, you should never use A4. You should always be using standard. (Someone will, I'm sure, correct me if I'm wrong). It's a common mistake in both agent submissions and publisher submissions for authors to print on pink, blue, lime green, A4, or some other odd way thinking it makes them stand out. And it does. Not in the way you want, though. The copy thing, hmmmm, never really thought about it. They're all originals. Just print it out That's what I would do anyway. Someone will, again, come correct me if I am wrong.
The whole "copy" thing is a holdover from the days where manuscripts were typewritten by hand. It doesn't really have any meaning if you're working from a word processor. And if they don't accept electronic submissions, yeah, you'll have to send it by mail. Make sure you read their submission guidelines carefully, both for how you should format it (no slush-reader will thank you for cramming your novel into half the space, by putting it in size four font and with no margins- it'll pretty much be an instant rejection) and because it's rare for anywhere to request the whole manuscript initially. More often, you'll need to send some sort of covering letter, a synopsis, and a specific number of pages or chapters. You should always stick very closely to whatever guidelines the specific place lays out- deviance is liable to get you a rejection before they've even read the manuscript.
When I read the publishers requests They said you're supposed to print it single sided pages, not on both sides, but that may depend on who you ask, im not sure its valid everywhere. It's quite a lot of printing to do and especially if you are supposed to send it to more than one, it can even cost you some money. But basically yes, I think that's it. Make sure you use one of the most common fonts in order to make it easy to read. and dont tie the pages together, they should be loose pages usually. (I personally dislike it because it seems messy but if that is how they want it... ) Why not A4? and what is standard? isn't A4 the page measurment? or is it something else too? Trish, Im answering your question even though it wasn't for me: in my case the publishers here accepts open submissions, almost everyone I guess, and they all recieve a couple thousands a year. In the end the might publish 1 or two out of all these so the chances are pretty small even though you can send it to anyone you want to. not many aspiring writers go through an agent here I think.
Here, in the states, we would use letter size (I called it standard) which is different then A4. A4 is 8.27x11.7 and letter size is 8.5x11. Outside the US A4 may very well be standard, and I usually remember to preface publisher/agent advice with the fact that I know nothing about procedures overseas. I apologize if I'm incorrect on this. It does not say where the OP is from, so I responded. Sorry for any confusion.
HAHA! You quoted me before I fixed it... I'm a mess today, it's my kids birthday, so much to do! Anyway, legal is 8.5x14.. I meant letter
Those measurements are quite small so I'm guessing we aren't speaking of metric units...? How much would it be in cm? Should I include a cover of the novel the way I think it should appear or is it too early? Should I send the copy with an additional letter? What should the letter say? What about sending only part of the novel. Is that acceptable? Should I first send a letter asking for the specifications of the copy?
I can only reply to the questions I think I know out of these: yes, you should send a leter with it but that is a totally different topic and I think there are several posts about that on this board. Normally if you write fiction you send the entire, completed story. If you write non-fiction I think its more common to send only part of the story. If they accept open submissions and that is what you are doing (that wasn't clear to me) maybe there's information about requirements on their website or someplace else? many publishers have similar requirements at least about the most basic things regarding what the manuscript should look like.
In mm Letter is 216x279 and A4 is 210x297 So, in cm they would be Letter 21.6x27.9 and A4 21x29.7 The rest I'll let Banzai or someone else answer since at this point I'm going to assume that you're not in the US?? I don't think I should give advice since I know absolutely nothing about publishing outside of the US. I'm sorry
Right, well it depends on what country you're from, but more than anything have you checked what the website or whatever of the publishers you want to submit to say? Guidelines vary between places, but they will usually be laid out fairly clearly on the websites. Have you checked what they're asking for?
Also keep in mind that many publishers, especially US ones, will not accept unsolicited submissions. Going through an agent is the only way to get through to them. A good agent, as I understand it, is a very valuable asset, so you might want to look into that anyways.
to avoid having your submission be trashed unread, always go only by each venue's specific guidelines, not by any general advice you see here... but standard paper size in the uk is A4, in the us is 'letter-size'... do not send any fancy cover, just a standard 'cover page'... you will not be designing the cover unless you're going the vanity press route... the publisher will have it designed in-house and may or may not ask for your approval/input... always include a simple cover letter with any submission... you can google for cover letter format, but it usually will only contain the title and a reference to their request to see the ms, with a 'thank you' for considering your work... you should send only what their guidelines or request respone to your query letter says to send... doing anything other than that can get you and your work rejected out of hand... definitely NOT!... unless you want to brand yourself a clueless amateur who's too lazy to learn the basics every would-be writer should know and too lazy to read their guidelines...
Also note that unless the submission guidelines specifically say otherwise, a paper manuscript should be printed single sided and double spaced, with a one inch (or two centimeter) margin on all foru sides. Each page should have the author;s name, the title, and the page number in the upper right corner.
If you submit to the US from the UK or Europe, you'll have to get A3 cut down to 'letter size', which is what used to be called 'foolscap' in the old British Imperial standards before everywhere except the USA went metric and agreed to the ISO standard. This means A4 is now the standard for the rest of the world, and in fact most printers don't even accept foolscap size outside the US. You can send your full manuscript in one of the boxes that you buy the paper in (although I know some makes sell in a packet, not a box). Just put one of those extra-wide thick rubber bands around it to hold the papers together, don't use any paperclips or staples.
Thank you everyone for your answers almost everything has been made clear to me. It's an author who has sent me the address of his editor and told me to send a copy of my novel to her. No publisher has sent me a request for the ms so I'm counting on the editor. She is in the US working for Alfred A Knopf (Random House). I'm not in the US. On the Alfred A Knopf website they ask for (for novel submissions) 25 pages of text, but regarding the fact that the letter sent to me by the author is personal I assume it isn't a standard submission. Plus he gave me her address (office of course), so I can address her personally - makes sense doesn't it?
yes, it does... but be sure to put 'referred by xxx' on the outside of the envelope... or just 'referral' if your friend doesn't want everyone to know he referred you...
