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14 Reputable UK Children's Publishers Accepting Unsolicited Submissions

7/8/2014

The vast majority of book publishers only accept submissions via a literary agent. However, there are still a few small/medium-sized publishers accepting unsolicited submissions, and the ones below publish children's and YA titles.

It is perfectly acceptable to send simultaneous submissions (that is, the same manuscript to several publishers at the same time), but it's good manners to mention it in your cover letter. Unless specified, the publisher wants a short cover letter, synopsis (NOT a blurb- a plot outline) and a sample (usually 3 chapters). Check individual guidelines thoroughly.

Age ranges for children's fiction are usually divided thus:

Board books/picture books/easy readers - for toddlers and young children up to about the age of 7 or 8. Usually contain about 1,500- 2,000 words at 32 pages. And obviously contain pictures!

Transition books/chapter books - for ages 7-10. Fewer pictures, more text divided into 3/4-page chapters. Usually around 50-60 pages in length.

Middle grade/junior fiction - for ages 8-12. More complicated themes and sub-plots. 100-150 pages.

Young adult (YA) - for ages 12+. A wide variety of genres and themes. Lengths can be anything from 200-400 pages.

NOTE: Avoid Pegasus Publishers - don't be fooled by their professional-looking website; this outfit is a vanity press in disguise. ie. Although they make no mention of author fees on their website, countless writers report that they are offered contracts which include them having to hand over thousands of pounds. No reputable publisher (or agent) charges fees.

ANDERSEN PRESS - Picture books to YA fiction, up to 75,000 words. Hard copy only. 2-3 month response.

BLOOMSBURY SPARK - Publishes ebooks only. YA fiction 25,000-60,000 words. Email submissions. Will not hear back unless interested.

BUSTER BOOKS - No picture books. Email or postal submissions.

CARINA - Run by Harlequin UK. Publishes ebooks only. Young adult. Any genre and any length. Response 3-4 weeks.

CURIOUS FOX - Ages 8+. No picture books. Email submissions. Will not hear back unless interested.

DAVID FICKLING - Currently closed - check back for submission guidelines.

FAT FOX BOOKS - Ages 3-14. Any genre. Email submissions. Will not hear back unless interested (3 months)

FLEDGLING PRESS - Email submissions. 6 weeks response.

HOT KEY BOOKS - Email full manuscript. 3 months response

INSIDE POCKET - All age ranges. Email submissions.

MOGZILLA - Ages 4-15 (45,000-75,000 words rough guide). Email or post submissions.

MYRMIDON - Currently closed - check back for submission guidelines.

PHOENIX YARD - Ages 3-13. All genres. Email subs only.

STRIDENT - Currently closed, check back later. 7+ to YA. Email a proposal only in the first instance.

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The Origins of Christmas

23/12/2013

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Religious scholars generally agree that Jesus was not, in fact, born on December 25th.

The Bible never mentions the date of his birth, focussing more on the importance of his death. Although it does leave a few clues: we’re told that on the night the shepherds were “keeping watch over their flock by night” (Luke 2:8). This suggests that the date falls during the period of lambing when the flocks were kept in the fields, usually between spring and autumn. But certainly not mid-winter.

Perhaps it is significant as to when Jesus’ birthday was ‘decided’. The leaders of the Church chose the date of December 25th in the early fourth century, and the first Feast of the Nativity was held in Rome in 336AD. The Church at this time was one with the Roman state and Emperor. Constantine legalised Christianity in 313, making it the religion of the state in 324 after defeating Licinius. The Church became a political outfit backed by the Imperial patron. Before this time the date of Jesus Christ’s birth had never been of importance to the average Christian, who worshiped in secret in Church-houses.

Almost half a century before the legalisation of Christianity, Roman Emperor Aurelian inaugurated Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, “the birthday of the unconquered sun” in reverence of the sun god Sol. Naturally, the date of the celebration fell around the time of the winter solstice when the days were about to get longer again. Sol (and other solar deities, including the Persian god Mithras) celebrated birthdays on the 25th December.

This is hardly a coincidence; the Church leaders under Constantine thought long and hard about connecting Jesus’ birth with a well-established Pagan festival.

The reason appears quite simple. Christianity, already fast becoming the majority religion of the Roman Empire, could convert Pagans if their winter solstice festival became a celebration of Jesus’ birth instead. Christ was already being described as the light of the world by then anyway – it seemed a natural step. Of course, Christianity didn’t only adapt Dies Natalis Solis Invicti – Yule was a Pagan festival from Scandinavia in late December in honour of Thor, and this too was incorporated. Yule logs are still seen at Christmas time today.

It may seem ironic that Christmas is an amalgamation of Pagan festivals, though the evidence is strong. The Catholic Encyclopaedia of 1908 noted that the Sol Invictus festival has a “strong claim on the responsibility” for the date of Christ’s birth. Indeed, Jehovah’s Witness’s don’t celebrate Christmas at all for that reason.

But whatever its roots, Christmas is still a time for giving, for family, for love and peace. If anything, it only makes it more interesting to think that over 1700 years ago there were similar celebrations concerning the birth of Pagan sun gods.

Merry Christmas.

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Preparing Your Initial Submission To Agents/Publishers

26/10/2013

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Agents/editors usually ask for the same three things from novelists: cover letter, synopsis, first few chapters. It goes without saying that you should always check their submission guidelines on their websites (almost all have them). And a lot now seem to accept email submissions, which is a happy development.

Cover Letter
It's almost always a 'cover' letter rather than a 'query' letter; few ask you to submit a proposal without any accompanying prose. But anyway, there's hardly any difference between the two. Instead of 'Please find attached a synopsis and the first three chapters', for a query you'd put 'I'd be delighted to send you the synopsis and first three chapters at your request'. Everything else is the same.

You need:

- Your premise in tagline form. As short as you can make it. A couple of sentences at most.
- The TITLE, word count, genre and target audience (yes, your title should be in CAPS).
- A short blurb, only a few sentences long, expanding your premise and introducing your main character(s).
- A short biography. Include any writing-related experience. Mention if you have a good social platform following (blog, twitter etc.)
- A few publishing credits. Seriously. If you don't have any, get some. Write a few short stories and submit them. Getting published on a non-paying ezine blog still counts. It shows the editor you're serious and your writing is of a certain standard. And it's the first thing that'll catch their eye when they open your email/envelope - a list in the middle of the page that can only be publishing credits. Sets you above 90% of the rest, gives you an advantage before they've even started reading. Get some.

Please try and find someone to address your cover letter to personally. Many agencies have agent bios where you can find the most suitable agent and address your submission directly to them.

After that, you introduce your novel. There are different ways of working this, but I'd recommend opening with the premise tagline, then the TITLE/word count/genre/audience, and then the blurb. Follow up with "I have attached the synopsis and first three chapters for your consideration" (or whatever they ask for) and end with your bio and publishing credits. I'll say again: those credits will really help you.

Synopsis
Some writers seem to hate writing their synopsis. This is the best way I've found. After your novel is finished, you read it through, summing up each chapter in a couple of sentences as you go. You'll end up with a detailed plot outline (that probably looks quite different to the one you planned in the very beginning, if that's how you work!) Cut out everything that isn't to do with the main plot. Your synopsis should only be two pages, maximum (double-spaced!). That's only 650 words or so. So yes, you'll most likely have to play around with your sentences, cutting and cropping to avoid having precious lines taken up with only a word or two. In your novel, white space doesn't matter - is good, in fact - but in your synopsis you don't have enough to waste.

Also, try to cut out as many characters as possible, leaving only the main ones. You want to mention as few names as possible, or else the editor will have trouble keeping track of who's who. For instance, in my synopsis, instead of calling Lorna's father by his name, ALAN, I always referred to him as 'Lorna's father'. And yes, the first time you mention someone by name you put it in CAPS.

The most important thing is to include all twists and turns, including the ending. The synopsis I wrote for my first novel, ten years back when I was 16, didn't say how it ended, because it was a twist, and I didn't want to 'ruin' it for the editor. So it wasn't a synopsis. It was a blurb. And of course, no editor ever asked to read it all anyway.

Sample Chapters
Of course, your chapters are the most important thing. Yet if you haven't written a good cover letter and synopsis the editor won't even read this far. So if they do get here, for God's sake make it good. As good as it can be. Don't submit anything until you're sure you can't improve it. And the opening needs to be your very best. You need a main character in a tricky situation, from the very get go. We need to care, we need to be intrigued, we need to want to read on. We need a hook.

Don't open with scene-setting, or narration, or exposition, or describing the lovely fantastical city, or the weather... Throw us in the deep end, right in the middle of the story rather than the beginning.

Then perhaps we'll read on. And maybe an editor will too.

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Cluster Choir's article in the Journal

12/9/2013

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There was a great double-page article in September 2013's edition of the Journal about Four Oaks Cluster Choir.

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Carrie Theme Tutorial

24/8/2013

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Finally got round to making a piano tutorial for the main theme from the movie 'Carrie' (1976):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m637qPDIVjY

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First piano tutorial uploaded

22/8/2013

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I've uploaded videos of piano solos and compositions to YouTube for a few years now, and had a few requests for tutorials. I decided to make one today for Pink's Just Give Me A Reason, and hope to make more in the future. My next will be the theme tune from Carrie, which is often requested!

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Paying Short Story Markets: Genre Fiction (horror/sci-fi/fantasy/crime)

5/8/2013

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Here's a list of paying markets that publish short stories in the horror, science-fiction, fantasy and crime genres. ALL accept email submissions or use an online submission form. Please let me know if you find any dead links. 'Sim sub' = simultaneous submission (submitting the same story to more than one publication at the same time).

www.3lobedmag.com
Horror, dark fantasy. No sim or multiple subs. 500-7000 words. Pays 3c/word up to $35.

www.aftereverafter.wordpress.com/fiction/guidelines/
Fantasy/sci-fi/horror. Sim subs and reprints accepted. 100-10,000 words. Pays $10 flat.

http://www.albedo1.com/submission-guidelines/
Fantasy/sci-fi/horror. No sim or multiple subs or reprints. 2,500-8,000 words. 6 Euros/1000 words

http://www.analogsf.com/information/submissions.shtml
Sci-fi. 2,000-7,000 words preferred for short stories. Also publishes serials up to 80,000 words. Pays professional rates.

http://www.andromedaspaceways.com/
Sci-fi, fantasy. No sim or multiple subs. Up to 10,000 words. Pays 1.25c/word (Australian)

http://www.apex-magazine.com/submission-guidelines/
Fantasy, Sci-fi, horror. No sim or multiple subs. 30 days response. Up to 5,000 words firm. Pays 5c/word.

http://www.asimovs.com/info/guidelines.shtml
Sci-fi. No sim subs. up to 20,000 words. Pays 7-9c/word.

http://www.betenoiremagazine.com/magazineguidelines.htm
'Dark' genre fiction. Sim and multiple subs and reprints accepted. Check reading periods! Pays $10 flat.

http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/submissions/
Literary fantasy. Sim subs accepted. No multiple subs or reprints. Up to 10,000 words. Pays 5c/word.

http://bullspec.com/submission-guidelines/
Genre fiction. No multiple subs. Sim subs and reprints accepted. 1,000-8,000 words. Pays 5c/word. CURRENTLY CLOSED.

http://aescifi.ca/index.php/submissions
Sci-fi. 500-3,000 words. Sim subs accepted. No multiple subs. Pays 6c/word (Canadian).

http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/submissions/
Sci-fi, fantasy. 1,000-8,000 words (4,000 preferred). 2 days response. Pays 10c/word to 4,000 words, 5c/word after.

http://dailysciencefiction.com/submit
Sci-fi, fantasy. 100-10,000 words. Especially keen on flash fiction. No sim or multiple subs or reprints. Pays 8c/word.

http://www.themysteryplace.com/eqmm/guidelines/
Crime, mystery. Any length, but 2,500 -8,000 words preferred. 3 months response. Pays 5-8c/word

http://electricspec.com/submissions/submitting-fiction/
Genre. 250-7,000 words. Sim subs accepted. No multiple subs or reprints. Consider reading periods! Pays $20 flat.

http://fantasyscrollmag.com/submissions/
Sci-fi, fantasy. Up to 5,000 words. Accepts reprints and sim subs, but no multiple subs. Pays 1c/word.

http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/about/guidelines/
Sci-fi, fantasy. 1,500-7,500 words. No sim or multiple subs. Reprints accepted. Pays 8c/word. CURRENTLY CLOSED.

http://www.newmyths.com/?3e3ea140
Sci-fi, fantasy. Up to 10,000 words. Sim subs accepted. 60-90 days response. Pays $50 for shorts, $20 for flash.

http://www.onebuckhorror.com/submissions
Horror. Up to 3,000 words firm. Sim subs accepted. No multiple subs. Pays 5c/word.

http://onirismes.com/submitform.php
Fantasy, sci-fi. 2,000-4,000 words. No multiple subs. Pays 60 Euros flat. CURRENTLY CLOSED.

http://www.overmydeadbody.com/wguide13.htm
Crime, mystery. 750-4,000 words. Sim subs accepted. Response time 4-6 weeks. Pays 1c/word

http://www.phantasmacore.com/submissions/
Fantasy, sci-fi. Up to 5,000 words. Sim subs and reprints accepted. Pays $5.50 flat.

http://pseudopod.org/guidelines/
Horror, dark fantasy audio podcasts. Shorts 2,000-6,000 words, flash up to 1,500 words. Sim subs and reprints accepted. No multiple subs. Pays $100 for short stories, $20 for flash.

http://www.shimmerzine.com/guidelines/fiction-guidelines/
Genre. Up to 7,500 words (4,000 preferred). No sim or multiple subs. Pays 5c/word.

http://www.shroudmagazine.com/info.html
Dark fantasy, horror, crime. Up to 5,000 words. Sim subs accepted, no multiple subs. Pays $10 for flash and $25 for short stories. Response time 2-4 months. CURRENTLY CLOSED.

http://www.shocktotem.com/guidelines/
Dark fantasy, horror. Up to 5,000 words. Reprints accepted. No sim or multiple subs. Pays 5c/word.

http://www.somethingwicked.co.za/submissions/
Sci-fi, horror. 2,000-8,000 words. No sim or multiple subs. Pays 7c/word.

http://www.strangehorizons.com/guidelines/fiction.php
Speculative fiction. Up to 9,000 words (5,000 preferred). No sim or multiple subs or reprints. 40 day response. Pays 8c/word.

http://tgenedavis.com/submission-guidelines/
Speculative fiction, must be 'family friendly'. No word limit, accepts flash to novellas. 60 day response. Pays $50.

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The Ending of 'The Last Of Us'

3/8/2013

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The Last Of Us, a video game for the PS3 by Naughty Dog, really made an impression on me (as it did with many other people). Set in a post-apocalyptic world where the Cordyceps fungus (responsible for the real-life 'zombie ant') now infects humans, the game's protagonist, Joel, encounters a 14-year-old girl, Ellie, who is immune to the infection. He is charged with leading her across America to some scientists so they can try and develop a cure.

Joel lost his daughter at the start of the outbreak, and doesn't want the responsibility of escorting Ellie. Indeed, he tries to pass her off on his brother half way through their journey. This is where The Last Of Us really excels - the plotting and characterisation is simply sublime. Along the journey Joel grows to love Ellie and cannot give her up. So when the scientists reveal that the neccessary surgery will kill her, Joel kills them all and rescues her.

And so the first moral dilemma. Did Joel do the right thing? It's a tricky one. The scientists themselves surely thought they were in the right; killing one to save mankind is the ultimate in utilitarianism, and who can rationally disagree? And so was Joel wrong? I don't think so. Ellie never agreed to sacrifice herself, and there was no guarantee the scientists would even find a cure. And Joel didn't even really have a choice - he'd already lost one daughter, he wasn't going to sit back and lose another. A rational part of me argued, "Just look at the stats - one death to save millions..." whilst the emotional part of me punched the air when Joel rescued her. People aren't just statistics when you know and love them.

The second moral dilemma, The Lie, came when Ellie awoke. Joel told her the scientists had worked with hundreds of immune people, that nothing had worked and so they'd given up looking for a cure. Even when she displayed signs of Survivors Guilt Joel swore he was telling the truth. Why did he lie? Because he was scared of losing her. He was scared she'd choose to go back and give up her life, and so he took the decision away from her. It was selfish of him, and lacked the poetic scenes of self-sacrifice I'd been expecting, but it was more real. Joel is a survivor, and he decided he couldn't survive without her. It's the only thing he could do.

And hey, hopefully it'll mean a sequel.

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Welcome to my blog!

2/8/2013

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Thank you for visiting. Here I will publish short stories and my thoughts on writing and music and whatever else comes to mind. Please feel free to comment.

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Forward>>

14 Reputable UK Children's Publishers Accepting Unsolicited Submissions

The Origins of Christmas

Preparing Your Initial Submission To Agents/Publishers

Cluster Choir's article in the Journal

Carrie Theme Tutorial

First piano tutorial uploaded

Paying Short Story Markets: Genre Fiction (horror/sci-fi/fantasy/crime)

The Ending of 'The Last Of Us'

Welcome to my blog!

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