Preparation: Prepare your manuscript thoroughly before submitting. Ill-prepared manuscripts will demand a lot of hours and that will impact on your royalties. Read about manuscript submission and begin to learn how to professionalize.
Proofreading: Proofread your work multiple times and ask someone else to review it to catch any typos or grammatical errors.
Formatting: Formatting a manuscript correctly is crucial when submitting to publishers. Here are common formatting requirements you should follow:
Font Type: use classic serif fonts e.g., Garamond, Sabon or alternatively Times New Roman, Times, or Arial. The latter are common font types.
- Line Spacing: Double-spaced.
- Font Size: 12-point.
- Please label your file: LAST NAME_SUBMISSION.docx
- Please upload a Word file or a PDF file of your manuscript.
- Margins: Set margins to 1 inch on all sides (top, bottom, left, and right).
- Page Numbers: Number your pages consecutively in the top right or bottom center of each page.
- Establish your Table of Contents, and make sure that the numbering is correct.
- Header: Include a header with your last name, the manuscript title (or a shortened version), and the page number. For example, “Smith / THE GREAT NOVEL / 3.”
- Title Page: The title page should include the title of your manuscript, your name, and contact information (address, phone number, email). For fiction, you might also include your word count here.
Prose Writing: Fiction and NonFiction
- Summary or Outline: If fiction or prose non-fiction, establish a summary of the entire work and next of the individual chapters.
- Chapters: Start each new chapter on a new page. Center the chapter title or number at the top of the page.
- Indentation: Indent the first line of each paragraph by 0.5 inches. Do not add extra space between paragraphs.
- Dialogue: For dialogue, use standard quotation marks and indent each new speaker’s dialogue.
- Scene Breaks: If you use scene breaks, denote them with a blank line or asterisks centered on the line.
- File Format: Save your manuscript in a doc or docx format, no pdf.
- Cover Letter and Synopsis: These should be formatted, using a standard font and size with single spacing.
Poetry Submission Requirements
Prepare Your Manuscript Thoroughly before submitting.
– Poetry writing calls for highly meticulous attention to language and structure. Receiving editors will also bring this sensibility to your work. Submit a manuscript that shows your attention to language and poetic structure.
– Proofreading: Proofread your work multiple times, ensure that your punctuation is 100% perfect; ask someone else to review your work to catch any typos or grammatical errors. While a number may be passed in prose writing, it will not be the same case with poetry, which besides has a tough market.
– Establish one-two sentence summaries of each poem, the tone and the imagery.
– Establish the market for your work. Who will read your work? Why would anyone want to give up valuable time to read your book, scrutinize your artwork, or watch your multimedia project?
– Formatting:
- Ensure your manuscript is well-formatted. Use a standard font (e.g., Times New Roman, 12 pt), double-spacing, and 1-inch margins. Include the copyright page, acknowledgement page, and a table of contents.
- Title Page/Cover Page: Make sure your title or cover page looks professional with the full name, and contact information i.e. address, email, phone number and copyright information
- Give a page for the copyright information.
- Make sure that you section your poems.
- Establish a firm table of contents.
- If you alter the positions of the poems, you will have to make corresponding alterations to the table of contents.
- Paginate your submission appropriately.
- Make sure that your table of contents matches with the page numbers.
- Give a page at the back for the bio and picture of the author.
- Think about the kinds of illustrations you want; suggest the kind of illustrations, and the medium, and format. Here you will have to know the trim size of the book, bleed, etc.
- If not, the publishers will decide for you.
For Picture Books, Artwork, or Multimedia Projects: Contact the editors or editorial.
Note:
The less work you put into the project, the better for your royalties. The more work you give the publishers, the more hours and this will impact your royalties.
2. Prepare Your Submission Package
Cover Letter: Write a concise cover letter introducing yourself and your work. Mention why you think your manuscript is a good fit for the publisher.
Author Bio: Include a brief bio highlighting your writing experience, any previous publications, and relevant achievements.
Synopsis or Introduction: Some publishers might request a brief synopsis or introduction to your manuscript.
Follow Submission Guidelines: Our preferred submission method is through the online submission portal. However if you have difficulties using the form, you can submit it by email.
File Format: Submit your manuscript in the required file format (e.g., DOC, DOCX). Name the file appropriately, often including your name and the manuscript title.
Submit, Wait, and Follow Up
Response Time: The response time to your manuscript with Kalahari Press is six weeks to eight weeks.
Follow Up: If you haven’t heard from us after eight weeks, send us a polite follow-up email and we will let you know about the status of your manuscript. However, we will ensure that we read and respond to you within eight weeks.
Additional Tips
Simultaneous Submissions: Kindly inform us if you are submitting your manuscript to multiple publishers.
Rejections: Rejections are very common in the publishing industry, except with vanity publications where the author pays to be published. Use any rejection letter we send you as an opportunity to refine your manuscript and try again with different publishers. In some cases, where the manuscript has potential, we might ask you to revise and resubmit it for consideration.
Persistence: The publishing process can be lengthy and challenging. Stay persistent and be patient.