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| SUBMITTING YOUR MANUSCRIPT TO BROADSTONE BOOKS |
Broadstone Books is only as good as the authors we publish, and we are always
looking for exciting new writers to add to our roster. We are willing to consider work in
most genres, fiction and non-fiction, though be advised we do not publish children's
literature, self-help, spiritualism, erotica or technical/professional subject matter.
Note that we do not provide editorial services beyond the preparation of accepted
manuscripts for printing, so please do not query us unless you have a finished work for
consideration.
Poetry: We love poetry and feel that the primary mission of our press is the promotion of
poetry, but we have our own editorial prejudices and while we will be happy to read your
work you have a better chance of being published if it appeals to us. How can you tell?
Try reading some of our titles. We favor narrative poetry (e.g., Leff, Potter, Cimprich) and
verse that treats the human condition with compelling language and imagery (e.g., Greene,
Ammons, Morgan, Cope). Our maxim is, "Tell us something interesting, or tell it to us in an
interesting way. Even better, do both."
How not to get accepted? We almost never publish verse that is overtly sexual, self-
therapeutic, or too self-consciously about poets writing poetry. We have a deep suspicion of
the personal pronoun and poets who want to tell us how they feel about anything in
particular. Your dead mother/brother/cat etc is very special to you but will be of interest to
us only if you have something more to say than that people die and we all feel bad about it.
We believe that writers and artists of all types should be engaged in the world, but there is a
difference between poetry and polemics and we publish the former, rarely the latter.
Hmm, that about covers it, but if we haven't discouraged you by now, what the heck, try
us....
Before sending us your work, ask yourself why anyone would want to read it, and be
brutally honest in your answer. How many new books of poetry by living, breathing poets
did you purchase last year? Why would anyone purchase yours? Finally, carefully edit
your work for spelling, grammar and word choice before sending it to us. (Spell-checking
software is no substitute for very careful proofreading!) One of the most common reasons
we return manuscripts is that they need better editing.
The Broadstone Books Thomas Merton Series: We will be very pleased to consider new
manuscripts that explore aspects of Merton's life and work that have been under-represented
in the voluminous Mertonian literature.
Ready to submit?
See the Contact Us link for our mailing address. We will consider full-length manuscripts
only if they are submitted in hard copy. If you want us to return your work make sure to
include a return envelope with sufficient postage (otherwise we will recycle).
That said, as writers ourselves we understand the time and cost in preparing manuscripts for
submission, and you may query us with a short sample of your work by e-mail if you like.
Send ten to twelve pages of your best, most representative poems, or a chapter or single
story from prose work. If you attach work to your e-mail please submit as doc (not docx)
or pdf files. If we like what we see we will request a hard copy of the full work.
We read manuscripts - oh so slowly! - in the order received, so be prepared to be patient.
On samples we try (operative word, try) to respond within a month or two. For full-length
manuscripts we will typically take up to three months to respond. For that reason we allow
simultaneous submissions, but please let us know as soon as possible if your work is
accepted elsewhere.
We generally comment on manuscripts that we do not accept, in an effort to provide
constructive criticism and to let you know whether we might be interested in seeing work in
the future. This is not an invitation to debate the merits of your work. If our comments
help, great. If you disagree, that's also fine. Letting us know you disagree is not likely to
change our opinion.
If we do accept your work, realize that we are a small press issuing only a title or two each
year, so it may be a while before your book appears. Also, be aware that as a small press
we do not have significant promotional resources and we will expect you to assist in the
marketing of your book through readings, book fairs and other efforts to find your
readership. Publishing is the easy part, selling, not so much.
Thank you for your interest in Broadstone Books!
looking for exciting new writers to add to our roster. We are willing to consider work in
most genres, fiction and non-fiction, though be advised we do not publish children's
literature, self-help, spiritualism, erotica or technical/professional subject matter.
Note that we do not provide editorial services beyond the preparation of accepted
manuscripts for printing, so please do not query us unless you have a finished work for
consideration.
Poetry: We love poetry and feel that the primary mission of our press is the promotion of
poetry, but we have our own editorial prejudices and while we will be happy to read your
work you have a better chance of being published if it appeals to us. How can you tell?
Try reading some of our titles. We favor narrative poetry (e.g., Leff, Potter, Cimprich) and
verse that treats the human condition with compelling language and imagery (e.g., Greene,
Ammons, Morgan, Cope). Our maxim is, "Tell us something interesting, or tell it to us in an
interesting way. Even better, do both."
How not to get accepted? We almost never publish verse that is overtly sexual, self-
therapeutic, or too self-consciously about poets writing poetry. We have a deep suspicion of
the personal pronoun and poets who want to tell us how they feel about anything in
particular. Your dead mother/brother/cat etc is very special to you but will be of interest to
us only if you have something more to say than that people die and we all feel bad about it.
We believe that writers and artists of all types should be engaged in the world, but there is a
difference between poetry and polemics and we publish the former, rarely the latter.
Hmm, that about covers it, but if we haven't discouraged you by now, what the heck, try
us....
Before sending us your work, ask yourself why anyone would want to read it, and be
brutally honest in your answer. How many new books of poetry by living, breathing poets
did you purchase last year? Why would anyone purchase yours? Finally, carefully edit
your work for spelling, grammar and word choice before sending it to us. (Spell-checking
software is no substitute for very careful proofreading!) One of the most common reasons
we return manuscripts is that they need better editing.
The Broadstone Books Thomas Merton Series: We will be very pleased to consider new
manuscripts that explore aspects of Merton's life and work that have been under-represented
in the voluminous Mertonian literature.
Ready to submit?
See the Contact Us link for our mailing address. We will consider full-length manuscripts
only if they are submitted in hard copy. If you want us to return your work make sure to
include a return envelope with sufficient postage (otherwise we will recycle).
That said, as writers ourselves we understand the time and cost in preparing manuscripts for
submission, and you may query us with a short sample of your work by e-mail if you like.
Send ten to twelve pages of your best, most representative poems, or a chapter or single
story from prose work. If you attach work to your e-mail please submit as doc (not docx)
or pdf files. If we like what we see we will request a hard copy of the full work.
We read manuscripts - oh so slowly! - in the order received, so be prepared to be patient.
On samples we try (operative word, try) to respond within a month or two. For full-length
manuscripts we will typically take up to three months to respond. For that reason we allow
simultaneous submissions, but please let us know as soon as possible if your work is
accepted elsewhere.
We generally comment on manuscripts that we do not accept, in an effort to provide
constructive criticism and to let you know whether we might be interested in seeing work in
the future. This is not an invitation to debate the merits of your work. If our comments
help, great. If you disagree, that's also fine. Letting us know you disagree is not likely to
change our opinion.
If we do accept your work, realize that we are a small press issuing only a title or two each
year, so it may be a while before your book appears. Also, be aware that as a small press
we do not have significant promotional resources and we will expect you to assist in the
marketing of your book through readings, book fairs and other efforts to find your
readership. Publishing is the easy part, selling, not so much.
Thank you for your interest in Broadstone Books!