WordWise Media Services
On your path to publishing
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Representation
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Education
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Speaking
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Consultancy
Submissions
Words, once they are printed, have a life of their own.
- Carol Burnett
o, you want to get published? You've been working on that book for ten years or more, and you don't quite know what to do next. Perhaps we can help. We represent a broad range of fiction and
nonfiction books for adults and children.
But I want to make a movie! If the opportunity arises, we know experienced agents in Hollywood to handle that angle for us.
Before we go any further, let us explain a brutal reality of the book business in the 21st century: Like almost every other agency and publisher out there, we don't want to see your manuscript. So please don't send it to us, because we won't read it. We get hundreds of submissions from eager writers every month, and we just don't have the time. There aren't enough hours in a day. Surprised?
Instead (again, like almost everyone else), we start the process with a query, a simple one-page summary with the pertinent information that helps us evaluate your project. But before you get too excited, please bear in mind:
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You must live in the United States or Canada.
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Any work of fiction must be complete before we consider it.
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Unfinished nonfiction is acceptable with a proposal.
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If your book is part of a series, submit only one book for now.
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No cliffhangers, please.
Download our query form (at right), fill it out
completely, and return as an email attachment.
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Keep it to one page, single-spaced. Do not alter the form in any way.
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Do not copy your query or manuscript text into the body of your email.
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Do not just tell us "click here" for your website or Amazon page.
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Now is not the time to send us your illustrations.
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Specify the agent's name in the subject line, if you have a preference.
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If you surpass 400 words in your query, you're probably trying too hard.
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Tell us your legal name for now, and not your pen name (unless you're already wildly famous under that pseudonym).
Has your book been published before now, anywhere, in any form or fashion? Tell us up front (lest we find out on our own). Be advised that we will need you to pull it off the market everywhere before we send it out anywhere. Tell us in the body of your email:
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The publisher and release date.
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How many you have sold (not including freebies), in all versions.
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Any high-profile endorsements, awards, or media exposure.
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What we don't handle: Screenplays, upmarket/literary fiction, erotica, New Age, chainsaw murders, poetry, novellas, short stories, or New Adult. And if your story has abundant foul language or graphic sex, it probably isn't for us.
NON-COMPLIANT SUBMISSIONS WILL NOT BE ANSWERED.
START HERE
Simultaneous submissions: Writers often ask, is it permissible to submit to us, while you're also pitching your work to others? To this we say, absolutely! We're not afraid to compete for your business.
It won't help your case, to send us more than we request. We've done all we can to make this process easy and simple, so please don't make us reject your project for some easily-avoidable knucklehead move. Regardless of whether we agree to represent your work, we sincerely hope you get where you want to go.
Manuscripts, books, or other materials sent through snail-mail will be destroyed unread upon receipt. Squander thy pence on postage and packaging, at thine own peril.
Do the following, only if we ask. You won't get extra credit for doing more.
If we like what we see, we will ask for your manuscript or proposal by email attachment. Unless we tell you differently, please follow these instructions carefully.
For any manuscript, see our formatting guide above. (This is the protocol that almost all publishers and agents require.)
.PDF files
Apple Pages
Snail-mail
THAT'S ALL! STOP HERE!
If we don't respond within 30 days, you may feel free to send a gentle reminder.
For nonfiction, send us a proposal according to the guide above, with three sample chapters. It was designed by the president of a major publishing house, and most editors require this template or something close to it.
For fiction, send us a proposal according to the guide above. It will help us evaluate your work, and in turn (if we agree to represent it) help us pitch it to publishers. If we should offer you representation, we will be your exclusive representative to all book publishers everywhere. We will always start with book rights in North America, and pursue licensing (including foreign rights) as the opportunities arise.