Intro and some advice from the editor
Let me introduce myself. My name is Joan McNulty Pulver and I work for ePress-online, Inc. as a Senior Fantasy Editor. When I first started work, ePress-online was just taking off and receiving submissions. Margaret I. Carr, Editor in Chief and Publisher was looking for some key personnel on a volunteer basis from among the writers and facilitators at Writers’ Village University. Being a lifetime member of that online community, I asked her what positions she needed to fill. I never in my wildest dreams thought ePress-online would take over my life.
Imagine getting your first job in the publishing industry. You have some experience as a columnist and short story writer and you apply for the entry-level position of Acquisitions Coordinator. You receive an email from the Editor in Chief offering you the position and describing your duties.
“WOW!” you think. “This is truly my dream job. As first reader, I get to look at all these great manuscripts before anyone else even knows they exist. Then I send a response to the writers telling them that their manuscript is being sent to the readers for consideration. How great is that?”
My job consisted of reading all the mail that came into the office for queries and submissions. I checked these daily. I used a list of our submission guidelines, looking for compliancy and handled the different problems that may arise. The guidelines for ePress-online, as with most publishers, are fundamental and straightforward. They are clearly readable and understandable on our website.
Please make sure your manuscript is free of typos and misspellings and is as grammatically correct as possible. Be sure have a cover sheet with your name, the title of the book, your email address, an alternate email address, your postal mailing address and an estimated word count.We accept manuscripts for novels of 50,000 – 120,000 words. Submit electronically - make sure your file is saved in .rtf and send it as an attachment to Submissions@ePress-online.com. Please direct all comments and questions to Info@epress-online.com. (These email addresses have changed since then.)
My first day on the job I opened the Info (information and questions only) email address.
I had 2 emails. One was a submission in .doc format. The other was an advertisement. I deleted the ad as spam, and I e-mailed the author of the submission asking him to please read our complete guidelines, save his manuscript in .rtf format and resubmit to the correct address.
Then I opened the Submissions email box. I found a submission that was written by a person whose native language wasn’t English but who professed to have a good grasp of the English language. I opened the manuscript and was amazed at what I found. I wrote the author a rejection letter stating that there were too many spelling and grammatical errors to even consider.
So, what happened to all the great manuscripts I would get to read? We eventually started receiving promising manuscripts. The first one accepted after I started was Return to UKOO by Don Hurst. It is a humorous young adult fantasy. Donna Sundblad, who came on board the same time I did, asked if I would be willing to help her edit it. That was when I was promoted to Assistant Editor. Unfortunately, we did not have anyone to fill my other position so I took on both roles.
It's important to note that my boss is sympathetic to all would-be published authors. Some publishers just discard manuscripts that do not follow the guidelines. Not mine, though, which is good. She believes in responding to each author who submits, even if only to ask that the author to please check the submission guidelines and resubmit thecorrect format. For this reason, please endeavor to follow the guidelines of each publisher. They can differ greatly, but one thing is certain for all publishers, whether print or electronic: their guidelines are there for a reason, and they expect them to be followed.
Imagine getting your first job in the publishing industry. You have some experience as a columnist and short story writer and you apply for the entry-level position of Acquisitions Coordinator. You receive an email from the Editor in Chief offering you the position and describing your duties.
“WOW!” you think. “This is truly my dream job. As first reader, I get to look at all these great manuscripts before anyone else even knows they exist. Then I send a response to the writers telling them that their manuscript is being sent to the readers for consideration. How great is that?”
My job consisted of reading all the mail that came into the office for queries and submissions. I checked these daily. I used a list of our submission guidelines, looking for compliancy and handled the different problems that may arise. The guidelines for ePress-online, as with most publishers, are fundamental and straightforward. They are clearly readable and understandable on our website.
Please make sure your manuscript is free of typos and misspellings and is as grammatically correct as possible. Be sure have a cover sheet with your name, the title of the book, your email address, an alternate email address, your postal mailing address and an estimated word count.We accept manuscripts for novels of 50,000 – 120,000 words. Submit electronically - make sure your file is saved in .rtf and send it as an attachment to Submissions@ePress-online.com. Please direct all comments and questions to Info@epress-online.com. (These email addresses have changed since then.)
My first day on the job I opened the Info (information and questions only) email address.
I had 2 emails. One was a submission in .doc format. The other was an advertisement. I deleted the ad as spam, and I e-mailed the author of the submission asking him to please read our complete guidelines, save his manuscript in .rtf format and resubmit to the correct address.
Then I opened the Submissions email box. I found a submission that was written by a person whose native language wasn’t English but who professed to have a good grasp of the English language. I opened the manuscript and was amazed at what I found. I wrote the author a rejection letter stating that there were too many spelling and grammatical errors to even consider.
So, what happened to all the great manuscripts I would get to read? We eventually started receiving promising manuscripts. The first one accepted after I started was Return to UKOO by Don Hurst. It is a humorous young adult fantasy. Donna Sundblad, who came on board the same time I did, asked if I would be willing to help her edit it. That was when I was promoted to Assistant Editor. Unfortunately, we did not have anyone to fill my other position so I took on both roles.
It's important to note that my boss is sympathetic to all would-be published authors. Some publishers just discard manuscripts that do not follow the guidelines. Not mine, though, which is good. She believes in responding to each author who submits, even if only to ask that the author to please check the submission guidelines and resubmit thecorrect format. For this reason, please endeavor to follow the guidelines of each publisher. They can differ greatly, but one thing is certain for all publishers, whether print or electronic: their guidelines are there for a reason, and they expect them to be followed.
posted by Joan McNulty Pulver @ 11:04 AM
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