Orchard House Press Author Submission Guidelines

The guidelines below are for authors.

If you are an artist, please click here for your guidelines.

"I just felt compelled to applaud your 5-step system. How simply smart to encourage novice writers (not to mention those comical ones with overzealous vanity) to carefully investigate what you're looking for. Time is something that no one has enough of so why waste it -- ours or yours? Thanks for the reminder." --Shellie Windsor, aspiring author and poet

Publishers often complain about unsolicited manuscripts and their ever-growing "slush pile." But when you visit their websites, their submission guidelines are alarmingly vague. Very few even recommend that a writer read some of their books to see what kind of work the publisher accepts. Writers end up looking at very general reference books like "Writer's Market" or "Literary Market Place" and simply sending their manuscript to every publisher that lists the genre the writer is working in. It's a massive waste of time and money every way you look at it.

Before we instituted our five-step submission process we received 500+ manuscripts a month. More than 6000 books every year. Of those 6000, we published, on average, two. Pretty bad ratio, don't you think? We knew we had to make a major change because most of the books we were getting weren't badly written -- they just weren't the kind of books we publish.

Then we introduced the five-step system. "Slush pile" submissions -- submissions that didn't fit our needs and that wasted our time and the author's time and money -- virtually stopped. The influx of manuscripts slowed to less than fifty a month. We were thrilled. But what pleased us even more was that of those fifty submissions we were accepting a dozen or more. We were seeing the books we'd always wanted.

The new submission process was at first met with resistance. One writer emailed: "You've got to be kidding! Your submission process is naive and cumbersome. Instead of jumping through your hoops, I'll just tell you about my book and you can publish it." To say the least, his email was shredded and we all had a good laugh about the audacity of lazy people. We have since received praise from literally all over the world. Serious, considerate authors are rallying behind a submission process that gives them more than a fighting chance.

Still interested in becoming proactive about your publisher research? Here's our step-by-step.

Step One

No matter what the genre, we aren't interested in stories where incest or child abuse are central themes. We will not publish any work that contains glorified infidelity, drug addiction, alcoholism, misogyny, male-bashing, heterophobia, homophobia or anti-Christian sentiment as unexamined character traits. We will not accept work that is sexually violent. Any violence against children must not be explicit and must be seen as heinous. We are a very pro-child company, so don't treat children as expendable in your story lines. We're only interested in publishing books that are timeless, not the next "hot thing."

In light of this information, is your book still for us? Continue to Step Two only if it is.

Step Two

All of our authors receive the same contract. There are no secrets. A copy of our agreement can be found here. Please read it and review it now.

Is the agreement fine with you? Continue to Step Three only if it is.

Step Three

Read some of our titles. Find the genre you're writing in here at our webcenter and buy one of our books in that genre. Or request the book from your local library. We expect your book to be as strongly written and as well-paced as anything else we publish. Step Three is perhaps the most vital step -- and the one that, early on, writers complained about. "Why should I read a bunch of your books before submitting to you?!" Not a bunch. Just one or two. Because how else will you know what type of book we publish and what type we don't? How will you know the quality we demand? The themes we work with? This just makes sense.

Once you have a firm idea of the books we publish, please continue to Step Four.

Step Four

Print a Submission Form and Submission Label. The Label makes sure your submission never enters a "slush pile." Without the Label, your submission will be returned to you unopened or shredded. The Form is a ultra-fast snapshot of you and your manuscript. Without the Form, your manuscript will be returned unread. Click here to access the Label and the Form.

Fill out a Submission Form and a Submission Label, then continue to Step Five.

Step Five

Fill out the Submission Form and attach it to your cover letter along with a self-addressed stamped envelope for a return letter. Send a detailed chapter-by-chapter synopsis and a complete manuscript. The synopsis must touch on all major plot points and character transformations -- do not leave things out to "surprise" us or so we'll "just have to read the book to find out." If you want your manuscript returned (if it's not accepted) send another SASE that fits the manuscript -- not just postage. Finally, fill out and attach the Submission Label to your envelope or box.

You're now ready to mail your submission!

It may indeed seem like a lot of "hoop jumping" but the authors we've signed since the introduction of this process swear by this approach. If it doesn't work for you, please simply send your submission to another publisher. Thank you for your consideration -- no matter what your decision.