Where to query this week (09.11.24)
Query help hotline, 5 indie presses, & 5 literary agents every week.
Welcome to Sub Club’s Where to query this week! This weekly report features:
5 indie presses looking for collections or novels (free)
5 featured literary agents looking for books across genres (paid)
Paid subscribers will also get access to a spreadsheet download of all opportunities with the information beautifully and easily laid out!
Each indie press featured is open for submissions at the time we share them. Info includes all details on fees, payment, and submission guidelines.
Our five featured agents will include:
Where they work and what they’re looking for
Recently represented authors
Details on how to query
Favorite books/authors where we could find them
Please Note: We do our best to ensure that our data and details are correct; however, both presses and agents can often not update their portals or update them at random. For this reason, please make sure to double and triple-check on your own end prior to making any submissions. Also, please check for eligibility requirements before submitting.
This week from our Query Hotline:
I'm researching presses and contests to submit my debut manuscript to, and I often see payment information listed using language like "$1,000 and publication," "$2,000 plus 10 author copies," or simply "Publication." In those circumstances, should I assume that there will be no potential royalty payments, and that the listed payment is the entirety of what the winner can expect? I don't want to be presumptuous about how well my manuscript could sell, but I also don't want to shortchange myself. Thank you for all your wonderful advice!
» Usually, royalty is a standard part of any publication contract unless explicitly stated. You do generally have to earn out your advance which is what that $1000 or $2000 prize means. However, terms can vary, so it's always best to carefully read the complete guidelines or contest rules. If royalty information isn't clear (which, annoyingly, it often isn’t) don't hesitate to contact the organizers for clarification.
I'm working on a YA suspense novel. The story is split between a teenager's POV and the same character's POV 10 years later. The adult character is back in her high school, and most of the conflict in her timeline is related to what happened during senior year. I feel confident that this story is for teenage readers, but I can't find YA suspense/thriller/mystery comps that rely on adult POVs. Is this doomed to never find an agent for traditional publishing? Do you have advice for querying when your manuscript doesn't quite fit conventions for a genre?
» TBH, your idea sounds pretty cool. While it's true that this structure is less common in YA, it's not unheard of, and there are ways to approach querying such a manuscript. Some suggestions:
Focus on the teen POV in pitching:
Emphasize the teenage perspective when querying. Since most of the conflict stems from the high school years, this should be the primary focus of your pitch.
2. Highlight the uniqueness:
Present the dual timeline as a strength. It offers a fresh perspective on teenage experiences and their long-term impacts.
3. Consider New Adult (NA) or crossover appeal:
Your book might appeal to both YA and adult readers. Mention this potential crossover appeal in your query.
4. Find similar structures in other genres:
While exact comps might be hard to find, look for YA books with unconventional structures or time jumps.
5. Seek out forward-thinking agents:
Research agents who represent books that push genre boundaries or who have expressed interest in unique narrative structures.
6. Be clear about your target audience:
Explain why you believe this story is for teenage readers despite the adult POV.
A bit more from my indie press/editor bestie : I think it depends on the voice of the adult character. Try to get readers in your audience (teenagers) read it and give feedback. As for comps, they don't mean your book is doing the exact same thing, so the split POV could be the new angle that you are approaching your story with. It's again down to the sales pitch, and if you, the author, don’t seem confident, no way the agent is going to feel confident.
» » If want to ask a question in our Query Hotline, fill out the form here with any questions you might have about querying, whether that’s around agents, indie presses, book contests, formatting, genres, or if you just need someone to tell you you’re doing just fine. (Submit your question here) « «
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5 Indie Presses That Want Your Book
Finishing Line Press (Deadline: Sep 15)
Finishing Line Press is an award-winning small press publisher based in Georgetown, Kentucky.
Fee: $20 | Payment: $1500 | Judge: Christen Kincaid
2024 New Women’s Voices Chapbook Competition
Submit a manuscript of 16 to 30 pages of poetry plus bio, title page, and acknowledgments
We do allow hybrid manuscripts in addition to traditional poetry manuscripts: prose poetry or formal verse.
We do allow art to be included with the manuscript. Please follow page count guidelines. One page of art is equal to one page of poetry.
Lightscatter Press (Deadline: Sep 17)
Through its manuscript competition, Lightscatter Press seeks the work of emerging writers (defined as having published no more than one full-length book of poems), across a spectrum of voices, experiences, and identities, whose writing diffracts as it meets the world, finding life and light in multiple mediums. Writers need not have a concept of how their manuscript might become multimodal — we will work closely and collaboratively with the writer whose manuscript is chosen to create an accessible design for the book as well as its digital/multimodal manifestations.
Fee: $30 | Pay: $1000 | Judge: John Murillo
Submit a manuscript of not fewer than 48 pages of poetry (we suggest an upper limit of around 64 pages, but this is not proscriptive), including a list of acknowledgments. Your name and contact information should not appear anywhere within the manuscript.
University of Wisconsin Press (Deadline: Sep 15)
The University of Wisconsin Press is a not-for-profit publisher of books and journals. Their mission embodies the Wisconsin Idea by publishing work of distinction that serves the people of Wisconsin and the world.
Fee: $28 | Pay: $1500 x 2 | Judge: Ron Wallace
The Brittingham Prize in Poetry
The Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry
Please upload an original poetry manuscript in pdf format, no fewer than 50 and no more than 90 pages in length. Your manuscript should be formatted as specified below. Please be sure your name and contact information DO NOT APPEAR anywhere in the manuscript. You will be asked to pay a $28 entry fee, by credit card.
Your manuscript should include the following:
A simple title page, which should not include the name of the author.
A table of contents, with accurate page numbers indicated.
50 to 90 pages of poetry, with numbered pages.
An acknowledgments page (optional, if any of the poems have appeared previously in journals or magazines).
Founded in 2005 by the husband-and-wife team Eric Obenauf and Eliza Jane Wood-Obenauf, along with Brian Obenauf, Two Dollar Radio is an independent family-run publisher based in Columbus, Ohio. Specializing in literary fiction, Two Dollar Radio has gained recognition for its commitment to unique narratives. Writers seeking to contribute to the indie literary scene should explore the submission guidelines provided on the publisher's website.
Fee: $3 | Pay: Standard Royalties
Please submit a completed manuscript, along with a brief cover letter that details the work and any publishing credentials you want us to be aware of.
At this time, we are considering fiction and non-fiction manuscripts, essay collections, and travel writing that is manuscript length.
We used to say that we were primarily looking for edgy fiction or topical essay collections, but we have broadened our horizons: we'd like for you to blow our minds.
Overall, we are looking for what we would characterize as bold, creative work of high literary merit. Again: please familiarize yourself with our titles before submitting anything.
Dalkey Archive Press is a publisher of fiction, poetry, and literary criticism, specializing in the publication or republication of lesser-known, often avant-garde works.
Fee: Free | Pay: Royalties
If you would like to submit a manuscript, please familiarize yourself with our list and the types of books we publish in order to determine whether yours would be appropriate. Please keep in mind as well that we publish primarily literary fiction, rarely poetry or non-fiction, and that we place a heavy emphasis upon fiction that belongs to the experimental tradition of Sterne, Joyce, Rabelais, Flann O’Brien, Beckett, Gertrude Stein, and Djuna Barnes.
A query letter with contact information should accompany your submission.
Please put your name and email address on each page of your sample or manuscript as a running head. Also add the name of the author and the original language of the book.
We prefer submissions to be sent by e-mail, as attachments–saved as either PDFs or MS Word-compatible files less than 5mb in size–directed to our submissions email address (hyperlinked).
5 Literary Agents Open to Queries
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