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All submitting authors should fully read and understand our below guidelines, and submissions sent to us that do not follow the guidelines (bio, synopsis, manuscript/pitch, correct email, Word doc only) will be deleted, unread. We feel we need to take this seriously as it is for the author’s benefit to put trust in us, as your publisher. If a potential author fails to read and follow basic submission guidelines, it doesn’t give us trust that the same author will fully read their contract.
Here at SRL Publishing, we welcome submissions from all minority groups and stories which portray characters from minority groups. We understand there’s an uplift of agencies and publishers asking writers to identify their race/sexual preference at the top of their submission, but we don’t. We believe this makes writers feel uncomfortable and puts publishers and agents at risk of discrimination. We would rather look at submissions blindly.
We encourage our authors to share as much of their identity as they are comfortable with. Writers will never be asked about their sexuality, race, or religion – only if the author wishes to disclose, and we will never use this information to generate sales. We advise anyone who is thinking of submitting their work to us, to not put their race in the subject heading. We view all submissions as equal, and will not prioritise any submissions from certain minority groups.
We don’t care about your colour, we care about your words.
What types of books do you publish?
We love stories – fiction or non-fiction. We will consider most genres, topics, or formats. As long as we like it enough to publish it. Whether it’s controversial, colourful, or childish, our editorial team will review all submissions received. We’re looking to work with authors who love stories as much as we do, and who are passionate about the art of storytelling.
While we review all submissions, please bear in mind not all work submitted can be accepted. As we receive numerous submissions each month, we cannot guarantee which titles will be selected for publication.
What don’t you publish?
SRL Publishing will not, under any circumstances, review or accept submissions with any of the following topics or elements: graphic or eroticised incest/rape; necrophilia; paedophilia; bestiality; erotica, fetishes or porn; or anything that encourages violence, hate, or racism. No exceptions.
We’re currently not looking to publish poetry, self-help titles, short story collections, anthologies, or faith-based books.
SRL Publishing believes firmly in the craft of storytelling, so we will not accept AI-generated submissions in any form. These include works that are written or co-written by AI technology. To give any potential SRL authors peace of mind, we include a clause in our contracts stating we shall not generate any material for our books, including cover designs, by using artificial intelligence.
Do I need an agent?
While we do work with some literary agencies, an agent is not required to submit your work to us; direct submissions are very welcome.
Do I have to pay any fees to publish with you?
No.
If we offer you a publishing contract there are no fees involved, only what we pay you. We never charge our authors to publish with us and we believe this should be industry standard. All work submitted to us is considered for a traditional publishing contract This is where no costs are incurred by the author and the whole cost for producing, publishing, and marketing the work is covered by SRL Publishing.
How much will I get paid?
If you sign with us, you will not be an employee of SRL Publishing. We pay our authors royalties, which are in line with industry averages and are based on a books’ RRP not wholesale price, nor is it based on a publishers net profits. This is so our authors know exactly what they will receive per book sold, and not have to wait for the publisher to share their profit with the author after claiming back their expenses.
Our authors get a fixed amount per individual book sale, regardless of our expenditure and regardless of how much we sell a book to a retailer.
If you decide to pass on my manuscript, do you keep my data?
No, is the short answer. In line with our privacy policy and the data we collect and keep, if we were to pass on a submission, your data would be securely deleted when a decision is made regarding your manuscript.
Any tips?
Your work does not need to be double-spaced. We like to be environmentally friendly as much as we can when printing, so we prefer just single-spaced work with the manuscript.
Always use a font that is legible and easy to read for all of our readers. Fonts like Comic Sans or Broadway will not be accepted. Garamond and Palatino are our favourites.
Some of our authors work with their own editors before submitting to a publisher, this is completely fine but not required as we have our team and database of freelance editors.
Do I have to send a finished manuscript?
Not at all. Publishing contracts can be offered on an idea and layout of a story. In this case, we would require a detailed synopsis, chapter breakdown, and target word count alongside a cover letter, writer bio, and examples of your writing style.
How do I submit my manuscript to you?
All you need to do is send us your manuscript or pitch idea, with a cover letter, bio, and synopsis.
We incorporate green business practices as much as possible as we are all too aware of the amount of paper waste that is produced by the book publishing industry. Therefore, we do not accept paper submissions, and you should email your piece to submissions@srlpublishing.co.uk. Any submissions sent through our contact pages or other email addresses, unless advised to do so by ourselves, will not be reviewed.
Please note we only accept submissions in a Word processing document and will not accept or review submissions sent via a zip file, PDF file, or a cloud-based platform such as One Drive or Dropbox.
Response times can vary, our speed being dependent on the volume of submissions. Our submissions window never closes which means we occasionally can get a high influx of queries so we can take a while to get back to you. We respond to every query which can take up to 16 weeks, although average response time is around 4-8 weeks.
You will receive a confirmation email when we have received your submission. If you haven’t had acknowledgement after one working day, please contact us.
You will receive a response from our submissions team regardless of whether your submission is successful or not, but please note, due to the high number of submissions we receive, we cannot discuss submissions or provide detailed editorial feedback.
What happens after I’ve received an offer of publication?
Traditional publishing can be a lengthy process. We’ve outlined this not to scare anyone away, but because we’re always open and honest about the process involved.
The time from offer to contract signing is usually in weeks, not days. After an offer, both parties will discuss deal points including royalties, expected formats, subsidiary rights, and – with an aim to – reach an agreement. Although, a lot of the time contracts can be signed much quicker. The publisher will then start preparing a final contract with the details discussed and agreed upon.
Among everything else, this rough timeline gives aspiring authors one more factor to consider when submitting to publishers. Individual mileage may vary, but from offer to negotiating a contract, to finally the printed novel, it can take an average time of 14 months.
