Submission Guidelines
So, you want to get published?
If you write Saga Fantasy Novels, (and we here at I.I.I. classify "Fantasy" as sword and sorcery set in a medieval era,) you very well could be our next big author!
Imagined Interprises, Inc. is currently looking for authors!
How to submit your manuscript to
Imagined Interprises, Inc.We have an open submissions policy. That means that we will consider any project sent to us for review that meets the requirements we are seeking. Every proposal that reaches us is reviewed by at least one member of the editorial staff. We apologize in advance for replying primarily with form letters; unfortunately, there's no other way to handle responses in a timely manner.
Please read this entire page before submitting. Following our guidelines will ensure that your work will be reviewed by one of our editorial staff.
Please note that these guidelines are intended for writers who do not have agents. If you have an agent, have your agent submit your inquiry to
agentsubmission@imaginedinterprises.com. Please be aware that if you are not an agent and you send your work to this email address you will be banned from ever having our staff consider any of your work for publication. Please, follow the rules and no one will get hurt.
We are a Fantasy Publishing House. We are looking for what we classify as Saga Fantasy works of literature. This does not necessarily mean swords and magic and dragons… but they help.
We classify Saga Fantasy as having that medieval feel to it. It can be set in the future, in the past, on this planet or one of your own design, that is all up to you. But, just as an example, flying cars are not what we classify as medieval.
We are also interested in works that are multiple novels. A three book series is the minimum of what we are looking for. If you have written a story that can be told in one book, this does not match what we consider to be saga length. This does not mean that we will not consider your work. But, knowing that your story could have a sequel is a must.
Each manuscript should be in the neighborhood of 120,000 words in length. We will go as high as 140,000 words in a book, or as low as 100,000 words. But, 120k is the sweet spot.
You do not need to have all of the books in the saga written. The first one, yes. But, the follow up novels can be in synopsis form to open discussions with our acquisition editors.
If you feel your work meets the above criteria, and you have done your due diligence at composing the strongest manuscript possible, i.e. edited for grammar, punctuation, spelling, sentence structure, etc., then please feel free to put together a submissions package and send it our way.
What is a submission package?
A submission package should include the following...
A total of five chapters of your book, prepared in standard manuscript format on white paper. (If your chapters are really short or really long, or if you don't use chapter breaks, you can send about 30-40 pages of your book, provided you stay around 10,000 words total.) The submitted text must be made up of sections that are consecutive pages and should end at the end of a paragraph, not in mid-sentence. Standard manuscript format means margins of 1 inch all the way around; indented paragraphs; double-spaced text; and Courier or Times Roman in 10 or 12 pitch. Please use one side of the page only and do not justify the text. Do not bind the manuscript in any way. Make sure the header of the manuscript includes both your name and the title of the book as well as the page number (on every page.)
Please note, we DO NOT want the first five chapters of your book! We would like to see the first chapter of your book (or around 2,000 words) as well as the last chapter (again, around 2,000 words.) For the other three chapters (or, 6,000 words,) send us something that will grab our attention. You should include at least one chapter with each of the following events within their pages; a fight scene, an emotional scene, a really good exchange of dialogue.
A synopsis of the entire book. The synopsis should include all important plot elements, especially the end of the story, as well as aspects of character development for your main characters. The synopsis should run between three and ten pages in standard manuscript format.
A dated cover letter that includes your name and contact information and the title of the submitted work. Briefly tell us of any qualifications you have that pertain to the work. Please list any previous publications in paying markets. We also want to know what types of writing conventions you are using – i.e. Maxwell Alexander Drake does not use any contractions – and as much background on your world and how things work as you feel is necessary for us to grasp your creation.
Two self-addressed, stamped, business-size envelopes for our reply letters. (One to notify you that we received your package, and one when we take a look at your work.) Unfortunately, it's not possible for us to return submission package, so do not send the only copy of your work. You may include an email address instead of a SASE and we will notify you via email. If you do not include a SASE nor an email address, you will not receive a reply at all.
Please send a submission package for the first book of your saga only. If we like what we see, we'll be in touch for the rest.
How will I be sure you get my Manuscript?
If you want to be sure that your submission package was delivered to our offices, please ask for a return receipt or a signature confirmation when you post it.
Some Tips from Our Staff to You
Here are some tips our staff like that mayhaps you should follow:
Don't send a query letter. I know everyone says "Send me a query letter." We feel this is a shame. It's impossible to judge a project from a query. We'd rather see your submission package which will show us your ability to write Fantasy, not a one letter sales pitch.
We now accept submissions by email. As this will save you postage—and us space—feel free to submit via this fashion. The acquisition editors are warming up to the digital age.
Don't send disks. We want to read words in black type on white paper. And it's not that we don't trust you, but your system might have viruses you don't know about.
Don't send us the only copy of anything. Things get lost in transit and we don’t send it back to you anyway.
Don't send interior or cover art or an author photo. There's time for that later if we like your project.
Don't try and bribe us. Don't send jewelry, food, toys, 3-dimensional representations of anything, home-baked cookies, fine fabrics, fancy bookmarks, bananas, fancy manuscript boxes, monkeys or anything that might be construed as a bribe. None of this has any impact on our consideration of your work. Well, getting a monkey via the mail would be cool. Still, your work has to make it on its own merits, so keep your stinking monkeys!
Where do I send my Submission Package?
We have finally entered the digital age here at I.I.I. and are now accepting submission packages via email. Yeah, for us.
Make sure that it is still formatted as the instructions above state. Then email them to submissions (at) imaginedinterprises (dot) com.
You may still snail mail us your submission package to:
Imagined Interprises, Inc.
Attention Submission Department
6955 N. Durango Dr. Ste. 1115-717
Las Vegas, NV 89149
Generally, we respond to unsolicited submissions within 3-6 months. Unfortunately, your manuscripts and our replies sometimes go astray in transit. It's not possible for us to track down any individual project; please don't call for a status report. If you have not heard back from us after six months, please resubmit your project.
http://www.imaginedinterprises.com/pages/submissions.html