Submission Guidelines
We publish:
- Action and Adventure
- Children’s fiction (we do not provide illustrations)
- Comedy
- Cosy mystery
- Crime
- Domestic drama
- Fantasy
- Horror
- Mystery
- New adult (NA)
- Paranormal (including paranormal romance)
- Satire
- Science fiction
- Thrillers (including murder mystery, psychological, spy)
- Women’s fiction (chick lit, romance, family sagas)
- Young adult (YA)
We do not publish:
- Erotica
- Non-fiction
- Poetry
What we look for
We only accept finished manuscripts between 40,000-100,000 words. That said, we won’t quibble if something shorter or longer catches our attention. (This does not apply to competitions and compilations we run.)
Page-turning fiction makes us smile. With this in mind, think bold writers. Scribblers who deliver a knockout hook. A host of memorable places and characters. Captivating writing that holds our attention. Of course, every story is different. What grabs one reader may not snare another. Do we like diversity? Yes!
Do the legwork
Bringing your manuscript and supporting documents together is vital. Do your research. There are countless online articles to assist.
What we need from you
Before submitting, make sure you have checked your manuscript. Your work doesn’t want to squat on the slush pile. Try reading the story aloud. Have a friend read it. Invite constructive criticism. An elevator pitch (50 words or fewer) and a well-written synopsis should accompany your manuscript.
Your submission should look professional. The manuscript and related documents will receive attention if you’ve made an effort. Before emailing, check spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and consistency.
Following submission
We deal with a high volume of submissions and consider each one. However, we only publish six per year. On receipt of your submission, we send a confirmation email and aim to be in touch within six weeks (this may be longer depending on workload). At that stage, we will confirm acceptance or rejection. We do not provide individual appraisals.
If you are successful
If your manuscript is acceptable, we will email to confirm the next stage. If you are happy to proceed, we issue a publishing agreement.
We aspire to assist our authors. Working together, we will bring your manuscript to publishing standard. Our complimentary benefits will help shape a promotion and marketing plan. As well as our input, you should be proactive. Though not guaranteed, this could equate to more sales. In today’s crowded market, maximising your book’s potential is crucial. Success requires hard work, persistence, and dedication.
Are you ready?
We only accept electronic submissions – please, attach all documents to your email. After all your hard work, don’t make the mistake of ignoring the guidelines. Use the format stated below and send to submissions@whisperpublishing.co.uk (FAO ‘Submissions Team’) with the following:
- A query letter
- The first three chapters/25 pages of your manuscript (Times or Arial font, 12pt, 1.5 or double spacing) in Microsoft Word or PDF file format (.doc, .docx or .pdf)
- An elevator pitch (25 words or fewer)
- A one-page synopsis (Times or Arial font, 12pt, 1.5 or double spacing)
- A short biography. Include details of what inspires you to write and your writing history (include works published/competition wins etc)