Submission Guidelines

The first step in submitting your manuscript is to send a query. Do not send us your manuscript. We only accept queries by email. In your query, please comply with the following requirements:

• Place the word "query" on the subject line of your email.
• Your book must be completely finished. Also, we can only accept books that require minimal editing.
• Please indicate the type of novel you've written. For example; Science Fiction, Mystery, etc. If it doesn't fit into any common catagory, then call it a cross-genre novel and state which categories it most closely straddles. For example; Science Fiction/Adventure, Topical/Thriller, etc.
• Please state how long your book is by telling us the number of words (as given by MS Word or equivalent). We're looking for anything longer than 40,000 words (about 110-130 manuscript pages--single-spaced).
• Give a brief synopsis of the story, i.e. 1 or 2 pages inline (in the text of the email). No marketing blurbs. Please, just an informative description including how the story ends.
• Include the first ten pages of the book in your email query--inline (in the text of the email). Please--no attachments.
• Please include your name, street address, and email address.

What to Expect:

You will receive an email acknowledging our receipt of your query. We read everything we recieve. If we are interested in your manuscript, we will contact you within three weeks of receiving your query.

Why we Reject Manuscripts:

We reject manuscripts for the following reasons:

• You did not send us what we asked for.
• Your book is not finished.
• Your book requires substantial editing.
• Copious misspellings.
• Poorly written - bad grammar, bad punctuation, incoherent...
• You sent us a type of book we're NOT interested in: fantasy, religious, rant, etc.
• Copious amounts of gratuitous violence, pornography, racial slurs, child abuse, etc.
• Poorly written query letter and/or synopsis.

Remember:

We are actively looking for good material. We want to post your book. We want (many) readers to enjoy it. And, we want it to sell. Please send us your best material. We find no pleasure in turning you down.

Thank you, Speculative Fiction Review.