Submit Your Book to an Independent Publisher
Submissions are closed!
Thank you for considering Inspired Quill to submit your work. Unfortunately, submissions are currently closed until mid 2023.
Do read through this page to see how our novel submissions process works, but if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch via our Contact Page.
So you’ve written a book – what next?
Although we’re a tiny independent publishing house, Inspired Quill often has windows of time where we accept unsolicited manuscripts. This means that whenever we’re open for novel submissions, if you have a completed work you would like to submit, you don’t need to ask an agent to contact us!
However, it’s a good idea to take a look around the website and get a feel for who we are as a publisher – our ethos, the fantastic authors we already work with, and the books we publish. Before reading the guidelines below, you should make sure that you think we’d be a great fit for one another, especially as Inspired Quill are committed to working with our authors long-term.
What we are looking for
The Books We Publish:
If you’ve written something in any of our accepted genres, then you should feel free to submit your novel. This includes previously self-published work. However, we do prefer books with a diverse cast of well-rounded characters. We strongly believe in publishing works where our readers can see themselves in the story – whatever their race, gender, age, physical ability, sexuality or social class. But we don’t stand for tokenism. If all your characters are the same, then that’s fine…but we have to get the sense of mindful writing.
The Authors We Work With:
Inspired Quill loves to work with folks who are determined to jump in head first, aren’t afraid of hard work (we promise to pull our weight at the same time!) and want to learn the ins and outs of the industry and digital marketing. We’ll spend the time giving you 1-on-1 mentoring…but only if it’s taken seriously. We don’t work well with egos, either. If you truly believe that your novel doesn’t need any form of editing, then we’re sorry but Inspired Quill is unlikely to be the best publisher for you. However, there are bonus points up for grabs if you’re interested in social inclusion and/or ethical publishing.
Important Note: We’d like to make this absolutely clear (even though we wish this was a normal given) – ANYONE who meets the above criteria is welcomed at Inspired Quill. What goes for the characters in our novels goes for the folks behind the words. No exceptions.
Accepted Genres:
- Fantasy
- Science Fiction
- Steampunk
- Literary Fiction
- Crime
- Dystopian
Other Themes:
- LGBT (in above genres)
- Feminist (in above genres)
- Own Voices (in above genres)
Age Ranges:
- Adult (in above genres)
- YA (in above genres)
How To Submit Your Novel
Please Read Carefully!
Any submissions that do not conform to our guidelines will be deleted. We’re not being mean – we receive a lot of submissions during our open seasons, and not following the guidelines shows a lack of care on the author’s part.
Submission Guidelines
Word Count: 55,000 – 110,000 words (non-negotiable)
Document Format: Microsoft Word Only
Include: Cover Letter (email body) / First 2 Chapters or 15 pages if no chapters (attachment) / Synopsis (500 words max) (attachment)
Send To: (We’ll give the email address when our novel submissions are open again)
Cover Letter Should Include:
- Title of Work / Word Count / Genre
- Why you chose to submit your novel to Inspired Quill
Cover Letter Should Not Include:
- Author Name / Age or Age Markers (e.g. ‘I retired X years ago’ or similar)
- Website / Social Media Info
If you’d like to see a breakdown of what happens from ‘Submission To Print’, click the button below and download our free PDF guide.
Got A Question?
It may take up to 2 calendar months for us to reply to your initial submission. If you have not received a return email after that time, do feel free to contact us again for an update.
If you have any queries before you submit your work to us, you can get in contact directly using the contact form to the right hand side of this text. We look forward to hearing from you!
Does a Prologue count as a Chapter?
Yes.
What Font, Text Size and Margin Should I Use?
We do prefer to read text that has a 1.5 line space, but it’s not a requirement insofar as getting us to read your work is concerned. As long as you’re not using bradley hand or papyrus for the whole test, you should be fine!
How Much Does It Cost To Get Published?
As we’re a traditional publisher – not a penny! However, we would always suggest that it’s a good idea to have read at least one of our titles (in your genre). Not only does this help us to stay in business, but it’s also a way for you to get a real feel for the quality and style of the stories we’ve already worked with. You can even buy books online direct from this website!