Submissions

We're pleased to announce that Desert Palm Press is now accepting submissions. If you think that you have a fabulous, well-proofed, and edited story you want us to read, please follow the submission guidelines to submit your work. 

Guidelines for Submission

General Submission Information

The submission process is a critically important initial step on your journey toward publication. This is your first chance to show you can write well and follow directions.

Do not submit any manuscript that you have sent to any other publisher or that you plan to send out as a simultaneous submission to other presses. We understand that you want to maximize your time usage, but the DPP evaluators also need to avoid investing time and energy in a novel that might be snapped up by another press. We *will* get back to you. Please give us time to do the review.

Your submission should be your best work and as free of errors as possible. Chicago Manual of Style (CMoS) is the basis for our editing style. Our House Style Guide supersedes these, as we use serial commas; do not put spaces before and after ellipsis; question marks do not belong at the end of a statement, with the rare exception made in spoken dialogue, for emphasis; and we try to avoid the overuse of italics and exclamation points.

Please submit your manuscript electronically in the following format:

• Microsoft Word ® .doc, .docx, or .rtf, with the entire document in one file.

• Font: Times New Roman, 12 font, double spaced

• Margins: 1 inch

In the body of the actual email, please provide the following:

• Legal name and any pen names you write use;

• Full physical address, email address(es), and phone number(s);

• Your website links and/or social media links;

• Short biographical info (perhaps 200-500 words);

• Details of your publishing history, if any;

• Tell us about the genre or genres your book seems to fit into;

• If the book has been published before or someone holds any rights to any aspect of your manuscript, please explain that clearly;

• Tell us specifically why your book would appeal to a lesbian audience and why your work would be a good fit with DPP.

As attachments to the email, you must include three things:

1. A synopsis of the entire work (no more than 500-600 words) including a plot summary that tells the beginning, middle and end;

2. A description of characters and places/settings (no more than 300 words);

3. The entire completed Word-compatible manuscript in .doc(x) or .rtf as a single file attachment. Format it in a standard fashion (8.5×11-inch page, double-spaced, one-inch margins all around, nothing in the headers and footers, and no usage of manual tabs). Do not use HTML formatting. Highlight in red any news articles, lyrics, diary entries, quotations from other sources, etc. which may need different formatting from the standard layout.

The entire document you submit must be your creative output so that you have the right to register it with the US Copyright Office. If you have used someone else’s material, you must get permission to use it before we will review your manuscript. (This goes especially for quoting song lyrics.)

In addition, you must be able to use the Microsoft Word word-processing program and Word’s “Track Changes” function. If you are unfamiliar, you must learn how to use MS Word before your work can be edited. (You can go to https://support.microsoft.com/ to find tutorials and helpful articles about how to use Track Changes.)

We adhere to the elements of style in the Chicago Manual of Style and expect manuscripts with a high standard of grammar, usage, and style.

TIPS FOR SUBMISSIONS:

• When formatting the manuscript, use the “Enter” key to start new paragraphs or a new line of dialogue. Never use hard returns at the end of a line of text within a paragraph.

• Do not use hard returns to move to a new page.

• Do not insert page breaks or section breaks. Double space after your scene breaks and place an end-of-scene signifier (### or  ***) between the two scenes.

• Read and look through books by DPP authors to get an idea of DPP’s style and format.

• Before submitting, have others “beta-read” your work to ensure that you have a solid plot, characters, and structure.

• Find proofreaders to go through your manuscript to look for typos, missing words, bad formatting, doubled words, misspellings, etc.

• Use a program (such as ProWritingAid https://prowritingaid.com) to review your manuscript and alert you to any deficiencies.

• Make use of Google and the Internet to learn all you can about book contracts, editing, revising your own work, and the publishing industry in general.

GENERAL WORD COUNT GUIDELINES:

• Crime/Suspense/Mystery/Intrigue/Thriller (75,000-100,000)

• Historicals, generally prior to 2000 (75,000–110,000)

• Literary Fiction/General Fic: 75,000–110,000

• Romance/Romantic Intrigue/Romantic Blend (55,000 – 85,000)

• Series/Sagas (75,000 – 100,000 each)

• Speculative Fic/Sci-Fi/Fantasy (75,000 – 90,000)

• Paranormal/Psychological Suspense/Horror  (65,000 – 90,000)

TOP FIVE REASONS SUBMISSIONS ARE NOT ACCEPTED

• There is little or no lesbian content.

• The plot makes no sense and/or the characters are not presented well enough to make the reader care about them.

• Too much “telling” (which is cerebral and off-putting) and not enough “showing” (clear descriptions, including effective emotional beats and proper cause/effect) in manuscript.

• Poor sentence construction and many grammatical, syntax, or usage errors throughout the manuscript.

• Failure to follow the submissions instructions above.

The submission process is very important! Please follow it meticulously (whether you are an author or an agent) to give yourself the best chance of positive results. If you have questions about the submission process, you may send your questions to: publisher@desertpalmpress.com.

Thank you for considering Desert Palm Press as a possible home for your book.