Aspiring Authors

Please read this entire page thoroughly for our guidelines may have changed since you last visited. Any submission that does not follow the posted guidelines exactly will be rejected without review. Please also note that as of 4/10/09, we will no longer accept Electronic Submissions. Electronic submissions will be deleted without review. Query letters (that do not contain the full requirements of a book proposal as outlined below) will also be discarded without review.

For more information before continuing with the Publishing Guidelines, read our Getting Published FAQs.

By clicking on this link, you are probably either an unpublished author looking for the opportunity to have your book in print, or a previously published author looking for a new publisher for your yet-to-be published titles. Either way, welcome to Silver Leaf Books. Silver Leaf Books is a Small Press, meaning that we publish and sustain at least three titles per year. We focus primarily on the Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror, and Mystery / Suspense genres.

By submitting to Silver Leaf Books, you are hoping to have us sign you as an author, publish your books, and provide you with a royalty for the sales of your books. Since the cost associated with the publication process is ours, there is a fairly lengthy application and review for consideration of each and every title that comes in. We look not only for good writing, a good storyline, and a marketable idea, but also for the right author (outlook and persistence).

If you are looking to just publish your book without going through the review process, to maintain 100% control over your project, receive all revenues and not just a royalty, and do it all yourself with some help, then Silver Leaf Books is not for you. However, if this is the model you desire, then we would recommend visiting Creative Strategists for a quote to help your book get in print. They provide you with quality service and a professional product.

Here at Silver Leaf Books, we like to approach our authors a bit differently. We make an extra effort to help our authors develop and grow, including Insider Interviews where your direct audience can learn more about you and your book, and a dedicated Community and Events section where fans can learn more about current developments with you and your work. At the same time, we ask for a commitment from our authors: again, we don't just look for the right book, but for the right author as well. We can set up the program that will develop you for success, but you need to also make the commitment to take the time to meet that success. Not only Internet strategies, but also Book Signings, Conventions, Trade Shows, Expos, and much more! An author is really the driving force to bring about the success of their work. After all, nobody will be as passionate about your own project as you!

Our authors are also given the opportunity to be involved in the publication process. We do not just take your manuscript and then you see a final product when it is done. You will have an opportunity to provide feedback on edits and even the final book design. In addition, we allow our authors to find and provide the right look and feel for their books by working with artists directly. If you don't know any artists, don't worry, we receive artist submissions regularly that we can provide you to help you along with your decision. This way, however, you will be able to make sure that your cover is engaging and fits the image you have in your mind.

So how do you become part of the Silver Leaf Books family? This involves a three-phase process as outlined below:

PHASE 1:
The first phase, when attempting to submit your work to Silver Leaf Books, is to provide our editing staff with an overview of your project. PHASE 1 proposals must include the following information for your submission to be considered for review:

#	To be Included in Proposal	Requirements / Guidelines
1.	Introduction Letter	Cover letter to your proposal that includes, at an absolute minimum, the following: Title of the book; Genre of the book; Page count; Word count; Identify Font Type / Size / Spacing used; Introduction of the material being included in the proposal (outline); and Brief introduction of the novel and why we should consider it for publication (limited to 3 paragraphs).
2.	Book Overview / Synopsis	Provide a brief overview and synopsis of your book, including the basic plot of the novel.
3.	Series Overview / Synopsis	If the book is intended to be part of a series, provide a brief overview and synopsis of the series and future plans for the series, each subsequent book, and anticipated completion dates.
4.	Author Information	Provide information about the author(s), including any writing background or literary awards you may have won.
5.	Writing Sample	Provide the first three chapters from your book, in order, not random selections.
6.	Marketing Plan	Provide marketing information, including any information that you have accumulated about the audience for your books and suggest ways that both you and SLB can reach these people. This should also include facts about how and to whom your book can be successfully marketed, as well as what you, as the author, plan on doing to help promote your book
7.	Format	All materials being submitted should be in a format that is easy to read. This includes plain white paper, double spaced, Times New Roman 12 point font, with 1 inch margins. Each section as outlines above should be clearly identified in the proposal for ease of review. If the submission is not in this format, it shall be rejected without review.
8.	SASE	A self addressed stamped envelope must be included to submit a reply to your proposal. An email address should also be provided in the event that postage increases in price and your SASE no longer has sufficient postage.

If any of these requirements are not included, your submission will be automatically rejected without review.

Please mail your submission proposal to:

Silver Leaf Books, LLC
P.O. Box 6460
Holliston, MA 01746

In addition, there are materials that could be beneficial to provide your submission with a more rounded and complete presentation. Though these materials are not required for review, they could be beneficial if you did prepare them. The proposal should include as much of the following as possible:

Provide an outline that will cover the novel chapter by chapter;
If you have been previously published, whether it is a novel, magazine article, or anything, include an overview of these accomplishments as well as any awards won and previous sales volumes of your books;
If you desire an acknowledgement of receipt prior to review of your submission, then submit your materials through the mail and include a stamped, self-addressed postcard; and
If you have already prepared some promotional materials or have generated interest in some way, those materials should be forwarded for consideration as well.

Please do not send simultaneous submissions. Though we would be willing to review more than one manuscript for publication, we shall not do so at the same time.

Follow the guidelines closely. Try to be thorough and professional with your submission, allowing us to form a better picture about you and your project, and remember: first impressions are often lasting ones!

Please allow up to six months for your PHASE 1 submission to be reviewed. If you have not heard from us within six months, and wish to confirm that we have received your submission, then please write us a letter indicating the title, author name, and submission date so that we will be able to promptly identify your project. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope or post-card to have the confirmation returned. Do not send an email request for confirmation.

Upon reviewing your materials, Silver Leaf Books will provide you with a formal response to your proposal. If there is mutual interest between both SLB and the author to advance, you will begin PHASE 2 of the proposal process.

At this time, all author submissions will be considered for paperback books only. Books with strong demand and sales may be converted into hardcover, or future titles from an SLB author may be selected, at the sole discretion of SLB to be put into a hardcover format.

PHASE 2:
By advancing to PHASE 2 of the proposal process, there has been mutual interest expressed between both you and Silver Leaf Books to continue exploring your book. During this stage, you should mail two copies of your completed manuscript, along with a completed Nondisclosure Agreement for Submitting Ideas, to Silver Leaf Books. Manuscripts received without a Nondisclosure Agreement will not be reviewed. If you would like the manuscripts returned, sufficient return postage should also be included. A self addressed stamped envelope should be included regardless of whether you wish to have the manuscript returned or not.

Silver Leaf Books will review your manuscript and will provide a formal response to your proposal upon review. This typically is within 120 days from receipt of the manuscript, but the review process could take longer depending on the volume of reviews we have. If there is mutual interest between both SLB and the author to advance, you will begin PHASE 3 of the proposal process.

PHASE 3:
You’re almost there! Once you have entered PHASE 3 of the proposal process, you will receive the Silver Leaf Books author contract, including information on your own personal Author Web Page that will be included on SLB's site. At this point, after all agreements have been made, you can expect to see your book in print within 12 - 24 months!