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Got questions?
We have answers!
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What is Quills and Cosmos Press?We are a small, independent, woman-owned, traditional publishing company. We publish science fiction and fantasy novels written exclusively by women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other minorities.
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Where are you based?Quills and Cosmos Press calls northern Colorado home, specifically Fort Collins.
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What kinds of submissions are you looking for?Submit HERE. Works by women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other minorities. We know it's awkward to do, but please include your status in your cover letter. (Please don't lie- we'll find out later, and we won't give you a contract, even if we love your book.) Science fiction or fantasy novels, from 75,000 words to 100,000 words. If you're below this, you likely haven't done enough world-building (sci-fi/fantasy needs a lot!), and we're probably going to ask you to beef it up a bit, if we read it at all. If you're over the 100K... we believe it's easier to cut down than to add, so we might work with you. But seriously, if it's over 150K for a debut, you need to cut it down. We want the first 3 chapters of your novel. If you have a prologue, that's your first chapter. (If you don't think it's necessary for us, and would rather start with the actual chapters, then reconsider why you need the prologue in the first place.) Query letter. We want to hear a brief blurb here. Give us your best back cover copy. Make us want to read your chapters. Cover letter should also include the author's brief bio. Let us know who you are, where you come from, what your day job is. Also clue us in why you wrote this book- what inspired it, what special knowledge you have that makes the book interesting. (Writing a book about a crime solving veterinarian, and you've been a vet for 5 years? Share that!) Also tell us how many words your novel is. If you've had any professional editing done to it, alpha/beta readers, critique groups- let us know that too. Note: Have someone besides your parents read the novel and give you feedback. Someone who doesn't love you. Your novel will be better for it. Synopsis. We know. Devil's work. Do it anyway. And a synopsis includes giving away the twist, and the ending. (We personally don't read the synopsis until after we've read the first three chapters. If you hook us with your beginning, we want to know where it's going before we request the full. Yes, spoilers. Do it. If you leave something major out, we'll be annoyed. Try not to annoy the acquisitions editors)
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Where to submit?We're open for submissions! Check it out here!
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Can I send you my self-published novel?Nope. Sorry, we won't publish anything that's already been published, even if you take it down. (The internet has a long memory, we'll still know.)
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How long does it take to get a response?We try to get through all manuscripts within 30-60 days. Sometimes less, hopefully not more. And we will respond, one way or another. Might be a form rejection, but we won't leave you hanging. If we get too backed up, we'll close off submissions for a while. Also- we close off submissions during December. We'll still respond that month to things we've already gotten, but nothing new comes in. Probably stays off until January 10 or so. We'll send notifications, so sign up below.
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I design book covers. Can I send you my portfolio?We love this idea, but at the moment we're not in the market for cover art. We'll put out a call on our blog and social media when we are though! (sign up for our newsletter below to be notified directly)
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Something else!If you have another question that we haven't covered here, please send us an email at meagan@quillsandcosmos.com.
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