Types of Submissions Casperian Books Accepts

Casperian Books accepts electronic submissions of novel-length fiction only.

Submission Rules

1. Casperian Books DOES NOT accept simultaneous submissions.
   
2. Casperian Books DOES NOT accept book proposals or queries for partially written/unfinished manuscripts.
   
3. Casperian Books DOES NOT accept unsolicited manuscripts (but we DO accept query e-mails according to the guidelines below).
   
4. Casperian Books DOES NOT accept snail mail queries.

Querying Casperian Books

Please make an initial electronic inquiry following these guidelines:

1. Review the About Casperian Books and Questions & Answers pages of this website to familiarize yourself with Casperian Books and the services we can and can't offer.
2. Check out our catalog and read some sample chapters/books to get an idea of the writing we are looking for.
3. Write a cover letter that includes a) a clear and concise 2-3 paragraph summary of your story, b) your ideas for marketing/promoting the book as well as its target audience, c) your publishing history, and d) your contact information.
4. Below your cover letter, paste the first 5,000 words of your manuscript in plain text format.

Send your e-mail inquiry to (this is a spam-protected JavaScript link). If you follow the guidelines, you will receive a response within five business days. (Of course, that response might not be an immediate yes or no, but instead a request for further information or similar.)

Tips for a Successful Query

1. Make sure your e-mail is in plain text, not html.
2. Replace all "special" Word-type characters (e.g. curly quotation marks, em-dashes, etc.) with plain text before pasting them into your e-mail.
3. If you are citing publishing credits in your query letter, please include links to books/online journals (if available).
4. If you have read one or more of our books, please mention it in your query letter.
5. If you have more than one completed manuscript you wish us to consider, write one query letter with a short synopsis of each book. Do not include the 5,000 word sample. We will request a sample of the manuscript we are most interested in.
6. Be sure you have the following items written and handy in case we ask for them: a 2-3 page synopsis of the manuscript, a timeline for your novel, a detailed self-promotion/marketing plan (you'll need it!).

What's Next?

If we decide to read the rest of the manuscript, you will be asked to send a printout via snail mail. The printout should largely conform to our manuscript formatting guidelines. If you wish to have the manuscript returned to you, please include a large enough envelope with return postage affixed. Upon receipt of your manuscript, we will send you an e-mail stating our estimated manuscript review time, usually anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months. We might also ask you hard-hitting questions like, "Have you actually read one of our books?"

If your manuscript is (conditionally) accepted, you will immediately be informed via e-mail. At this point, we will send you a contract to sign and some IRS forms to fill out for tax purposes. Once you have signed and returned all needed paperwork, you will be prompted to e-mail the manuscript to us as a rtf or doc file that meets our manuscript formatting guidelines, and the editorial process will begin. This might be as simple as a copyedit, or it might involve several rounds of rewrites. Once everybody is satisfied with the manuscript, pre-press production will begin. A general timeline for the entire publication process can be found in this blog post.

Once the print files are ready, you will be asked to make final corrections. We will then forward the corrected print files to the printer to produce a proof, which will be shipped to Casperian Books. We will review the proof, and, if everything is in order, will forward it to you.

Next we will send out review copies and get the train rolling for releasing the book on the designated street date, while you gear up the promotion on your end.

The entire process from signing the contract to the release date will take about twelve months, give or take a few either way based on publication schedules and the amount of editing required.

Casperian Books will start issuing you a quarterly royalty check and sales statement within thirty days after the close of the quarter in which your book became available for sale. At the beginning of the year, we will also issue you a Form 1099-MISC for tax purposes if you reside in the United States. If you reside outside the United States, tax law is a little bit more complex and you will receive separate instructions together with your book contract.

If you wish to purchase copies of your book, you may do so at production cost plus sales tax (if applicable) plus shipping/packaging plus a small handling fee of either 10% of your total order amount or $10, whichever is less, for the first 25 copies. Additional copies of your book may be purchased at wholesale price plus sales tax (if applicable) plus shipping/packaging plus a small handling fee of either 10% of your total order amount or $10, whichever is less.

Further information can be found on the Questions & Answers page.