Please read the submissions guidelines carefully as manuscripts will be rejected if they do not follow them.
Take a good look at the kinds of books we publish. Sparsile is about content that stands out, not formulaic genre.
Please only contact us after the book is completed. We are not interested in early chapters or book proposals.
We do not accept erotic novels or short stories.
What we’re looking for:
Your details: Your name and email address, both in your cover letter and at the beginning of any material you send.
Book summary: No more than 500 words. Tell us what the book is about. This is your chance to sell your writing to us. Let’s face it, if you’re not excited by what you’ve written why should we be? Don’t forget to let us know the approximate length of the book (word count) and if it includes images. We are only interested in completed works, not ideas or proposals.
Sample Material: Send us up to 5000 words (you can be slightly over if you need to include the end of a chapter). We only accept attachments by email, which must be in an MS Word compatible format. Ensure that pages are double-spaced and numbered. Please do NOT use the space bar to create paragraph indents. Create indents using the paragraph options. If appropriate, include a table of contents.
Market audience: Who is this book aimed at? Tell us its genre and who you think will read it.
Competition: What books are closest to yours in the current market (please don’t say none). Why would a reader choose you over the others?
Author Credentials: Tell us a little about yourself. Have you been published before? Does something in your background make you particularly suited to writing about your chosen subject? Are you available/willing to participate in promotion and publicity efforts, and to use social media?
Be patient: We are a very small operation and getting through thousands of manuscripts is difficult. We will try, but probably cannot answer everyone individually. If you have not heard from us within 6 months, you may take it we are not interested.
Don’t be downhearted: Being rejected does not mean you are a bad author. It is likely that we simply did not have enough room for you on our limited catalogue. Good luck with your book. We hope you find it a home.
Book Layout Standards
Please use MS Word or Word compatible word-processing software.
Please use a first line indent on paragraphs, not tabs or (heaven forbid) multiple spaces.
Stick to one font. Don't change font for emphasis. We have no control over the electronic versions. E readers can change font at will, and so any font-based formatting will be lost. If you're trying to indicate a change, use italic.
Don't use multiple returns to indicate section breaks. Again there are problems with the e-formats. Use a triple tilde i.e. ~~~
Include header and page numbers, though these will be reformatted in the final version. But please do not do this manually.
Do not put a double space after a full stop. (If you weren't taught to touch type on a typewriter, you probably don't do this anyway.)
Use single quotes for speech, i.e. '...' not "..."
Please include an automatic page break in your chapter heading style.
When using ellipses, please only use three dots and do not put a space between the ellipsis and the word (this is for e-docs, which can break the line anywhere). For example, ‘You think that she’s had…an affair!’ Alternatively, if you are familiar with the method, put a non-breaking space between.
Hyphens and em dashes. Please use these correctly.
A hyphen (-) is a punctuation mark that’s used to join words or parts of words. It’s not interchangeable with other types of dashes. For example, you might use it with a compound word, She was twenty-two years old.
An em dash* is longer than a hyphen and is commonly used to indicate a range or a pause. For example:
‘But surely—’ She broke off when her father came into the room.
It was a wonderful place —modern yet somehow gothic— and he couldn’t believe it was now his.
Try to keep paragraphs to ten lines or under. This is a modern taste, but it does prevent the reader being faced with a solid block of text, which can feel intimidating.
* In MS Word, you will find these options by going to the Insert Menu then the Symbol button on the ribbon.