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Please read carefully How we work. All work on our web site is carefully read. We then decide whether to request the first three chapters for further evaluation. If we feel that the work shows promise, then we ask for the full manuscript. If we are convinced that the work has prospects then you will be asked to sign a standard contract and your creation is submitted to appropriate publishing houses with our recommendation. Please be patient. As you can see, getting ones work published can be a lengthy process and you may be assured that we will contact you quickly if we have any news. You will not be tied to an initial contract with us. You are therefore free to send your work to other agents and publishers and if successful we will be entitled to 0%. If we are instrumental in getting your work published then you will be asked to sign a contract with the usual 10% on all royalties to this agency. New Authors Showcase increases the chance for your work to be viewed by publishing houses. Your work can be read on-line. If they like your writing, then we will ask you for the first three chapters of your work, which will be forwarded to them by secure regular mail. Your submitted sample need not be your first chapter but it should be representative of your style of writing. As regards your first chapter, it is essential that this should arouse the reader's interest. One publisher's reader said, "When working through the slush-pile, if I am not grabbed in the first few lines, then I move on to the next piece." Harsh words, but a reality. I hope that the foregoing has not discouraged you but I have tried to portray an accurate account of the chances of a new author getting published. The following comment appeared in a letter from Macmillan publishers, "We just did not feel that your client's work had that spark of originality we are looking for". We recommend that you forward a synopsis of approximately 200 words and a sample of your writing about 900 words. The total number of words should not exceed 1500. You may prefer to use all of your 1500 words without a synopsis. Charges As with most reputable literary agencies there are no charges if your work is selected and sent by us to a publisher. All costs are born by our agency and the publisher. There is a small fee for display on the website. We charge £35 for six months or £50 for twelve months display. To Submit & Pay on-line You may now send your work to us on-line. This has proved very popular as much time, expense and materials are saved over regular mail. Please see home page. To submit by regular mail In order to display on our web site you will need a registration form. You may obtain this by sending us a self-addressed stamped envelope or you could print out a copy from this web site. Published work. New Authors Showcase also displays the work of self-published writers. Please see 'Published-work' on our 'Home Page' Complete your work. Please let me know if your work is not completed. Recently we were faced with the embarrassing situation when a publisher asked to see more of a particular story. When I contacted the writer I learned that she had only completed the first chapter and the rest was still an outline. Sadly, as the publisher needed the work quickly to complete a series - he went elsewhere! Guidance for new authors Submitted work should be typed on one side of the paper only. Use A4 papers and double-space the lines. Number the pages and keep a copy. Do not forget to include your name, address and telephone number. You may forward your work on a floppy disk. In addition to displaying your work on the internet, you should also send it to publishers in the usual way or tell them that your work is to be found on www.newauthors.org.uk Sometimes work is poorly presented. New writers should purchase a copy of Writers and Artists Year Book or The Writers Handbook for guidance, I have found these publications very helpful. I make no promises, your work may never be appreciated, indeed it may not be good enough for publication, but at least you stand a better chance of a reading. Work that contains obviously offensive material will not be published For those who are successful the rewards are tremendous and I hope that you will persevere with or without our help. I believe that future successful writers will remember that it was through the World Wide Web and New Authors Showcase that their first book was discovered. Yours sincerely, Barrie James We regret that we can enter no correspondence or discussion on work that we have rejected. |