Cydonia

Publishing

Submissions

    Cydonia Publishing specializes in providing a platform for new voices in literature to be heard at an affordable price.  As an author, the one thought that should continually resound in your ears is "money flows in one direction -- toward the author"!  We are not a subsidy publisher; we are not a vanity publisher.  We are NOT at any time going to ask you for money.  There are no reading fees. There are no editing fees.  If your manuscript is accepted and we suggest changes, you will be the one to make them; we are only suggesting.  Once your work is accepted for final publication, the rest is up to us: formatting, conversion, publication, promotion, fulfillment, and sending you your commissions.

    The only place you should ever have to sign a check is on the back.

    That said, what are we looking for?  The shorter list is what we're not looking for: erotica, pornography in any form, gay or lesbian themes.  In other words, if NBC can't show it during prime time, we're not your publisher.  We will accept adult themes, but we draw the line with an "R" rating; "NC-17" and above will really need someone else.  At this time, we are also not interested in poetry or anthologies, unless you can fill at least 100 pages.  There will be a time in the future when these forms will be added, but for the time being we're not accepting queries for them.

    We are open to all genres: science fiction, fantasy, horror (not slasher), literary fiction, non fiction, religious, inspirational, textbooks, training manuals ("how to").  If you feel there's a market for your work, ask us.  It never hurts to query.

    Which brings up a subject all authors hate (almost as much as writing a synopsis) -- query letters.  A query letter is a must; it is our introduction to you and to your work.  Let's face it, if you can't grab us with a one page query, the chances are that the first page of your novel won't either.  Spend as much time on the query as you did on your opening paragraph.  We like to be impressed.

    We are primarily looking for unpublished, unagented authors with something to say.  If you've published previously with a mainstream publisher (self-publishing doesn't count), we will consider you here, but you might stand a good chance with your previous publisher. 

    Since we are an electronic publisher, all correspondence will be conducted electronically (via the address below, which makes you read this whole page).  That saves both of us telephone, paper, and postage.

    Query letter: one to two pages that will impress the hell out of us.  Tell us about the book; tell us about yourself; tell us why we should buy it.  Attach a short synopsis to the query (yes, we will scan it for virii before we open it).  This doesn't have to be detailed, but should give us some idea as to the story line.

    You should hear back in less than a week with a definite yes or no.  If you don't, re-send it because it probably got caught in the spam and went into the bit bucket.

    If we like what we see, you'll be asked to send the full manuscript (we don't accept proposals for the same reason we don't offer advances).  This is to be sent as an attachment in an email.  We prefer Microsoft Word (.DOC).  We'll accept Rich Text Format (.RTF).  If you absolutely have to, we can even read WordPerfect or Microsoft Works, but would rather not.

    FORMAT: Standard publisher's format. 8.5x11 with 1" margins all around (sorry people in the rest of the world, we don't want A4).  12-point Courier New or Dark Courier (preferred) font, double spaced.  No extra space between paragraphs.  First line of new paragraph indented 5 spaces.  25 lines per page.  Scene breaks indicated by a single pound sign (#) centered on its own line.  Indicate italics with underscores, indicate bold with *asterisks*.

    All chapters are to begin on a new page (use a page break) and should be 6 lines down from the normal top of page.  Center the chapter heading (Chapter Two - More of the Same), double space and start your chapter.

    TITLE PAGE: In the upper left, your real name, address, phone #, email address.  Upper right, "Word Count ####".  Halfway down the page center the title, skip 2 lines, "by", skip two lines, your name or pseudonym. Skip four lines and start your story.  On each page after the title page, in the top header, justified right, "LASTNAME / TITLE / PAGE #" (don't put the quotes in).

    If this seems like a pain, it is, but authors have been doing this for decades since the time of typewriters and paper.  For those of you that use Microsoft Word, we heartily recommend a free add-in from the BBC called ScriptSmart Prose US (or if you actually live in the UK or a Commonwealth country, download the other version for the Queen's English), it does all of the above automatically.  If you use WordPerfect or Works, you're out of luck (but you probably realized that right after you installed the program).

    If you have a front-cover graphic (preferred), send it as a JPG file with a resolution of at least 300 dpi (dots per inch).  The same goes for any embedded graphics in your work.  YOU MUST OWN THE COPYRIGHT TO ANY GRAPHICS you want included. We won't go asking permission for you.  If you want an ISBN assigned so that your ebook may be ordered by brick and mortar bookstores, that will be your responsibility for electronic copies.

    Now that we've gotten past the hard part and have decided to publish your book, you will be offered a contract for FIRST GLOBAL ELECTRONIC RIGHTS.  This will leave you open to pursue an agent for print, a print publisher, or to publish your work yourself in print format.  We'll assign an editor to work with you to get your manuscript into final shape for typesetting.  When it's ready, we will then produce a "galley proof" Adobe Acrobat PDF file of the finished work and send it to you for your approval or final changes.  We will also conference with you regarding unit pricing of the finished book.  Cydonia's charge is 25% of the retail price, the other 75% is yours.

    We will then make copies in HTML, Adobe PDF, Microsoft Reader, and Mobipocket format and place them for sale on the website for download on purchase.  We will also offer the work as a CD-ROM for an extra media, shipping, and handling charge, which is ours.  Commissions will be paid within two weeks of the close of each calendar quarter (mid-April, mid-July, mid-October, mid-January).  Taxes are your problem -- we'll send you a US-IRS 1099 showing your earnings, regardless of your country of origin.  Arizona State sales tax is our problem. International authors will be paid in one of: Canadian Dollars, Australian Dollars, Pounds Sterling, or Euros, depending on their place of residence.

    As mentioned, we are an electronic publisher.  However, we do have connections with a print-on-demand press that we can refer really outstanding (in our opinion) works to.  This will be thoroughly discussed with you if your novel is that good.  You should be aware, however, that the retail price of books produced by this method are two to three times more expensive than those you see in the supermarket or bookstore shelves.  If all of us decide to go this route, the ISBN will be on us, which will get you in "Books in Print" so that bookstores can order it, and also on Amazon.com and Barnsandnoble.com.  The commission schedule changes accordingly because of print setup charges.

    Email all queries, inquiries, correspondence to Cydonia Publishing