The best part of Submissions... by Louise Boland

A couple of months ago I got a bee in my bonnet about how outrageously writers are treated by many organisations who solicit for submissions.  Why ask for them and then ignore them, was my question.  Perhaps they get too many to handle?  But then why not just close their submissions process for a time until the backlog of responses has been worked through?   

As Katherine Roberts said to our call for advice, ‘yes is brilliant, no is good (because you can cross that publisher/agent off your list and move on), but silence is torture’. 

I was determined that we would establish a submissions process which shows respect for writers, and perhaps start a new trend out there – setting the bar higher for all those organisations who seek direct manuscript submissions.   

So I asked for views on a submissions code of practice for Fairlight Books and received many helpful suggestions and comments from Authors Electric et al.  I’m pleased to say that thanks to all the fantastic feedback we received, we now have a workable, fair, and respectful code of practice up and running. 

Here it is:  

Fairlight Books Submissions

 When we look at our submissions, I’m always very impressed by the care that writers take to read through our guidelines and provide submissions in the form we have requested.  Hopefully our new process will ensure that we always respond in kind. 

Much as I’d love to, we can’t publish all the many works we receive, and if we did, then Fairlight Books wouldn’t be what I’d like it to be – a place to nurture, publish and promote the best of quality writing.  

But I’m very happy and excited to say that from our submissions process we have signed up a number of very talented writers, many of whom are debut writers of longer fiction, and that we will be publishing their books in 2018.  Please watch this space and on our website in a couple of weeks, when we’ll start announcing details!

Fairlight Fiction - Coming Soon