Submit
We publish 4-6 titles per year (we’re setting sustainable targets) and are actively seeking submissions from Australian writers of science fiction and fantasy a little outside the mainstream. Our submission guidelines and process are outlined below, and you can also check our Writers’ FAQ for more information.
Submission guidelines | How to submit
Submission Guidelines
Before you submit: Please make sure you read these guidelines and the Writers’ FAQ thoroughly and that your expectations are realistic — we are small, we are new, and we distribute primarily to online retailers, not physical bookstores. Please don’t waste our time and your own by submitting without understanding that.
Also, it’d be nice if you could first just take a moment to be sure you meet our most basic criteria: that you’re Australian, that your manuscript is completed, and that it is speculative fiction. If any of those three things are not true, please do not submit.
Length: 70,000 words upwards. We’re not imposing an upper limit but ebooks tend to be short; if you’ve got a monster of a word count, we might have to consider splitting the book into several volumes (but see our caveat about multi-volume stories below). We want a good novel-length story told in as many words as it needs, no more, no less. We’re not looking for short story collections, novellas or poetry at this time.
Type: We’ll consider anything that falls even loosely into the category of science fiction or fantasy, but we’re looking most of all for polished writing, fleshed-out characters, and clever dialogue. That doesn’t mean your characters can just sit around being witty — you also need to give them a strong story so they’ve got something to do and talk about. Stories with decent female characters, humour and/or a bit of romance are in with a headstart.
We prefer stand-alone novels that tell a complete and well-rounded story. If it’s multi-volume (the same overarching story split over several books), it shouldn’t be padded just to make it long. If it’s a series (same or related characters re-appearing in new adventures in the same world in each book, sometimes with an overall story arc), each book should stand on its own merits as a great read.
We’re after stories for an adult audience and we’ll also consider stories aimed at young adults. We don’t want any children’s stories, short story collections, or poetry please.
If you want more of an idea, browse through some of the free excerpts of our books on this site.
Not our type: We don’t want straight genre fiction of other kinds (like romance or horror), though your story can contain those elements within a science fiction or fantasy framework. We also don’t want general or literary fiction, or non-fiction.
Within SF/F, we’re not big fans of straight epic or sword-and-sorcery fantasy, paranormals (especially vampires), or hard science fiction, unless the characters really stand out. If you think you can change our minds, feel free to submit anyway, but be aware you’re working with a handicap. If we take a shine to your characters, we’ll probably publish you. But please, if you really have to submit a vampire novel, make it like Buffy, not Twilight.
Reprints and simultaneous submissions: We will accept reprints as long as all rights have reverted to you. We will accept simultaneous submissions, but please warn us that the manuscript is under consideration elsewhere, and withdraw your submission immediately should another publisher express interest. Likewise, if we express interest, we expect you to withdraw your submission from consideration to other publishers.
Rights and payment: We will ask for exclusive and worldwide electronic rights. It must be worldwide; the last thing you want your readers to see is the dreaded ‘this book is not available in your geographic region’ message. You may also optionally give us print rights so that we can produce a printed version of your book, and again the realities of the POD market mean that we need to obtain worldwide rights.
Your royalty will be 20% of the Australian recommended retail price (RRP) for ebooks and 10% of the Australian RRP for POD books, paid quarterly (we have changed our royalty model so this may differ from the terms you may have read in publisher’s listings for us elsewhere).
You will receive an advance on your royalties of $200. Note, then, that you will only start earning quarterly royalties once your advance has been earned out…and that it is entirely possible this will never happen. If you don’t earn out your advance during the term of your contract with us, you don’t have to pay it back.
How to Submit
We accept email submissions only (let’s save a few trees). Send a synopsis and your first three chapters to submissions@winterbournepublishing.com.au. It will be read by our main editor, Wendy Palmer.
Include your name and contact details in the body of the email, the word count and your best guess at the sub-genre, and any previous publishing credits or relevant information. You can paste the synopsis and chapter into the body of the email as well, or attach them as .doc, .docx, or rtf files. A plain font like Times New Roman is preferred. You will receive an automated reply if your submission has been successfully received.
Should your synopsis and chapters catch Wendy’s eye (and it appears you can spell), we will then request your whole manuscript for review by the editorial team (this means your manuscript must be completed and polished). Please do not assume that passing the first stage means you will pass all stages of the review process.
We will try to make our initial response within one month of receiving your submission, but your patience is appreciated. Please keep an eye on your spam folder or add winterbournepublishing to your whitelist, or our response to you may be lost.
Please use the above email address for submissions only. If you have questions, direct them to publisher@winterbournepublishing.com.au or read our Writers’ FAQ.