Double-Edged Publishing

Double-Edged Publishing Projects
2007 Fantasy/Science Fiction Novel

Double-Edged Publishing, Inc. is, for a short period, accepting proposals for a book to be published in 2007. This is a peculiar arrangement, so read all details carefully.

Combination Serial and Book Publication

The 2007 Fantasy/Science Fiction Novel project will involve obtaining the rights to serial publication of the work in The Sword Review as well as publication as a novel. The selected manuscript will be published in book form and released at the same time as the first chapter appears in The Sword Review. Readers may elect to buy the book in whole at any time, or wait for the monthly installments to run their course.

The author will be paid up-front for the serial rights at 1/2 cent a word up to $25.00 per chapter. In return for the book format, the author will receive two author copies and 50% of the net on all sales over $150 US net.

The selected manuscript will be in the fantasy or science fiction genres and will conform to the publication guidelines (except length and submission procedures) of The Sword Review (Click Here). It will have no less than 12 chapters and no less than 80,000 words. Preferably, it will have between 16 and 24 chapters.

This is an experiment. We believe that the serial presentation will generate interest in buying the book version, while at the same time, make the story accessible to a wide audience within the periodical. The Sword Review is being visited about 1000 times a day (average of August, September, and October, 2006). Items published there are, therefore available to a large reader community. We believe this is a good opportunity for emerging or established authors alike.

Proposal Submission Process

Follow these directions exactly.

The deadline for sending your proposal is December 8, 2006. Thus, this call is to authors with completed manuscripts that are not obligated elsewhere.

What do you send?

By e-mail to an address to be provided hereafter, send:

• A proposal letter. So much angst goes into proposal letters! We want this to be easy, so follow this format EXACTLY. (We do not want your boiler plate, tried and true, letter. Sorry. Do it THIS way.) If your manuscript is finished, this should only take you a few minutes to prepare. Start off with "standard" margins, pick a normal font (e.g. Times Roman, Courier, etc.), and set it to 12 pt. Single space with double spaces between paragraphs (for the proposal, not the chapters!) as with any normal business correspondence.
  
  
  • Start with your complete return address INCLUDING e-mail.
    
    
  • Next, write a 25 word synopsis. Example: A fleeing former slave must risk his freedom or turn his back on the only people to ever show him kindness. (That's 20 words, actually. You won't be disqualified if you go over a little, but your goal is 25 words.)
    
    
  • After the synopsis, skip a line, and state the number of chapters and number of words (per the word processor count or estimate). For example: 19 chapters, 102,983 words
    
    
  • Next, write a one paragraph "dust jacket" description. What would be on the back cover?
    
    
  • After this, you may use the rest of ONE page to tell what you think makes the book worth publishing. Talk about THE BOOK. The editor who will be reading these DOES NOT want to know about your publishing credits, conferences you have attended, or degrees. He wants to know about THIS book. DO NOT go over one page in total.
    
    
• Now, you have an option. Ideally, you will enter a hard page break in the cover letter and then include the first, third, and last chapters. If this is a problem for you, you may send each as a document of its own.
  
  The chapters should be in STANDARD MANUSCRIPT FORMAT. This means a number of things, but foremost it you should use 1 inch margins, Courier or Times Roman 12 pt font, double spacing, and indented paragraphs. (Don't double-double space between paragraphs!) A note as to YOUR method for representing italics and bold should be added at the beginning of the first chapter. We prefer that you represent italics as italics and bold as bold, but if you have represented italics as underline, (or by some other means) please say so.
  
  
• Save ALL files in RTF format and attach to an e-mail (see below).

So, in sum, you have a cover letter and the first, third, and last chapters saved in RTF format. These are attached to an e-mail sent to:

2007Book@doubleedgedpublishing.com

The subject of the e-mail: Book Proposal

The body of the e-mail: Please see attached file(s). (Or something along these lines--DON'T spend any time on the e-mail. It is just a carrier for the RTF formatted proposal)

Submitters will receive notice that their proposals were received and, once evaluated a very brief statement of our decision. Unlike submissions to most of the DEP periodicals, these responses to your proposal will NOT include any detailed comments. Rather, they will merely state our decision.

In the event that you just cannot deal with e-mail, then you MAY send your proposal by postal mail. Send cover letter and a DISPOSABLE manuscript of the three chapters, as well as a SASE to:

Double-Edged Publishing, Inc.
2007 Book Proposal
9618 Misty Brook Cove
Cordova, Tennessee 38016

Mailed proposal MUST BE POSTMARKED BY DECEMBER 1 to allow ample time for delivery by the deadline.

NOTE: On December 9, the address for this project will be deleted. Thereafter, authors of manuscripts in which there is interest will be contacted with additional instructions.

Publication of the novel and launch of the serial in The Sword Review is to be summer of 2007. Direct questions regarding this process to snodgrass@doubleedgedpublishing.com.