We turn manuscripts down. Any publisher that charges a fee and accepts everything is not a publisher, and the only way to prove the difference is to publish the number.
Every manuscript goes through a paid readiness assessment before we quote. We read the synopsis, the opening ten thousand words and a sampled section from later in the book, and we return one of three answers: ready to produce, needs editorial work first, or not something we can publish well.
The figures
Our first annual report will be published here in January, covering the preceding calendar year. Until then, this page will say so rather than showing a number we have not earned.
| Year | Assessed | Accepted | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | — | — |
What we decline, and why
Most declines are not about quality in any absolute sense. The common reasons are that a manuscript needs editorial work we do not provide, that it names living people in ways that would expose both of us, or that it is a book we do not think we could produce to a standard we would want our imprint attached to.
A decline is not a verdict on your writing. It is a judgement about whether this particular studio is the right place for this particular book, and we would rather say so at the assessment stage than take your money and find out later.