Author Information
I want to submit a manuscript
Please complete this form for questions or submissions, and our staff will be happy to help you. All fields are required.
Please do not fill out this form if you are trying to contact another department at PublishAmerica or if you are inquiring about an order you placed. Please see below for methods of contacting other departments.
Tell me more about PublishAmerica.
The Maryland based publishing company is fundamentally opposed to charging any publishing fees. By not charging its authors any publishing fees at any time, PublishAmerica has saved them, all combined to date, an estimated $50+ million that might have otherwise gone into the coffers of vanity publishers.
PublishAmerica is one of the few publishers providing graphics for young reader's books free of charge.
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Do you have an age requirement?
No, PublishAmerica can work with authors of almost any age!
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Do you accept submissions from my country?
Currently, PublishAmerica is closed to submissions from Australia, and New Zealand. Authors from all other countries are encouraged to contact us about publishing their manuscript.
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What genres are you interested in seeing?
PublishAmerica is currently open to all genres except:
- Coffee table books
- Gift Books
- Books of quotes
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Can I submit a book that’s not in English or that has been translated from a different language?
No. We only consider English language works.
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How long does my book have to be?
In general, we require books have a minimum of 4,000 words. Poetry books must contain at least 50 poems. Children's picture books must be a minimum of five pages and no more than 45.
There is no upper page or word count limit for what we consider.
We can consider works in progress or shorter works to which the author would like to add material in order to meet the minimum requirements. Please fill out the form below to contact us about such a book.
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Do I need an agent and can you provide/recommend an agent?
We do not require that you have an agent to submit your work to us. Also, we cannot recommend or provide you with an agent should you desire to work with one.
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I haven't copyrighted my book yet, is that a problem?
No. Under federal law, anything original is considered copyrighted the moment it is written. No application for copyright is necessary. However, if an author wants to officially register the copyright, it is generally recommended that he/she submits the work for registration with the Library of Congress, though you are under no obligation to do so. If a legal matter were to come up later, this would be one way to prove that the work is indeed your work.
Those who elect to officially register their book may find instructions for doing so here: www.loc.gov/copyright.
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I want to include illustrations in my book. Is that OK?
If you have your own illustrations, please include them with your submission. In order to use illustrations, you will need to have permissions to do so. If you would like PublishAmerica to provide illustrations for your book, we do have a FREE graphic providing service, as well as a paid service for custom illustrations.
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What’s an author bio?
The author bio is typically a paragraph about the author with items relevant to writing and publishing. It should not read like a personal advertisement. Things to consider including are previous publishing credits, author influences, how you came to write the book, etc.
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If I mail you my manuscript, do I have to include a SASE (self-addressed-stamped envelope)?
We recommend that you include an SASE that is large enough for your manuscript to fit in and with the appropriate postage amount if you want the manuscript returned should we not be able to accept it. All manuscripts are destroyed within one month of rejection if no SASE is provided.
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How do you want the manuscript formatted (i.e., font size, font type, spacing, etc.)?
We prefer manuscripts to be double-spaced, in a font such as Times New Roman at 12 point.
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How long does the review process take?
You usually hear from us within 24 hours.
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Do you provide an ISBN?
Yes. Each of our books will receive a unique ISBN that we provide.
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Do you offer an advance?
Yes. The amount of the advance will be outlined in the contract should we accept your work.
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Do you offer editing and book cover design?
If your book is accepted and signed to a contract, it will first enter our Pre-Production Department. During this phase, your contact person in Pre-Production will set a deadline for the submission of all materials needed for the book’s production. Once they have received all items needed and ensured that they are in the formats we need, your book will enter the production process.
When we have received all required materials, your manuscript will enter the Design Department and actual production will begin on your book. A senior editor will evaluate the book for any legal concerns or if permissions are needed. We will contact you should there be any. All books will be assigned to a designer who will format the layout of the text according to industry standards. Once completed, the designer will create and format the cover image of your book. Both the text proofs and cover of your book will then be emailed to you. As outlined in the contract, you will have 48 hours to review your proofs to notify us of any publisher errors you find. Once your manuscript has cleared the review period, your manuscript will be final, and no more changes will be made.
Once the book review process has ended, your book will be sent to the printers and released to the industry. Approximately 6-8 weeks later, your book will be officially released to the industry.
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