MANUSCRIPT QUERY & SUBMISSION
Since our official entry into the world of small & independent publishing in the summer of 2006, Haypenny Press has been besieged by authors & other interested parties, looking for a publishing home for new & pre-released manuscripts. As much as possible, I try to give everyone a fair ear, to offer counsel on what Haypenny can or cannot do for each potential client. However, given the slow but steady rise of these requests, I have had to implement the acceptance guidelines below. To greatly increase the likelihood of acceptance of your manuscript, please read these rules carefully & follow them to the letter.

1) Absolutely no manuscripts will be accepted from writers younger than 18 years of age. You must be old enough to sign a legally binding contract. If you are of 18 years or older & would like to receive a sample copy of our individual author contract, see our "query letter" notes below at #11 & email us at haypennypress@aol.com.

2) No contracts will be offered until the publisher sees at least the first three chapters of your manuscript, plus a detailed outline for the remainder of the story. No manuscripts will be accepted that are incomplete. Exceptions will be made only for the benefit of longstanding members of All About Muse. If you wish to be considered for membership with All About Muse, you may send a note about yourself & your interests to haypennypress@aol.com or visit our chat group home page at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/allaboutmuse

3) No contracts will be offered on an outline alone. Some small publishers will accept a book idea in the place of the first three chapters, but I do not. If you don't like this policy, I recommend you look elsewhere for representation. See the LINKS page of this website for links to a few other publishers & printers that I can recommend.

4) No publisher in their right mind would release a title without a professional edit. Haypenny Press outsources our editing to a trusted friend, business associate & author, Elizabeth Delisi (www.elizabethdelisi.com), who has offered us an appealing flat rate editing fee in return for the option to be our regular editor. These fees will be the sole responsibility of the author, with half due to Mrs. Delisi upfront. The edit will not begin until the first half of the fees have been paid. The edit will not be returned to the author until the latter half of the fees are paid in full. These fees are as follows. For manuscripts that have not been previously released by a different publisher ("new" books)...$200.00 for up to 70,000 words. For manuscripts that have been carried by another publisher prior to Haypenny Press...$150.00 for up to 70,000 words. For ALL books over 70,000 words, the fee is $300.00. Absolutely NO other editor's work will be accepted in the place of Elizabeth Delisi.

These fees are as follows. For manuscripts that have not been previously released by a different publisher ("new" books)...$200.00 for up to 70,000 words. The author will agree to pay half of this fee, or $100.00. For manuscripts that have been carried by another publisher prior to Haypenny Press...$150.00 for up to 70,000 words. Of this, the author will pay $75.00. For ALL books over 70,000 words, the fee is $300.00, of which Haypenny will pay a maximum of $100.00 & the author will be expected to pay the remaining $200.00. Absolutely NO other editor's work will be accepted in the place of Elizabeth Delisi.

5) Haypenny Press outsources paperback printing. We only produce hardcopies in trade paperback size, with "perfectbind" binding. Our printers are Paw Prints POD (the POD part stands for "Print On Demand", www.pawprintspod.com), which is a family-based, brick & mortar location, & Lulu (www.lulu.com), an online service. Other types of binding may be available through these printers but the Haypenny standards will not be changed for any author or special purpose. The printers charge us fees to set up each new title account. Please see the printers' individual websites for fee schedules & more information. Haypenny Press does NOT pass these fees along to the author. For the benefit of our authors, Haypenny will arrange drop shipments of books directly from the printer to the author. The author will be expected to pay for the full amount of the shipping & the books, plus $1 fee per book to the publisher for this service. These amounts will be paid to the publisher, not the printer. Haypenny press will pay the printer with the money the author pays for the shipment. If you do not like these terms, please visit our BOOKS page for other recommended publishers & printers.

6) Haypenny Press outsources for e-book reformatting. All e-book formats are covered by one ISBN, but we only provide .PDF conversions at our expense. If you wish to have other formats produced for your convenience, you will have to find an outsource to provide that service.

7) Haypenny Press provides free professional cover art & free manuscript coding. Some small publishers/presses charge for this service - before you sign anything, read the fine print. Some do not allow the author to have any significant vote in the production of their own book's appearance. I work closely with my authors to achieve a book that is easy to read & appealing to the reader's eye, and is marketed specifically to the target genre audience. However, if the author does not like the cover art I offer for free, they can elect to acquire their own cover artist at their expense. Haypenny Press will not pay for outsource cover art or manuscript coding that we can provide for free, & the publisher reserves the right to reject any cover art deemed innappropriate for our audiences.

8) Haypenny Press reserves the right to reject any manuscript according to our standards. I do not care to publish the "F" word, but the occasional "hell" or "damn" will be accepted. Graphic sexual or violent content should be kept to a minimum & used only for the benefit of the developing story. Haypenny Press will not publish gratuitous sexual or violent content.

9) All manuscripts should be received in single space, Times New Roman, 13 point font size. No paragraph indents or tabs. Please use a "return" at the end of each paragraph & an extra space between paragraphs, & no other coding other than italics where appropriate.

10) All authors will be expected to engage in self-promotion. Our contract specifically states the author will agree to attend at least one conference or book festival or other related public forum per year in an effort to bee seen as an author & have the opportunity to sell their own books. The success of any title ultimately falls to the author, & their willingness to promote both the title & themselves as it's author. No author will be contracted that is unwilling to self-promote. Haypenny Press will not cover expenses incurred in the process of the author's self-promotion.

11) Query letters must contain author's name, standard (snail) mail address (NO P.O. boxes will be accepted for query letters), email address, website URL if applicable, date of query, manuscript title, genre & theme of book. Send these letters with an attachment containing the first three chapters of your manuscript to haypennypress@aol.com. We respect all copyrights. If your manuscript is rejected, the story will be deleted from our files immediately.

In the event the author does not have/cannot afford/does not know how to have their own website or webpage, a single free webpage is available to each contracted Haypenny Press author through our sister site, www.foxfountain.com.

12) WITHOUT EXCEPTION, Haypenny press does not pay royalties until after we have recouped our initial investment, regardless of how much or how little that amount may be. After the investment has been recouped, the author will received royalties paid quarterly at the first of the following months - January, April, July, October. Haypenny Press prefers to pay royalties by Paypal. Authors who do not use Paypal will be paid by money order.

No matter which publisher/press you select to contract your title, remember this - your relationship with your publisher should be partnership of mutual respect & benefit. Any publisher worth your time will make clear the details of their business, upfront. I do not recommend any business transactions with any publishers, printers or presses that will not make the author's responsibilities clear PRIOR to the signing of the contract. If you have *any* questions, regarding the business practices of any publisher, ask them before you sign, & make sure you ask some of their established clients of your own choosing. If you ask the publisher to send you a list of clients to contact, naturally they will send you a list of authors they can count on to give them a positive review.

Don't sign anything until you have investigated at least a few small publishers. Nothing will benefit you as an author for the long run more than an educated opinion.

Here's a few good chat groups to join to learn more about the world of small & independent publishing, as recommended by the established members of All About Muse.
DorothyL - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dorothyl
All About Murder - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/allaboutmurder Murder Murder Must Advertise - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/murdermustadvertise

Thanks again for your interest in Haypenny Press. I sincerely hope you all find the best press home for your work.

Scout DeWitt
Owner of Haypenny Press,
All About Muse, and
Fox Fountain Photography & Creative Arts
(see my world of inexpensive, royalty-free digital photography at www.foxfountain.com)