NOW ALSO ACCEPTING MIDDLE GRADE SUBMISSIONS
Hello, writer! Welcome.
Think your book idea is too insane to ever actually get published? Boy, have you come to the right place.
At Overlord Publishing, we love insane. We love unique and quirky and bizarre and off the freaking wall. We want nothing more than to share your particular brand of crazy with like-minded souls — believe us, those people are out there — and more than anything, we want to know what you’re passionate about. Because we get passion. Passion maketh the fan. And above all, we are fans, through and through.
So pitch us your idea. Maybe you’ve always wanted to put together a guide to Pez dispensers from the 1970s. Maybe you’ve been contemplating a review of every episode of Eight is Enough. Maybe you’ve written a novella in which an alien vampire changes the course of the Punic Wars, and there are unicorns. (Someone should definitely write that novella.) Or perhaps your tastes run to the more mundane, and yet are still extraordinary — from science fiction to romance to history, and from science fact to crime to alternate history, if you have something to say, we want to hear it.
We will consider works in pretty much every genre* and for every age range, except that we are currently not taking picture book submissions. And we will never take True Crime. NEVER.
* Within reason. Common decency standards apply; the lunatic fringe need not.
AUTHOR FAQ
What should my word count be?
Whatever you need to tell your story. But as a general rule of thumb:
Short Stories are 5 000+ words
Novellas are 15 000+ words
Novels are 40 000+ words. Most novels fall between 40 000 and 100 000 words. But if you need 120 000 words to tell that story about Archimedes on the moon battling space pirates, then go to it. (Again, someone should definitely write that story.)
Will I be edited?
Oh, yes. Be prepared. We will work with you to make your book its very best self. But nothing will go to print that does not meet your full approval, no matter how long it takes to get it just right.
How long until I get a response?
Give us a couple of weeks to take a good look at your submission. If you haven’t heard back by then, feel free to give us a nudge with a quick query letter. We’d appreciate the reminder.
Do you take simultaneous submissions?
Look, we can’t stop you, and nor do we want to. But we do ask that you let us know if you have submitted your work elsewhere. It’s a big help in making our decisions.
Do I need an agent?
Nope. Agented works are welcome, of course, but unearthing undiscovered gems is our raison d’être.
Can I use a pseudonym?
Of course! We will need your real name for the legalities, but we will absolutely keep your identity secret. Promise.
Will there be cake?
There should always be cake!
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Fiction
What to Send:
Send us a general story outline in the body of your e-mail along with the first three chapters as a Word attachment.
Formatting:
Please save your file as with your name and book title, but don’t worry too much about the formatting of the document, we’re not sticklers for the whole “double spaced and the title page starts halfway down and don’t use tabs” and all of that silliness. If we don’t like how you’ve formatted something, we can change it in about thirty seconds. Why are our fellow publishers still so strict about these things? MS must be submitted in 12pt Courier, blah blah blah. Total nonsense.
We do encourage you to check your spelling, however.
Contact:
Send submissions to fiction.ed (at) overlordpublishing (dot) com
Non-Fiction
What to send:
Send us an e-mail detailing your general idea and a sample of your writing style, either a few chapters/sections from your proposed book (ideal) or some other writing executed in a similar tone and/or style.
Formatting:
See above.
Contact:
Send submissions to nonfiction.ed (at) overlordpublishing (dot) com.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch!
Now, get writing. We’re excited to see what you can do.