Submissions

Now Open to General Submissions

General Submissions

Samhain Publishing is now open to general submissions of all genres of romance and erotica, as well as fantasy, urban fantasy and science fiction with strong romantic elements. We are refocusing our efforts and will no longer be accepting submissions in other genres for the time being, including women’s fiction, chick lit and young adult.

All submissions must be new material to be considered for publication, no reprints. Once you’ve had a new work accepted by Samhain, you are free to submit previously published works to your editor for consideration.

Only one manuscript at a time per author please! And, if the manuscript is being offered elsewhere simultaneously, please keep us informed of its status.

We encourage you to let your muse have its way and to create tales that don’t always adhere to current trends. One never knows what the next “hot genre” will be or when it will start, so write what’s in your soul. These are the books that, whether the story is based on “formula” or is an “original”, when written from the heart will earn you a life-time readership.

The preferred word count is 60,000 or longer, but we are quite happy to publish shorter works with word counts of no less than 12,000 and no more than 120,000. We will consider manuscripts up 130,000 words, but only on the understanding that the book will have to be edited down to 120,000 or less before publication.

Any book that glorifies depraved or illegal acts will not be considered. No pedophilia, bestiality, racial intolerance, rape as titillation, necrophilia – no ick factors, please!

Please visit the Samhain FAQ page for answers to most of your submissions questions.

For more information on Samhain and how to submit your book, follow the links!

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Springtime “Just Romance” Anthology

Samhain is dialing down the heat and focusing on the romance for a Springtime “Just Romance” Anthology.

I’m excited to announce an open call for submissions for a new anthology for Spring 2011. The theme is Springtime, and in keeping with that theme, I’m looking for stories that focus on blossoming romance rather than full-blown sexual relationships, chemistry rather than combustion, the spark of attraction rather than the blaze of passion.
The stories can have closed-door sex scenes, glossed-over sex scenes, or characters who are waiting until after the book is over. There can be as much romantic and sexual tension as the book can handle, but no explicit language, and all stories must end with a happily ever after or happy for now.
I’m open to all sub-genres of romance, and all types of sexuality: m/f, m/m, f/f and combinations thereof.

The anthology will include novellas from 20,000 to 25,000 words in length and will be released individually as separate ebooks in May 2011 and will be combined as one print title for mid 2012 print release.

Submissions are open to all authors, published with Samhain or aspiring to be published with Samhain. All submissions must be new material—previously published submissions will not be considered. Additionally, manuscripts previously submitted, whether individually or for past anthologies, will not be considered either. Please be aware that manuscripts submitted to this anthology cannot be resubmitted at a later date unless by invitation from an editor. However, submissions with merit for possible publication at Samhain will be passed to interested Samhain editors even if not chosen for the Springtime Just Romance Anthology.

To submit a manuscript for consideration please include:
The full manuscript (of 20,000 to 25,000 words) with a comprehensive 2-5 page synopsis. Please include a letter of introduction/query letter in the body of your email, and attach the manuscript and synopsis as two separate MS Word or rich text files. Full manuscripts are required for this as it’s a special project.

Also, when you send your files, please be sure to use the naming convention Springtime_Title and Springtime_Title_Synopsis.

Submissions are open until November 1st, 2010 and the final decisions will be made by November 30th, 2010. Please send your submission to editor@samhainpublishing.com and include Springtime Anthology in the subject line.

Questions can be addressed to Imogen Howson at imogen@samhainpublishing.com. Also, if you would like fuller details of the heat level we’re seeking for this anthology, please contact Imogen.

Please note, we are not accepting multiple submissions for this anthology. However, if you already have a manuscript under consideration as a general submission with Samhain and would also like to send in a submission to this anthology, please do so.

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Cyberpunk Romance Anthology

Call for Submissions: Samhain Publishing Cyberpunk romance anthology

Welcome to the future, a cyberpunk future—post-industrial dystopias where society has broken down; a world of advanced science, cybernetic and tech. The cyberpunk world is a dark and gritty place, blurring the border between actual and virtual reality.

I’m very happy to announce an open call for submissions for a new, yet-to-be-titled summer 2011 cyberpunk romance anthology. Don’t know what cyberpunk is? Think The Matrix and Bladerunner, or the popular role-playing/computer game/book series Shadowrun. For more information on cyberpunk, you can check out the entry on wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberpunk .

I’m open to M/F, M/M, F/F, or multiples thereof, any sexual heat level, and the romance must end happily ever after or happy for now.

The novellas must range between 25,000 to 30,000 words in length, no more, no less—please note, only manuscripts that fall in this word count will be considered for this anthology—and will be released individually as ebooks in August 2011.
Submissions are open to all authors, published with Samhain or aspiring to be published with Samhain. All submissions must be new material—previously published submissions will not be considered. Additionally, manuscripts previously submitted, whether individually or for past anthologies, will not be considered either. Be aware that manuscripts submitted to this anthology cannot be resubmitted at a later date unless by invitation from an editor.
To submit a manuscript for consideration, please include:
The full manuscript (of 25,000 to 30,000 words) with a comprehensive 2-5 page synopsis. Also include a letter of introduction/query letter. Full manuscripts are required for this as it is a special project.

As well, when you send your manuscript, be sure to use the naming convention Cyberpunk_Title_MS and Cyberpunk_Title_Synopsis. This will ensure that your submission doesn’t get missed in the many submissions we receive, and makes it easy for me to find in my ebook reader.

Submissions are open until February 1, 2011. No submissions will be accepted after this date—no exceptions. A final decision will be made by February 28, 2011. Send your submission to editor@samhainpublishing.com and include Cyberpunk Anthology in the subject line. Questions and queries can be addressed to Sasha Knight (sasha@samhainpublishing.com) though do your due diligence and read this anthology call completely and check the Samhain Submission FAQ page before emailing. www. samhainpublishing.com/faq

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Royalty and Contracts

Samhain is a royalty paying ebook company that offers 40% of the cover price (as set by Samhain Publishing, Ltd) for a single-author ebook.

The author is not required to pay any fees for editing or for publishing in either digital or print. We are NOT a vanity publisher.

Our contract requests full rights to the work, including both digital and print, is fully negotiable and available for review upon acceptance of your story.

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How to Submit

All submissions must be sent by email as we are primarily an epublisher, and all our work is done through the internet. We will not respond to any submissions sent via hard copy, nor will we return submissions sent this way. Please send all queries via email to the email address listed below.

Please send a short query letter in the body of an email. This letter should include some information about you, a short blurb (similar to what you find on the back cover of a print book, or on an individual book’s page on the Samhain website), and the genre and word count of your manuscript.

In separate documents attached to the same email, attach a minimum of 4 sample chapters and a full synopsis at least 2 pages in length and sufficient for the length of the story. There is no maximum length for the synopsis but it must be at least 2 pages, even if your story is only 12,000 words. To give your book the best chance of being accepted, please ensure that the synopsis details the whole plot and the end of the book, even if it is a surprise ending.

You may, at your discretion, send the whole manuscript as it will be requested if it passes the first review. Full manuscript is preferred. Please send the synopsis and chapters, or synopsis and full manuscript as two separate attachments, named with the title of your book.

Please format your work (manuscript and synopsis) as follows:

*When sending your manuscript/synopsis please name them: Title_Author initials_full/synopsis. For instance, if your name is Nori Robards and you’re writing a book called Nude in Death, you’d name your manuscript NudeinDeath_NR_full and your synopsis NudeinDeath_NR_synopsis. This helps our editors keep submissions organized.

  • RTF (Rich Text File) or .doc (Word Document) file (No .docx, please)
  • Author name and book title should appear on the first page of your manuscript and synopsis
  • 1 inch margins
  • 1.5 line spacing
  • Times New Roman, 12pt.
  • Page break before each new chapter

The cover page of your synopsis must have your contact information
and the basic details of your story:

  • Real Name/Pen Name
  • Address
  • Contact Phone
  • Email address
  • Working Title (include series name if applicable)
  • Word Count
  • Genre/s
  • Blurb (less than 200 words)

When you have your manuscript polished to within an inch of its life and ready to go, please send a short query letter and your submission to editor@samhainpublishing.com. Please allow up to 12-16 weeks for a personal reply. An auto responder will reply to let you know that your email has been received.

Please visit the Samhain FAQ page for answers to most of your submissions questions.

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