Author Submissions
We’re inviting YOU to join our mission of breaking down the barriers that often get in the way of reading and bringing great stories within the reach of all readers.
White Raven loves receiving exciting submissions to read through. In order to give your work the best chance, please read our guidelines before making your submission.
We aim to make reading accessible for all children and we want all children to see themselves in the books we publish. This means being represented by the authors and illustrators we work with as well as being represented on the page, so we greatly value your unique voices.
Submissions Guidelines
We are open to e-mail submissions for picture and board books, chapter books, middle-grade fiction, right up to young adult fiction. Please include the following items in your submission:
In the body of your e-mail:
- write your cover letter
- biographical information
In the attachments of your e-mail:
- the first three chapters (or approximately 5,000 words) of your manuscript (or the full picture book manuscript)
- a one-page synopsis
Upon submission you’ll receive an immediate email acknowledgment that your work has reached us. We know how important it is to receive a response and will do our best to be in touch. We are a dedicated but small team so it is not always possible to reply to each and every submission. Therefore, if you haven’t received a reply after 12 weeks, please assume that we will not be moving forward with your submission.
Helpful tips and advice
Cover letter
A good cover letter should:
- State the genre and target age range of your manuscript. Think about why your title is going to appeal to that demographic.
- Give us a short elevator pitch for your story. This should ideally be accomplished in a couple of sentences and create some intrigue.
- Tell us your motivation for writing your story and why you think it needs to be heard.
- Tell us if this is a standalone story/idea or whether you think there is series potential.
- Tell us why you think there’s room in the market for your book. What other similar titles are out there? Or is there a gap in the market you feel there’s a demand for?
- Introduce yourself! Tell us a bit of biographical information, including any previous writing experience, publications or courses. Don’t worry too much about this. We just want to get a sense of why you love to write and where you’re currently at in your writing journey.
- Tell us why you would like to publish with us.
Sample Chapters
These must be the beginning of your story, even if you believe they aren’t the most captivating part. We act as readers do and need to understand how your story begins and see if we are excited about where it’s heading.
It’s our job to read through your manuscript and make a decision based on the key areas that need to be fulfilled. These include:
- level of engagement
- writing ability
- character intrigue
- marketability and suitability for proposed audience.
It is for this reason that we request a covering letter and synopsis along with your manuscript. Promising submissions will be discussed amongst the editorial team, who will request the full manuscript if they are interested.
Synopsis
- A synopsis shouldn’t be longer than a page in length – approximately 400–500 words. The aim is to tell us your story’s arcs, main characters, themes, conflicts/stakes. Provide a short summary that will make us want to find out more, but avoid summarising the whole story chapter by chapter.
- As general rule of thumb, if you’re struggling to break down your story synopsis in around 300-500 words that could be a sign that your manuscript needs tightening before submission. The story and its aims should be clear to you so that you can make it clear to us.
- Your synopsis should be informative rather than written like a blurb. Tell us simply how it unfolds, how your characters develop and how the story reaches its resolution, as though you were talking to a friend. Please also include the ending/resolution and don’t worry about spoilers.