DFP Submissions Guidelines

TYPES OF BOOKS TO SUBMIT:
We seek a limited number of genre fiction single author novels, novel series, and anthologies per year. We do not contract multi-author works.

GENRES TO SUBMIT:
* Fantasy and Science Fiction [adult audience with PG rating]
* Historical and Western Romance [adult audience with PG to mild-R rating]
* Fantasy Romance [adult audience with PG to mild-R rating]
* Futuristic Romance (SF) Romance [adult audience with PG to mild-R rating]
* Paranormal Romance [adult audience with PG to mild-R rating]
* Young Adult [Teen audience with G to PG rating]

NOVEL LENGTH:
Novels should be 40,000 words minimum to 100,000 words maximum. These length requirements are necessary to meet our print and digital production requirements.

NOVEL SERIES:
Novel series are popular in all combinations of Science Fiction and Fantasy for both adults and young adults. Due to the nature of writing ongoing series, we understand the need to contract forthcoming titles in a series by proposals. This is done on a case-by-case basis.

QUALITY:
All submitted manuscripts must be finished and require only a light edit. We look for great stories with a strong writing style and good character construction.

CONTENT AND RATINGS:
All genre fiction works, except for romance, must fall under a standard PG rating. This means no "graphic content" that would mandate an adult R-rating (i.e. eighteen or older). Young adult books should be as close to a G-rating as possible. We do not take works that contain inflammatory content of any kind, nor do we publish graphic content.

TECHNIQUE:
Fiction novels should be written in simple past tense using either third person deep limited (i.e. one POV character per scene) or first person. Romance novels may be written with floating viewpoint, as long as the "POV switches" are in limited large blocks per scene (preferably no more than two switches per scene). As a general rule, one POV character per scene is preferred. [POV = point-of-view]

HOW TO SUBMIT:
All works must be finished prior to submission. The only exceptions to finished manuscripts are series in progress, which are dealt with on a case-by-case basis. When submissions are open, the first step is for the author to fill out the Submission Query Form (a link will appear on this page). If the Submissions Editor requests to read more, have a full synopsis (outline in paragraph form) and a partial (chapters 1-3, plus prologue if applicable) ready to send in the appropriate file formatting (see below). Send all emails in plain text (i.e. non-HTML). Never send attachments without prior approval. Unsolicited files are deleted unread and SPAM is reported.

CONTRACT BASICS:
Our standard non-subsidy (i.e. no fee) contract specifies worldwide publication rights for print editions, digital editions, performance rights, and related synergy products. The author must verify legal ownership of the work in question by providing proof of copyright. We do not offer advances on royalties nor work through agents. All contracted authors (and artists) must be resident USA citizens of eighteen (18) years or older with valid USA social security numbers for tax purposes and royalty payment options.

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION:
We only contract original works from the author or artist. Proof of copyright must be provided through US Copyright Office registration certificates (or a copy of the application with the certificate to follow). For copyright forms and information, see the U.S. Library of Congress at www.loc.gov or U.S. Copyright Office at www.copyright.gov.

PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED WORKS:
Previously published titles are accepted on a case-by-case basis. All print and digital rights must be free to contract. Prior publication information must be submitted, including former publishers, ISBNs, formats, reviews, awards, and distribution of any kind (free or for sale). Copies of all applicable contractual releases and rights reversions must be included before new contracts can be issued.

NO SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS:
We do not read simultaneous submissions, i.e. works submitted to multiple publishers at the same time. Thanks!

UNDERSTANDING THE MARKETPLACE:
Authors must have a basic understanding of POD (print-on-demand) and ebook marketplaces, as well as the ability to promote books through personal websites and social media sites.

APOSPROPHES: Be sure all apostrophes are turned correctly.
BRAND NAMES: Do not use brand names that require a registration (®) or trademark (™) superscript. Instead, either use generic terms or invent your own brand names.
CHAPTER BREAKS: Use hard page return between chapters.
CHAPTER HEADERS: Center chapter headers starting at line-3.
DASHES: Use long dashes with—no spaces between words.
DIALOG: Dialog tags and dialog punctuation must be properly formatted.
ELLIPSES: No spaces set inside sentences...with four periods at end…. [as shown]
EMPHASIS: For emphasis, use plain text with Italics or ‘single quotes’. Do not use ALL CAPS (except at the beginning of chapters and scenes). No bold or underline.
FILE DELIVERY: Email attachment (RTF) [3-MB maximum]
FILE TYPE: Resident RTF (Rich Text Format); do not convert
FONT TEXT: Set body text, header, and footer in Times New Roman size-12 (TNR-12).
HYPHENS: Use hyphens only in standard phrases, such as mother-in-law.
LINE INDENTS: No hanging indent codes.
LINE SPACING: Use single line spacing for text body, as well as in the header and footer.
NUMBERS: Never start a sentence with a numeral of any kind. Always write out the first word as text. [For example: Fourteen people voted.] As a general rule any number that must be written out in more than two words can rendered as a numeral instead of as text, such as 221 instead of two-hundred and twenty-one. Just be consistent throughout the document.
PAGE FOOTER: Set no page footer, but make sure its font is set to TNR-12 single-space.
PAGE HEADER: Put TITLE / Author on header left (TNR-12 single space).
PAGE MARGINS: Set page margins at 1.0" all around on a standard 8.5" x 11" page.
PAGE SIZE: Use a standard 8.5"W x 11"H page trim.
POINT-OF-VIEW (POV): Use either third person restricted (i.e. one POV character per scene) or first person. Novels must be written in one POV style. Mixed POV styles are not allowed.
PUNCTUATION: No semi-colons (;). No double punctuation (such as !? or ...?). No [brackets] or (parentheses). Use colons (:) sparingly. See above for dashes and ellipses.
QUOTES: Double quotes go “outside the punctuation.” Single quotes go ‘inside it’.
SCENE BREAKS: Center three asterisks one space apart (* * *) below the last sentence in the scene. Skip one line. Then start the next scene flush-left with the first word in ALL CAPS.
SYMBOLS: Do not include any symbols in the text.
SMART TAGS: Disable all word processor smart tags.
SUPERSCRIPTS: Do not include any superscripts in the text.
STYLE CODES: Disable all word processor style codes.
TABS: Set one Manual Tab at 1/2-inch. No Auto-Tabs.
TEXT BLOCKS: All body text must be justified. No ragged-right. Center chapter headers and scene break asterisks.
VERB TENSE: Fiction novels should be written in simple past tense (i.e. ran, walked, saw). Mixed verb tense (i.e. mainstream) is not allowed.
WIDOW-ORPHAN CODE: Disable paragraph widow-orphan setting.
WORD PROCESSORS: We suggest: Microsoft Word (versions 2002-2003 or 2010), Open Office Writer, or Atlantis Word Processor. All files must be created in standard RTF (Rich Text Format) for Windows. [No Mac/Apple]

NOTE: It is the author's responsibility to create a properly formatted RTF file for submission purposes. THANKS!