An authors guide or authors submission guidelines are made available from almost every publication. They are written to guide you in how to submit your stories, articles and manuscripts. Every publication, whether online or in print, will have their own specific guidelines to follow. You can usually find them on their websites or you can call the publication and ask for them to be mailed (by sending them an SASE) or emailed to you. Put these in your files so you know how to submit to more than one publication or publisher.
An author's guide is better known as writer's guidelines and this is probably what you will want to request. It is a standard request so don't feel like you are bothering them when you ask for them. If you subscribe to the publication already (you should always be familiar with the publication you are wanting to submit too) you can sometimes find the guide within their pages or contact information to request it.
A rule of thumb is always include a SASE (self addressed, stamped envelope) with your submissions. Many publications will not even read a manuscript that is submitted without one and you will never get it returned if you don't include one either. Check the publication's guide to see whom you should submit your manuscript to. If you send it to the wrong person you can run the risk of it never being read.The author's guidelines will usually tell you the length of manuscript they will accept and any criteria you must adhere to. For example, if you are submitting to a Christian publication they might not want to see any violence, explicit sex or foul language in your piece. If you feel you just can't change your work since it would be a travesty to do so, you should look for another publication to submit to.
Many times before a submission will be accepted, even when following the submission guidelines you will need to query the editor first. The following are some tips in how to write a query letter:
- As stated before, be familiar with the publication. Read several issues and get familiar with their styles and also the average length of the pieces. Also pay attention to their advertisers. They can indicate the target audience.
- Write your query letter to the editor that would be in charge of your manuscript, if submitted.
- Create an eye-catching title. Be sure and make it relevant to the piece though!
- Write the first paragraph of your article.
- Write a few sentences that explain why you think the publication and their readers would want or need to read your article.
- Write a few sentences outlining why you would be a good choice to write this article for them.
- Check online for examples of query letters if you need a visual.
- Send out a lot of queries. The odds will be on your side if you do.