Are you a writer who has dreamed of seeing your name in print?  Do you have a manuscript you think will make a great book?

Then submit your work to McBryde Publishing! 

We look for the following in our authors: 

      1.       Listens to constructive criticism 

When we read your submission, we make note of what works and what does not.  And believe me, even if your manuscript is the next great American novel, I’m still going to advise you on changes. I don’t do it to be mean or to crush your spirit; I do it because I want your work to be successful. You need a thick skin in this business.   

As we like to say here, if you want a rave review, have your mom read it.  So, if you’re someone who can objectively look at criticism and ponder how it may help your story, then that is awesome!     

     2. Wants to learn

Everything I said in Point One? Yeah, take that constructive criticism and learn from it. Did your editor tell you that your dialogue is not believable? Well, okay.

Research what it takes to create believable dialogue. We are happy to give examples and further explain how to better your document.

  3. Intends to rework on the manuscript

Okay, so you’ve submitted your manuscript, got suggestions back on how to improve it, and you are researching how to accomplish those suggestions.  Now, you have to actually rework your rough draft.  I understand it took you a long time to write it, and the idea of rewriting seems insurmountable. 

Guess what!  It’s not! If you don’t take the time to perfect your story, you’re only cheating yourself and all the fans you could have had. So, turn on your word processor and turn that rough draft you sent us into the final draft we would love to publish.

  4.  Will take a stand when the editor is wrong

Do not get too cocky on this one.  Just because you think I’m wrong in a suggestion doesn’t mean you’re right.  What we want in our authors are people who are not afraid to disagree with us and explain why. I have had disagreements with authors only to realize the authors made a good point, so I let them keep what I had originally advised they change.

But don’t fight me every step of the way, please.  Doing so will put you on the fast track to not being published.  And that sucks, especially because I want to publish you (probably)!

      5.  Has a sense of humor

As we work with each other, we will inevitably get to know one another. Don’t be afraid to tease me if I make an embarrassing typo (this was done once in college, and I’m still mortified what I accidentally wrote about the French Revolution). Laugh if I make a joke.

You probably want to know what we look for in submissions.  I am not going to go through each of these individually; that would mean less blog ideas for the future! So here’s what we want to see.  Research them and make sure your manuscript has what it takes.

Writing submissions should have:

• A hook at the beginning (I highly recommend Les Edgerton’s Hooked: Write Fiction that Grabs Readers at Page One and Never Lets them Go)
• Show, not tell
• Plot-driven story
• Good pacing
• Well-rounded characters
• Believable dialogue
• Metaphors/similes
• Been proofread all the way through.  You do not know how many times I read a submission riddled with errors.  It is nails on a chalkboard for me.  Stand out by having a work that you have already corrected for grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

Much thanks to Old Book Illustrations for supplying the art for this entry. Art courtesy of Aventures de Robert-Robert (Adventures of Robert-Robert), By L. Desnoyers, illustrated by F. de Courcy, Paris 1839.