From the Editor - Evaluation and Acceptance

It's a new year and our thoughts naturally turn to new submissions. Each Friday, we'll post a blog entry on what our submission editors would like to see in our inboxes.

The Editors' Evaluation

A submission is usually read and scrutinized a few times. We look again at the query letter, the synopsis, the excerpt. Rejecting someone’s hard work is never done lightly.

We will often accept a less-than-perfect manuscript, because in our opinion the edits will be within reasonable bounds and the potential for the story and the author is enough for us to take the risk. Sometimes it will be just below the level we can accept, because we are editors, not writing teachers.

It remains a risk. Some risks pay off, others don’t. The proof of the pudding is in the sales figures.
The next step is to write the evaluation for J.M. She has the final say and is the one to write the accept/reject letter to the author.

A reject doesn’t mean we hate you. It means the manuscript wasn’t ready to be published by JMS Books. Go back and work on it, then resubmit. We will be pleased and excited to give it another chance!

After Acceptance

On acceptance of a manuscript, J.M. will offer you a contract. Once the deal is done, she schedules the story.

J.M. does all the administrative and office work, as well as cover art and book layout, royalty calculations, and contract negotiations, so she doesn’t usually take on editing work. With her own writing, she has enough on her plate! We currently have eight editors. Each has their strong points, and work is distributed according to their skills and preferences. Every month, J.M. sends out an email with the next group of titles to be edited, and as long as a given title is still available, editors can choose the stories they want to work on.

Before sending the manuscript to the editor, J.M. applies a company-standard template to format the manuscript. From there, the process of revision begins.

In the meantime, the author has to write blurbs, think about cover art, and begin spreading the word on their social network. My story will soon be published by JMS Books!

Submit a story to us today!