Novel and Graphic Novel Submission Guidelines

Leucrota Press publishes in two seasons: Spring and Fall.

Submission reading periods are Spring (January 1 – April 30) and Fall (August 1 – November 30).

Any submissions received outside of these dates will not be read and immediately deleted.

****SUBMISSIONS ARE CURRENTLY CLOSED****

Leucrota has had a sudden influx in submissions, and we have enough subs to keep us busy through the rest of the year.
Submissions will open again on January 1, 2011.

Leucrota Press publishes only science fiction, fantasy, horror, and graphic novels, with the occasional experimental or unclassified novel. Regardless of genre, all stories must have powerful character-driven plots with original settings and articulate social systems.

• Leucrota Press only accepts electronic submissions.
• Manuscripts should be aimed towards a mature, well-read audience.
• The preferred length of novels is between 80,000 and 100,000 words.
• Only finished manuscripts are accepted; you may query if nearly completed, but please make sure you note your novel’s status in your letter.
• Send in the best version of your work. Before submitting, your manuscript should have undergone extensive editing and revisions. Typos, misspellings, and poor sentence structure are distracting and annoying. First impressions are everything.
• New writers with distinctive voices and writing styles are strongly urged to submit.

WHAT TO INCLUDE

NOTE: Not including all necessary items in your submission may delay or reject your manuscript.

• Cover letter – One single-spaced page to introduce you, tell about the book, and provide writing history (if any). Include your name, address, telephone number, and email address.
• Synopsis – One single-spaced page describing your work. Do not end in cliffhangers or “you need to read it to find out what happens…” Make sure your synopsis is only one page. A good story can be summarized in a few paragraphs. If it’s interesting and well written, the editor will want to read more.
• Prologue (if applicable)
• Chapters One, Two, and Three  – Be sure to only include the first three chapters. If the editor wants to see more they will request it.
• For graphic novels, please include both text and illustrations. We will not consider text submissions only.

Formatting: Use a standard font such as Times or Courier, size 12, double spaced. Put the author’s name, manuscript title and page number in the header of all pages.

SUBMISSION PROCEDURES

Please send your submission package in a single fil, as a Rich Text Format (.rtf) or as a Microsoft Word Document (.doc, .docx). Any other file format will not be considered. Any virus attached to your submission will send your manuscript straight into the trash and without a response.

Email your submission to: submissions@leucrotapress.com in the subject line, state whether this is a query or submission packet and list your book genre. For example: Query – science fiction novel

If you send your submission to any other Leucrota email address, it will NOT be read and will be immediately deleted. Send only to the submissions mailbox.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Expected reporting time is 5-7 weeks for queries, 6-10 weeks for submissions packets. If you have not heard from an editor after the expected response time, you may query to check the status of your manuscript.

Please wait until the end of the expected reporting times listed above before querying the status of your manuscript. And no phone calls regarding your submission.

While the Leucrota team would love to accept many of the submissions that they receive, sadly, they cannot. Because they are a small press – small in size, not in quality – they are only able to print a limited number of books per year. Currently, that number ranges between eight and fifteen. In that light, Leucrota Press will only take on the best of the best – those manuscripts that stand out above the rest and scream uniqueness and high-quality style.

In the event that your manuscript is not chosen, they promise to tell you why. Unlike many larger publishers who respond by form letters or stamps, they will personally explain why your story was declined. Many times, especially on those manuscripts sent to us via postal mail, they will even mark up a few pages of the manuscript, giving advice and critique where needed. By doing this they hope that you will walk away with a little deeper understanding of your novel, as well as a guarantee that they actually read your submission, and did not just glance at it before sending it back to the slush pile.