Show me what you got...
I am currently looking for NOVELS and NOVELLAS for adult readers only.
No children's stuff, short stories, poetry, memoirs, non-fiction or scripts.
Young Adult is a grey area and I will consider books with teenaged protagonists (I'll be publishing The Naseby Horses in December 2019 and the protagonist is seventeen). I'm not hung up on genre! If it's good, it's good.
Right now I would particularly LOVE to read subs from working class writers... writing about absolutely anything and anyone, of course... I'm not into ghettoizing any particular group. But if you were "born the wrong side of the tracks" (like me), I would LOVE to hear from you. I'm willing to work editorially, for as long as necessary, if I think your work shows promise but isn't quite ready for publication.
1. Postal submissions to Louise Walters Books, PO Box 755, Banbury, OX16 6PJ.
To keep your postage costs down, I suggest you send me just the first few pages, no more than a dozen. Please include a stamped, self-addressed envelope if you would like your work returned and/or if you would like a response from me.
2. Electronic submissions via email please. E-mail whatever you are comfortable with sending, but bear in mind the first few pages are usually enough for me to gauge your writing. Body of email is fine, and I accept Word documents.
E-mail to: submissions@louisewaltersbooks.co.uk.
No synopsis is needed, thank you. I'd rather you were using that time to polish your material. If you want to include a bit of info about yourself, please do. Don't agonise over this though. Your actual writing is far more important. I don't mind multiple submissions and you don't have to address me by name. It matters not. What matters is your writing.
3. What I am looking for: great writing for adults. This may stretch to "YA".
Genre is less important to me - anything goes as long as the writing is good enough. That is, of course, the hard part! By "good" I mean accomplished and well-written (but that doesn't mean flawless); showing a great deal of potential - I'm willing to put the hours in if I can see how good a project could be. I love well-drawn characters; exciting, or quiet, or funny stories; intelligent stories; amazing world-building. Any or all of these are interesting to me.
4. I will read and respond to every submission. Allow about a month before nudging please.
5. If we know each other, either in real life or online, it may be advisable to submit your work anonymously. Make up a name and use an email address that doesn't contain your real name please! If necessary change the name of your novel too, in case I may already be aware of it. I will not engage in nepotism, and an anonymous submission means I can respond honestly and without prejudice to your work. It also means our friendship will remain intact!