Elizabeth's Submission Guidelines

One of our favorite William Hamilton cartoons shows a young writer
confiding to a friend over a glass of wine:
"I haven't actually been published or produced yet.
But I have had some things professionally typed."

Elizabeth Pomada handles literary and commercial fiction, romance, thrillers, mysteries and mainstream women's fiction. If you have completed a novel, please mail Elizabeth the first ten pages and synopsis with SASE, mailed flat, not folded. Be sure to include your phone number and email address. You must enclose an SASE with your submission if you expect a response. Do not mail separately, as we cannot mix and match mail. International authors may email a submission to Elizabeth double-spaced in 14-point typeface in the body of your email with no attachments. Include the first 10 pages plus a 1-2 page synopsis.

Elizabeth responds with your SASE approximately eight weeks after receipt.

Please note: Elizabeth cannot take the time to read a full manuscript if other agents are reading it. That's why she asks for complete manuscripts, on an exclusive basis, when she is interested in a project. Always include a 2-page synopsis, SASE, bio and phone number with a requested manuscript.

ALL THE DETAILS TO SUBMIT TO ELIZABETH:
To receive the best treatment from an agent and editor, your manuscript should look like it's worth the advance you want for it. Please don't send disks of any type. Number pages consecutively. Type your manuscript in 12- or 14-point type, double-spaced, immaculately on 20-pound white bond paper.

Use the spellchecker. "Butt two bee ore knot too bee" is spelled correctly! Also proofread your work thoroughly, and get a second proofreader to go over it. Typos can be a fatal flaw. Your printer should be letter-quality and have fresh ink or toner. Use a 12- or 14-point serif typeface such as Courier or Times Roman that produces 10 characters to an inch. Limit each page to 25, double-spaced 60-character lines or about 250 words on a page. Do not justify the right margin. At the left margin of the page, half an inch from the top, place your last name/first key word from the title. On the same line, flush right, type the number of the page. Number pages consecutively from 1 to the end of the proposal or manuscript. Use one side of the paper only.

Submit material unbound, without paper clips or staples. Submit high-quality copies of text and illustrations. Include your name, your snail and e-mail addresses, and day and evening phone numbers in all correspondence on the title page. Include what you want us to know about you and your work in your one-page cover letter. You may save yourself time and money with a letter query before submitting your material. If you want to do a multiple submission, mention that it's a multiple submission in a brief cover letter that includes what you want the reader to know about you and your work. If you've finished more than one novel, please choose your strongest work and tell us briefly about your other books. Like editors, agents aren't looking for literary one-night stands. They want writers who can keep turning out books. If you have ideas for other books, very briefly mention up to three of them in your cover letter.

Agents and editors cannot assume responsibility for submissions so package your material carefully. For sample material, use a manila envelope or a #5 mailing bag. Enclose another stamped, self-addressed return mailer for its return. Don't use metered postage which can only be used on the day printed. If you're sending a complete manuscript, place it in a box and then in a #6 mailing bag along with a stamped, self-addressed return mailer. Six staples will seal a mailing bag effectively; avoid string or tape. If possible, use mailers with peel-and-seal strips. Please don't use "popcorn." If you want us to recycle your submission, say so, but enclose a stamped, self-addressed #10 envelope--not a small, personal correspondence envelope--with stamps affixed to the envelope, not loose, to ensure a response.

Packages weighing more than a pound must be brought to the post office which may delay their return, another reason to enclose just a #10 SASE. Because we receive a few thousand submissions a year and because we may be away when your submission arrives, please allow eight weeks and mailing time for a response. We read submissions as quickly as we can in the order we receive them.

Please don't call to see if your submission arrived because we don't keep track of every submission we receive. If you want to be sure, send it registered or with delivery confirmation, use UPS or FedEx, or enclose a self-addressed postage-paid postcard (SASP) ready for us to return to you.

Since we can't mix and match mail, please don't send follow-up additions to a submission. Many thanks for your patience. Hope we can help!