SRL Publishing

 Full submissions

ere at SRL Publishing, we welcome submissions from all minority groups, and stories that portray characters from minority groups. We understand there’s an uplift of agencies and publishers asking writers to identify their race/sexual preference at the top of their submission, but we don’t. We believe this makes writers feel uncomfortable, and puts publishers and agents at risk of discrimination.

We encourage our authors to share as much of their identity as they are comfortable with. Writers will never be asked their sexuality, race, or religion – only if the author wishes to disclose, and we will never use this information to generate sales. We advise anyone who is thinking of submitting their work to us, to not put their race in the subject heading. We view all submissions as equal, and will not prioritise any submissions from certain minority groups.

We don’t care about your colour, we care about your words.

 

 

What types of books do you publish?

We love stories – fiction or non-fiction. We will consider most genres, topics, or formats. As long as we like it enough to publish it. Whether it’s controversial, colourful, or childish, our editorial team will review all submissions received. We’re looking to work with authors who love stories as much as we do, and who are passionate about the art of storytelling.

While we review all submissions, please bear in mind that not all work submitted can be accepted. As we receive numerous submissions each month, we cannot guarantee which titles will be selected for publication and we cannot respond to each submission.

What don’t you publish?

SRL Publishing will not, under any circumstances, review or accept submissions with any of the following topics or elements: graphic or eroticised incest/rape; necrophilia; paedophilia; bestiality; erotica, fetishes or porn; or anything that encourages violence, hate, or racism. No exceptions.

We’re currently not looking to publish poetry, self-help titles, short story collections, anthologies, or faith-based books. 

Do I need an agent?

While we do work with some literary agencies, an agent is not required to submit your work to us; direct submissions are very welcome.

Do I have to pay any upfront fees to publish with you?

No. If we offer you a publishing contract there are no fees involved. We never charge our authors to publish with us. Initially all work submitted to us is considered for a ‘traditional publishing contract’. This is where no costs are incurred by the author and the whole cost for producing, publishing, and marketing the work is covered by SRL Publishing. 

How much will I get paid?

If you sign with us, you will not be an employee of SRL Publishing. We pay our authors royalties, which are in-line with industry averages. Our royalty percentages are based on a books’ RRP, not wholesale price, nor is it based on a publishers net profits. This is so our authors know exactly what they will receive per book sold, and not have to wait for the publisher to share their profit with the author after claiming back their own expenses. Our authors get a fixed amount per individual book sale, regardless of our own expenditure.

If you decide to pass on my manuscript, do you keep my data?

No, is the short answer. In line with our privacy policy and the data we collect and keep, if we were to pass on a submission, your data will be securely deleted from our databases when a decision is made regarding your manuscript.

Any tips?

Your work does not need to be double-spaced. We like to be environmentally friendly as much as we can when printing, so we prefer just single-spaced work with the finished manuscript.

Always use a font that is legible and easy to read for all of our readers. Fonts like Comic Sans or Broadway will not be accepted. Garamond and Palatino are our favourites.

You do not need to format your work. If a publishing contract is offered, all the formatting will be carried out by our editorial team.

Do I have to send a finished manuscript?

Not at all. Publishing contracts can also be offered on an idea and layout of a story alongside some writing examples. In this case we would require a detailed synopsis, chapter breakdown, and target word count alongside a covering letter, writer bio, and examples of your writing style.

How do I submit my manuscript to you?

All you need to do is send us your manuscript or pitch idea, with a covering letter, bio, and synopsis.

We incorporate green business practices as much as possible as we are all too aware of the amount of paper waste that is produced by the book publishing industry. Therefore, we do not accept paper submissions, and you should email your piece to submissions@srlpublishing.co.uk. Any submissions sent though our contact pages or other email addresses will be deleted, unread. Any submissions sent to us through the postal system will be shredded, and recycled unread. 

Response times can vary, and can take up to 16 weeks so please be patient during the submission process.  Due to the high numbers of submissions we receive, we’re only able to respond to those of interest.

What happens after I’ve received an offer of publication?

Traditional publishing is an incredibly lengthy process. The time from offer to contract signing is usually in months, not days. After an offer, both parties will discuss deal points including royalties, expected formats, subsidiary rights etc, and – hopefully – reach an agreement. The publisher will then start preparing a contract – which doesn’t happen overnight – and average time between an agreed deal to the receipt of a contract can take up to 4 months. 

Among everything else, this rough timeline gives submitting authors one more factor to consider and take into consideration. Your own mileage may vary, but from offer to negotiating a contract, to finally the printed novel, it can take an average time of 18 months.