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The Alternate Press
Author Guidelines
The publishing world is changing
quickly and e-books are outselling print books. Consequently, we are
currently revising our business plan and therefore not accepting
proposals for print books. If you would still like Life Media, under
its imprint The Alternate Press, to consider your book for
publication, please read these guidelines carefully prior to
submitting a query.
Does Your Book Fit With Our
Editorial Mandate and Business Perspective?
The Alternate Press is a small
Canadian publishing house with an international audience that specializes in positive, adult
non-fiction about natural parenting; secular homeschooling, unschooling, democratic education and
independent learning; green business; and green living.
If your book
falls within these categories, The Alternate Press might be a
suitable home for your work. If it doesn't, please submit your book
to another publisher, since we will not be able to effectively
market it for you. Please note that we currently are not considering
general health manuscripts, poetry or children's books for publication, and we do not publish
curriculum-oriented materials of any sort, books targeting school
teachers, or religious materials.
Beyond its compatibility with our
other titles for marketing purposes,
the criteria we use to decide whether or not to accept a manuscript
for publication include the following (please address these issues
in your query):
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Is there a market demand
for the information?
-
What else has been
published on the same topic and how recently?
-
How much knowledge
does the author have about the topic?
-
Is the quality of
writing good?
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Does the book
provide positive motivation and tools for change?
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Does the book have an
international focus?
How to Submit Your Proposal:
Having determined that your book
could fit into The Alternate Press list (if you are still not sure,
checking with us via email prior to submitting a full proposal will
save us all time), please prepare your
proposal according to the suggestions below. Note that we consider
manuscripts for publication, not ideas. So we ask that you wait to
query us until your book is written, or at least well on its way.
Please also note that we do not accept queries by telephone, nor do
we consider hand-written submissions.
Send us the following, either by
regular mail or by email as an attachment in Word (we prefer email):
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A cover letter
with complete contact information and letting us know if this is a simultaneous
submission;
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A synopsis or
outline of the whole book;
-
A sample of
approximately 25 consecutive double-spaced manuscript pages,
preferably including the first chapter (please do not send the
whole manuscript);
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A brief biography
or profile of yourself (one page or less) summarizing relevant
professional and personal information. (We don't really care
about your degrees but experience with the topic you're writing
about is essential.);
-
A list of what you
have already had published, including magazine articles and
books, and whether or not any part of the submitted manuscript
has been published already in any format.
If you submit by regular mail,
enclose a stamped self-addressed envelope with sufficient Canadian
stamps or international reply coupons for our response and for any
material you want returned. Make sure return packaging is adequate
in size and strength and the postage is sufficient. If these
conditions are not met, we will not be able to return your material.
Please ensure your submission is
typed, clean and easy to read. Do not use fancy fonts or other
formatting, and do not attempt to make it look like a book. Number
the pages. Never send original art work, slides or photographs. If
you are mailing us a hard copy proposal, hold it together with
staples, a paper clip or elastic bands; please do not spiral bind it or place it in a
binder or folder.
What Happens Next?
If you are emailing your submission,
we will acknowledge it and then will respond in more detail within
two months of receipt of your submission – usually much sooner.
We receive a large number of submissions, so please do not phone us to
inquire about the status of your submission, and do not email us
about it until two months have passed and you still haven't heard
from us.
When we respond, there are many
possibilities. We may:
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reject your
manuscript as unsuitable;
-
ask for a longer
sample;
-
ask for a more
complete outline or a table of contents;
-
suggest the
addition of material or a different approach to the topic;
-
accept it and
offer you a publishing contract specifying royalties, copyright
arrangements, etc. (We generally do not offer an advance on
royalties.)
If your book is accepted by The
Alternate Press, your contract will include a tentative publication
date and we will send you an outline of the process from beginning
to end. Then the editing process will begin, followed by book
design. You should expect substantial input from the editor
and be prepared to meet deadlines for revisions.
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