Guidelines for Authors

Publishing Department
Shadow Mountain
P.O. Box 30178
Salt Lake City, Utah 84130
(801) 534.1515

Publishing with Shadow Mountain

Shadow Mountain seeks to publish new books for adults and children that will appeal to a values-based, general market of readers and writers. We prefer to publish books that reflect traditional Christian values. A book we are interested in will be

1. Of value to our readers.
2. Well written and well researched.
3. Unique.

In general, Shadow Mountain is not interested in poetry, family histories, or personal journals. We will consider manuscripts that are being submitted simultaneously to other publishers. We do ask, however, that you let us know you are also submitting it elsewhere, so misunderstandings can be avoided.

Submitting Your Manuscript

You may submit material to us in several different ways. The simplest method is to submit a query letter explaining your book and an outline or table of contents. We will also review a partial manuscript (two to three chapters), though, if you prefer, you may send us the complete manuscript.

Submit your manuscript or query to Publishing Department, Shadow Mountain, P. O. Box 30178, Salt Lake City, Utah 84130. Please follow these guidelines:

1. Your manuscript should be in clear, dark, double-spaced type on standard 8½-by-11-inch paper with one inch margins on all sides.
2. Be sure each page of the entire manuscript is numbered in sequence, not by chapter. Put a short identifying word or phrase or the title of the book in the upper left-hand corner of each manuscript page, followed by your last name. For example: Title/Anderson/132.
3. Be sure to include complete publishing information for the sources of the quotations you are using (the author and title of the work, the place of publication, the name of the publisher, the publication date, and the page(s) of the quotation). If you wish, you may cite just the author, title, and page numbers in the text and then provide the full citation, including the publishing information, in a bibliography. Please keep a photocopy of the original source as well as a photocopy of the title page and copyright page of the book from which you are quoting. You will need to provide this information to us if your manuscript is accepted for publication.
4. It is your responsibility to clear the use of all quotations that are under copyright. This includes lengthy prose quotations (more than a few lines) and all lyrics and poems. Because of the difficulty in finding copyright holders to secure permissions and the heavy fees usually charged, we discourage use of poetry or words from songs written by established national writers. You may wish to wait until your manuscript has been accepted for publication before securing permissions.
5. Do not submit your original manuscript. We cannot be responsible for manuscripts that are lost in the mail or that are not accompanied by sufficient return postage.
6. If you would like your manuscript returned to you, please include a self-addressed envelope with sufficient postage and large enough to accommodate the return of your manuscript. Manuscripts submitted without sufficient postage will not be returned after they have been reviewed.
7. Allow at least eight weeks (and occasionally longer) for response on your manuscript. We try to respond as soon as possible, but the number of manuscripts submitted as well as pressing deadlines on books already in production may result in occasional delays.
8. If you use a word processor and your book is on disk, you must still submit a hardcopy for evaluation. We will require an electronic file only if the manuscript is accepted for publication.
9. Please do not send duplicate manuscripts. All manuscripts submitted go through the same channels, and duplicates will be discarded.

Please note that these are guidelines, not absolute requirements. If you have already prepared your manuscript with a slightly different format, we will still be happy to review it.

Submitting a Children.s Book

Please read the guidelines listed above before submitting your children.s manuscript. Since the text for a children.s book is often short, it is acceptable to submit all the text in a single spaced format with double spaces between paragraphs. Remember to include a SASE if you wish to have the materials returned to you after the review.

If your manuscript is for a children.s book, please note that it is not necessary to have completed illustrations prior to submission. Sample sketches or even word descriptions (.a mother and child by the beach,. for example) are sufficient for our initial review. If your manuscript is accepted for publication, we have contacts with many professional artists who could be hired to illustrate your book.

Copyright Protection

You need not worry that we will steal your idea or any part of your manuscript. No reputable publisher will do that. Nor do you need to register your manuscript for copyright before submitting it. Under the current U.S. copyright law, your book is already protected the moment you set it down on paper, even though it may not be formally registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. If you wish, put a notice on the title page in the following manner: .© 2005 (or the current year), John Doe (your formal name). All rights reserved.. Upon publication of your book, the publisher will submit the necessary forms to formally register the copyright. If you still have specific copyright questions, please review the FAQ of the Copyright Office at the Library of Congress.

After the Review

After the editorial and marketing staffs have reviewed your manuscript they may

1. accept it for publication;
2. invite you to revise and resubmit it; or
3. reject it.

If you are asked to revise your manuscript, please do not be offended. This is actually a positive response, indicating that your manuscript has excellent potential for publication. If your manuscript is rejected, we will return it to you provided you have included a SASE. We regret that we cannot return manuscripts that are unaccompanied by a SASE with sufficient postage. We also do not provide a detailed critique or evaluation of your manuscript. Many factors must be taken into account in deciding which manuscripts are accepted for publication, and rejection does not necessarily mean that the manuscript is not publishable.only that it is not right for Shadow Mountain at this time. Our resources.financing, time, and staff.are limited, and we can accept only a limited number of manuscripts from the many submitted to us.

The Publishing Contract

If your manuscript is accepted for publication, we will send you a contract soon after acceptance. In the contract, you will agree to convey to Shadow Mountain the right to publish your book. In return, Shadow Mountain will pay all editing, production, printing, warehousing, advertising, marketing, and other costs. Royalties, based on a percentage of the retail price, are paid twice a year. The contract will indicate the number of complimentary copies you will receive of your book. You may buy additional copies at the wholesale price, to be billed to you or charged against your royalties.

Production of Your Book

After your manuscript has been accepted, we will assign it a publication date and prepare a production schedule. Books usually take anywhere from six to twelve months to be published.

As an initial step, we ask that you supply us with an electronic file (a computer disk) containing the text of the manuscript. Your manuscript will be assigned to an editor who will be your contact during production. The editor will edit your manuscript carefully for spelling, punctuation, grammar, logic, clarity (while retaining the your individual style), and doctrinal accuracy (if applicable), and may suggest revisions if needed. The editor.s job is to help you convey your message in the most meaningful and concise way possible. The editor will arrange for copyright registration and Library of Congress cataloging, as well as write blurbs for the jacket. The title of your book will greatly affect its sales. For that reason, if we feel that your original title is not suitable, we may ask your help in choosing a new one.

While your manuscript is being edited, our designers will select the typeface and design for the inside pages as well as the jacket and cover and any illustrations. If you plan to prepare your own illustrations, please submit samples (a photocopy will do) before you go to the time and expense of preparing final art. Because of their importance to the marketability of your book, Shadow Mountain reserves the right to make final decisions on cover and interior art and design.

After your manuscript has been edited, it will be typeset, and you will be sent galley proofs for your review. It is important that you read, correct, and return the galleys promptly so as not to delay publication. At this point, you may resolve with the editor any questions you may have concerning the final text. We strongly suggest that galley stage alterations be kept to a minimum beyond the correction of actual typesetting mistakes. Such corrections are costly and time-consuming; if you insist on excessive changes to galley proofs, you may be charged associated costs.

After corrections on the galleys are made, Shadow Mountain finalize the galleys and send the book to the printer. We will also prepare a table of contents, a copyright page, and an index, if one is required. Finished books are typically delivered to our warehouse approximately ten weeks after printing and binding begin. The number of books to be printed is determined by Shadow Mountain, as is the retail price.

Marketing

Promotion of your book will begin three to four months before it is to be released, when promotional materials and order forms will be sent to more than a thousand book dealers who stock our products. We produce more than two million direct-mail catalogs and brochures each year to promote our products.

Additional promotional elements, including publicity, in-store promotion, electronic and print media, and wholesale promotions may be developed as part of your book.s individualized marketing strategy. Although the marketing department makes all decisions regarding promotion of our publications, we look to our authors as key partners in the marketing process. You will receive more detailed information about your participation when your book is accepted for publication.

Some authors are asked to appear at autograph parties or other engagements; your cooperation in this can greatly help the sales of your book.

If you have specific questions about marketing your book, please share them with us. We want to do everything possible to make your book successful.

Thank you for considering publishing with Shadow Mountain. We depend upon the hundreds of manuscripts that are submitted to us each year to continue to publish the finest books and products in our expanding market. We enjoy our relationship with our authors and hope that you may become one of them. If you have further questions about our publishing program or our consideration of your manuscript, please contact us.