Just Call Me Slushy
Note: the opinions expressed here are my own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publisher I worked for. But I learned a lot going through the slush pile, and I wanted to share. More articles to come soon!

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Fixing The Top Ten Submission Mistakes

Look at this list before you submit your next manuscript, just in case. Most of these mistakes won’t get you an automatic rejection, but should be avoided if possible. Don’t feel bad if you see something you do on this list; many SCBWI members and published authors make these mistakes too.

1. Follow guidelines – if it says to send a complete ms, don’t send 3 chapters, and if they want a synopsis, include one. Etc.

2. Write a short synopsis – try for one page, two at most. Once you start getting into 5, 10, or 15 pages, it’s not a useful synopsis (at least not for me). Also, a summary of events in each chapter is not a synopsis.

3. Use correct postage on return envelopes – make sure you put enough postage on the return envelope and never use metered postage (the post office won’t let the publisher mail it, so you paid for nothing). Please make sure to include an envelope addressed to you, and not just the stamps.

4. Send the SASE – it’s easy to forget things, but double and triple check to make sure you have your SASE with correct postage in with your submission. And make sure the envelope is easy to find by paper clipping it to the cover letter, or putting the flap over the cover letter.

5. Make your contact info obvious – personalized stationary is nice, and there are different business letter formats, but make sure the publisher doesn't have to search for contact information. This is especially true with multiple information pages.

6. Your name and manuscrpt title should be easy to find – make sure they are on the cover letter, on the synopsis, and on every page of your ms, just in case pages get dropped or accidentally left out of your envelope.

7. Do NOT bind your manuscript – please do not bind your manuscript, put it in extra folders, shrink wrap it, or cover it in plastic wrap, etc. For novels, you can use a rubber band to keep it together. For picture books, you can use a paperclip.

8. Don’t use BOLD type for your whole manuscript – it makes the ms nearly impossible to read and might blind the editor.

9. Send your ms in a proper sized envelope – if you have trouble cramming it into the envelope, it’s too small. (For more packaging suggestions, click here.)

10. Visually check all printed pages for errors – light text, text with lines, and missing text are very common errors, and all of them make the ms hard to read. Most of these mistakes can be spotted just by looking at each page to see that it printed correctly. (For some reason, text problems always seem to happen in the dramatic scenes, where you want and need to know what happened).