We are currently accepting submissions from young adult authors, ages 13-18. We cannot guarantee that your book will be carried in a bookstore or a library, but it will be available to online retailers such as Amazon.com and BN.com. You do not need an agent to submit; however, we will not accept unsolicited manuscripts. We are very picky and not everyone will be accepted. We ask that you follow the below guidelines and do not send complete manuscripts unless specifically requested.

If you would like the opportunity to be published sooner, try the Quarterly Youthful Thoughts Anthology Contest or contribute to the Youthful Musings Monthly Newsletter.

WE ONLY CONSIDER COMPLETED MANUSCRIPTS.

WE ACCEPT THESE CATEGORIES: short story collections, novellas, poetry collections, blog stories, full-length novels (fiction only).

WE’RE DOWN WITH THESE: action/adventure, contemporary, fantasy, humor/satire, mystery/suspense, multicultural, romance, science fiction, paranormal, inspirational/spiritual, gay/lesbian.

…BUT KICK THESE TO THE CURB: comic books, historical, graphic novels, picture books, photography, horror, erotica, plays/scripts, essays, coffee table books, cookbooks, political, full-color and/or illustrated books, or any type of violent content (rape, murder, sodomy, incest, etc)

Manuscript Formats

For Full-Length Novels and Blog Stories –

• Up to 80,000 words max
• Title page listing title, writer’s name, and word count
• Double-spaced, one inch margins, 12 point font
• Place headers at the top of each page displaying writer’s last name, title and the page number.
• Begin each new chapter with its number and first sentence halfway down the page.

For Short Stories –

• Up to 4,000 words, max.

(up to 13 pages)

• Title Page listing title, writer’s name, and word count
• Second page should be an Index listing the story titles and page numbers
• Double-spaced, one inch margins, 12 point font.
• Place headers at the top of each page displaying writer’s last name, title, and page number.
• Begin each new chapter with its number and first sentence halfway down the page.

For Poems –

• Minimum of twenty-five (25)
• Single-spaced, one inch margins, 12 point font.
• No pictures or color illustrations, however, decorative borders will be accepted.

For Novellas –

• 27,000 words max

(no more than 140 pages long)

• Title Page listing title, writer’s name, and word count
• Double-spaced,one inch margins, 12 point font.
• Place headers at the top of each page displaying writer’s last name, title, and page number.
• Begin each new chapter with its number and first sentence halfway down the page.

SUBMIT A QUERY

1) PLEASE QUERY FIRST. If we’re interested, we will ask to see a synopsis and:

• The first 30 pages of your novel, novella, or blog story.
• The first five (5) poems.
• The first 3 pages of your short story

DO NOT send sample pages
DO NOT send a synopsis
DO NOT send a complete manuscript. If these appear in your query, your email will automatically be deleted.

2) Please send your queries in the body of an email and the title of your material in the SUBJECT line, to queries@youthfulwisdompress.com

DELIVERY

1) If we like your query and request a partial…send the synopsis and sample pages as a Word attachment in one file to: submissions@youthfulwisdompress.com. DO NOT SEND SEPARATE FILES.

2) If we like your synopsis/sample pages and request the whole manuscript…send it as a Word attachment to submissions@youthfulwisdompress.com.

We respond within 4 weeks for queries and sample pages; 6-12 weeks for full manuscripts. These wait times may be longer or shorter depending on the number of submissions we receive.

Helpful Hints

Please take a moment to read the following helpful hints below (Adobe Acrobat required):

1) Anatomy of a Query Letter - PDF (opens in new window)
2) Anatomy of a Synopsis – PDF (opens in new window)
3) Self-Editing Tips – PDF (opens in new window)