General Guidelines

How to Submit Your Story

All submissions must be made via e-mail. Files, as well as questions about how to submit
your work, should be sent to: submissions@betterdaypublishing.com

*Simultaneous submissions (to other publishers) are not accepted.

Please include the following in your submission:

• Full manuscript, preferably as an attached zip file for expedient download.

• Cover letter including author's name, address, phone number, and e-mail address.

• Synopsis of 1-3 pages in length. This is where you must grab the publisher’s attention! Think in terms of the jacket copy. Millions buy books based upon what they read in the blurb. Tell us immediately what genre your book belongs to.

• Place the story title, author name, and page number in the header of every page.

• On the title page (first page) include story title, word count, your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, and website address if you have one.

• A market analysis of the potential readership for the book should be included. Tell us why anyone should buy your book.

Formatting Guidelines

• Indent paragraphs, but do not leave extra space between them.

• Files should be saved in Microsoft Word, only.

• No HTML files.

• Save your files as regular MS Word files.

If you have questions, please contact submissions@betterdaypublishing.com for more information.

• If you wish to save your formatting, please make an additional copy before saving as "text only". There should be no other differences between your final hard copy and the final text file you send us.

• Send the manuscript in one (zipped) file to submissions@betterdaypublishing.com

• If English is not your first language, please let us know so we can take that into account when reading your manuscript.

Better Day Publishing is accepting manuscripts!

The following categories are of interest at this time:

Pre-Kindergarten Nonfiction

Your piece should be an educational, entertaining and fun story for children, ages 2 to 5. The piece should be related to a pre-kindergartener’s world (i.e., home, family, backyard, or neighborhood). Please be aware of age-appropriateness, word choice,
clarity, and most of all originality.

Picture books: Manuscripts should be 1500 words, with 1000 words being the average length.

Early picture books: These stories should be simple and contain fewer than 1000 words.

Easy Readers: Manuscripts should contain 200-1500 words of text, maximum 2000 words.

Children’s Humor

Your piece should be a fiction or nonfiction piece that captures readers between the ages of 7 to 10. It must appeal to what children find funny at this age, engaging, well-structured, and overall, funny! The areas included are jokes, anecdotes, fiction, or true stories.

Early Chapter Books: Manuscripts should be about 30 pages long, broken into 2-3 page chapters.

Chapter Books: Manuscripts should be 45-60 pages long, broken into 3-4 page chapters.

Beginning Readers Mystery

The piece should be an original early reader mystery which the beginning reader between the ages of 4-7 can read independently. Word recognition is of importance to this reading group. Your piece must have a strong story line, great characterization, structure, and a strong point-of-view character. Most importantly, the piece must be age-appropriate and easily understood and solved by the beginning reader.

Early Chapter Books: Manuscripts should be about 30 pages long, broken into 2- 3 page chapters.

Chapter Books: Manuscripts should be 45-60 pages long, broken into 3-4 page chapters.

Middle Grade Adventures

The piece must be an adventure that appeals to readers between the ages of 8-12. The adventure may take the form of historical fiction, fantasy, or a contemporary piece. There must be a valid antagonist or conflict, which can appear in the form of other characters, internal conflicts, social conflict, nature, technology or personal goals. Your piece should possess rich characterization, a strong plot, age-appropriateness, originality, and style.

Middle grade – Manuscripts should be 100-150 pages.

Young Adult Fiction

Your piece should address an important contemporary issue for teenagers, 12 and up. It should appeal to the interests, sensitivities, and needs of young adults. Character and plot must work together. The story must not contain obscenities, vile sexuality or violence.

Young adult – Manuscripts should be 130 to about 200 pages long.

Adult Fiction

Your piece should address the interest of adults between the ages of 34 and up. Your piece can take the form of romance, mystery, or humor, historical fiction or contemporary fiction. Originality, vivid characterization,language and plot must peak your reader's interest!

Good Luck and Great Writing!