Submission Guidelines
Wordspire Books cultivates and distributes family-friendly stories that equip readers to face the challenges and adventures of life. We currently have an open submission policy and enjoy collaborating with authors, artists, illustrators, and creatives to produce a variety of exceptional, edifying, and engaging content.
Authors
We aim to publish stories of excellence that will continue to uplift and inspire readers after the last page is turned. We curate our content in accordance with our Statement of Faith, and seek manuscripts that demonstrate a high quality of storycraft, including rounded and dynamic characters, well-incorporated themes, and strong plot development.
We accept agented and unagented submissions of manuscripts.
We accept manuscripts for the following target age groups:
- Children’s Picture Books
- Early Reader chapter books (Age 5-8)
- Middle Grade (Age 8-12)
- Young Adult (12-18)
- Adult (18+)
We accept manuscripts for the following fiction genres:
- Action/Adventure
- Contemporary
- Historical
- Mystery
- Romance
- We accept: Sweet, Clean, and Christian.
- We do not accept: abuse, affairs, dark romance, erotica, explicit content, open-door scenes, paranormal or supernatural elements (unless used in a faith-based context), or any manuscripts promoting worldviews contrary to our statement of faith.
- Speculative Fiction
- We accept: Allegories, Alternate History, Apocalyptic/Post-Apocalyptic Fiction, Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Superhero.
- We do not accept: Horror, Paranormal/Supernatural, Occult topics, Magical Realism, Dark Fantasy, Psychological Fiction.
- Suspense/Thriller
- Westerns
We accept manuscripts for the following non-fiction genres:
- Biographies
- Children’s Nonfiction (i.e. science, nature, etc., from a biblical worldview)
- Children’s Workbooks or Activity Books (particularly those that teach moral lessons)
- Christian Living
- Parenting & Family
- We accept: Adoption/Fostering, Character-Building, Family Devotionals, Inspiration and Encouragement, Sanctity of Life, and Special Needs.
Before sending your manuscript to us, please read the following guidelines carefully. We make every effort to carefully consider each submission we receive, however submissions that fail to meet these guidelines will not be considered for publication.
We only accept digital submissions. As such, we are not responsible for any materials physically mailed to us.
Submissions are to be emailed to info@wordspirebooks.com. Title the email subject line as follows: (“Submission” — Your Title — genre)
Please attach your submission (fiction) or proposal (non-fiction) as a single PDF, and ensure the file is no more than 5 MB. Outside links and downloads will not be opened for security reasons.
What to include in your submission or proposal:
- A one-page query letter that includes:
- Your background and experience or other qualifications as well as your social media links, as applicable
- A description (not a synopsis) of your manuscript and why it fits with Wordspire Books
- The genre, target audience, and word count of your manuscript
- Comparative titles — that is, books that your manuscript is similar to
- If fiction or biography/memoir, a one-page synopsis; if non-fiction, a proposal detailing each chapter
- If your submission is the first book of series, please include a brief series outline as well.
- The first three chapters of your manuscript. Note that books must be completed at time of submission. Please format your manuscript in accordance with the SHUNN method: Modern Manuscript Format | William Shunn.
- If your book has been previously published, please clarify if the rights have been reversed. You will be required to show written proof of the Reversal of IP Rights should we decide to move forward with your manuscript.
Authors are not expected to supply illustrations; however, if you do have illustrations that you would like to include with your submission, you may send a scan or image of the original art. We accept them in .jpeg, .png, or .pdf formats. Do not send original source files.
Wordspire Books will not publish artwork created by AI.
All submitted manuscripts must be 100% complete. Even though we will ask first for only a sample (see the submission guidelines above), you will need the completed manuscript ready for us if we reach out for more.
You may submit your manuscript to other publishers. We only ask that you let us know if another publisher accepts your manuscript.
At the time of acceptance, we may require that your manuscript undergo editing prior to publication. This may include developmental editing (big-picture items such as plot and characterization), line editing (stylistic items such as pacing and exposition), and copyediting (technical items such as timeline logic and grammar).
Due to the volume of submissions we receive, we will do our best to give each one the time it deserves. You can expect a response within 6-8 weeks, however, if you haven’t heard back after that timeframe, you can follow up with us.
Any and all costs related to the publishing of your work are paid for by Wordspire Books. We abide by the IBPA guidelines for hybrid publishers, which can be found here: https://www.ibpa-online.org/page/hybrid-publisher-criteria-download
Submitting a manuscript does not create an exclusive agreement, nor does it prevent us from publishing other works that may explore similar themes, concepts, or settings. However, we take intellectual property seriously and do not appropriate submitted ideas. Like other publishers, Wordspire Books reviews many submissions with overlapping ideas, and publishing decisions are based on execution, originality, and fit with our catalog and not on borrowing concepts from others.
Artists
We are looking for:
- Family-friendly artwork suitable for all ages.
- Work that is highly original, looks professional, and is geared to market.
- Hand drawn or digital created art (i.e. using Adobe Illustrator or Procreate)
- Artists who are professional, competent, and good communicators
- Artists who have a strong understanding of the process involved in illustrating children’s books
Wordspire Books will not publish artwork created by AI.
Before sending your artwork to us, please read the following guidelines carefully. We make every effort to carefully consider each submission we receive, however submissions that fail to meet these guidelines will not be considered for publication.
We only accept digital submissions. As such, we are not responsible for any materials physically mailed to us.
Submissions are to be emailed to info@wordspirebooks.com. Title the email subject line as “Illustration samples – Your Name”
Never send your original source files (i.e. Photoshop, In Design, or Procreate files). We accept .jpeg, .png, or .pdf formats.
What to include with your sample:
- A one-page query letter that includes:
- Your background and experience or other qualifications as well as your social media links, as applicable
- Descriptions of your style(s)
- The genre(s) and target audience(s) for which you are interested in doing art
We do not comment individually on artwork submissions. If we wish to schedule a further portfolio review based on your submitted work, we will contact you.
Freelance Editors
To assist our core team in getting books ready for publication, we are accepting portfolios from editors who have a passion for high quality prose. This can take the form of:
- Developmental editing
- Copyediting
- Line editing
Portfolios are to be emailed to info@wordspirebooks.com. Title the email subject line as “Freelance editor – Your Name”
What to include in your portfolio:
- A one-page query letter that includes:
- Your background and experience or other qualifications as well as your social media links, as applicable
- Which level(s) of editing you are interested in taking on
- Which genre(s) and target audience(s) you are interested in working on
- Samples of your work are encouraged but not required. If you choose to include a sample, please ensure that the attachment file size is no more than 5 MB. No outside links or downloads will be accepted for security reasons.
We do not comment individually on editing portfolios. If we wish to schedule a further portfolio review based on your submitted work, we will contact you.
Thank you for considering Wordspire Books. We look forward to seeing your work!
Protect yourself from publishing scams and fraud.
Please be advised that scams are increasing in scale and scope. Scams could pose as Wordspire Books, using our name and logos, and even impersonate our personnel. Any unexpected calls, emails, or social media communications that promise publication, especially with promises of advances and royalties that have not been previously discussed, should be treated as fraudulent. Please look carefully at the sender’s email address or account, as scammers often employ misspellings and variations of legitimate businesses’ names and addresses.
We will never ask for money — Wordspire Books covers the costs of publication.
We will never ask for your manuscript up front — manuscript samples are first to be submitted to us, as outlined above, and we will only ever ask for the full manuscript in reply to that submission.
If you suspect that you have received fraudulent communication purporting to be from us, please email us at info@wordspirebooks.com to confirm the legitimacy of the communication.
For further education on publishing scams, read more at The Author’s Guild.
If you have been scammed, contact law enforcement.