A Call For Manuscript Submissions - Specifically Chapter Books

By Rana DiOrio, Founder of Little Pickle Press

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“What are you looking for now?” I get asked this question often. My response historically has been, “I’ll know it when I read it.” That is hardly a satisfactory response, however. So, as the curator of the award-winning Little Pickle Press collection (you can familiarize yourself with our books by clicking here), and at the urging of many, I am going to share with you our immediate needs.

We need to grow with our readers. We enjoyed the privilege of appealing to young children, pre-readers and early readers, upon the publication of our first title at the end of 2009. Some of those early readers are now strong readers who require chapter books in order to further develop their abilities. We want to grow with those readers and meet their needs. Accordingly, we are seeking chapter books for 9 to 12-year-olds.

The common denominators. I’ve stated this before, but I believe it’s worth repeating. All of the manuscripts that we select involve conveying meaningful messages to children. They catalyze conversations between parents and children, teachers and students, about the topics that matter most to the generation of children we are shaping today. The manuscripts are well-written, thought-provoking, progressive, fresh, distinctive, and lend themselves well to not only illustration but also to extrapolation into other mediums, such as interactive e-books and applications.

The heart of the matter. What subject matters are most interesting to us at this point for treatment in a chapter book? They include (in no particular order and not exclusively):

•         Altruism (and other anti-narcissism, anti-entitlement themes)

•         Dare To Be Different

•         Choices: It’s Not All Black And White; Most of Life is Gray

•         Anti-Princess Themes

•         Creativity­­­ (the importance of it, fostering it, etc.)

•         Leadership and/or Entrepreneurship

•         Divergent (vs. Convergent) Thinking

•         Systems Thinking

•         Self-Sufficiency/Taking Care of Yourself and Your Community/Planting the Seeds of Being a Locavore

What we don’t want are books with hidden messages to grownups. We want books that convey a true message to children.

The conditions precedent. I am loath to admit this, but I must be honest. Manuscripts that are not submitted as Word documents (in .doc format vs. .docx), double-spaced in Times New Roman font are distracting in a way you would not want them to be. So, to position yourself for the possibility of success, please submit your manuscripts in the following manner:

•         As a Word document (in .doc format)

•         Double-spaced

•         With Times New Roman font,12-pt

•         With your suggested title and name at the top as well as a word count

•         With a word count in the range of 20,000 to 25,000 words (although we break the rules of convention often and remain open-minded)

•         Accompanied by a brief cover note/email that tells me why you think your manuscript is a good fit for Little Pickle Press and whether or not you’d like my candid feedback on it

•         Accompanied also by a signed and dated copy of our Manuscript Submission Policy & Agreement, which you may download from our website

·        Send your manuscript, cover letter/email, and executed Manuscript Submission Policy & Agreement to submissions@littlepicklepress(dot)com - in so doing, you eliminate all distractions and allow our First Reader, me, and our team to focus on your all-important written words.

Our selection process. Once we receive your complete submission, our First Reader reads it within several weeks and sends me her preliminary thoughts. If she has a favorable opinion of the manuscript, then I read it. If the manuscript resonates with me, then I send it to one of our Editors and our Creative Director. If they like it too, then we schedule a call or meeting to discuss its merits. If at any point during our process, a team member thinks that the work does not fit for us, then we let the author know. If you indicate that you would like specific feedback, we do our best to include it in our note back to you.

Thanks for your interest. I sincerely thank you for your interest in Little Pickle Press and for reading this post. If you elect to send us a submission, thank you also for considering us as your publisher. I know from experience all that you have gone through to get to this point, and I respect and honor you for it.

Please note: we are currently reading submissions received since this post published and our response time is three months from today, March 5, 2012. All manuscripts under consideration will be for 2013 or later.